Cafe Melodrama

  Tonkotsu Ramen, Brighton 16.4.25. Noodles done right. 20 New Road Brighton BH1 1UF   The first time I encountered Tonkotsu ramen was when I ordered some takeaway from Uber Eats. Never heard of them before but thought I would give it a shot. The cardboard packaging was unpretentious and attractive. I was having a meal with a friend and we both thought it was exceptional. It was good enough for me to take the trouble to google the noodle shop. Tonkotsu Ramen is a small chain of Japanese ramen shops with most of the branches in London. Their USP was intriguing, they make their own ramen in the shop. Otherwise, they’re just a soup shop. That tends to suggest that hardly anyone else does. I had planned on checking one out in person but forgot about it. More fool me.   Yesterday, I arranged to meet someone in Brighton for a catch-up. Now that I have started writing a food blog, I try to find somewhere new and interesting to eat every time I go out. I did a quic...

 There was a time when bubble tea stayed home in Taiwan. Now, they’re everywhere. I am both sad and happy. Sad because pricey sugary drinks don’t deserve to succeed. Happy because fads that make it are few and add another grain to the beach that is our shared food heritage. A grain may not seem like much but that’s what all cultures are made of - grains. Like Hello Kitty cat figurines and Tamagotchi toys. They sear themselves into our psyches and define our generations like nothing else. The way a single word can be uttered in a group chat and everyone gets it straightaway.  So, accept my sincerity at face value when I say that I wanted Sushi Dogs to blow me away. Because if you’re going to mess with my cultural culinary memories, you better make it worth my while. It’s been some hours since I consumed a char shiu chicken sushi dog but my outrage still smoulders. Char Shiu and chicken have no business resting next to each other in a sentence. Char Shiu is pork reddened and inf...

  Tsujiri Chinatown 33 Newport Court, London WC2H 7PQ Opening Hours: 11:00 – 22:00   Little shops that sell a handful of delicious things to consume are my preferred places to eat. The service is fluid, the quality is usually excellent and the prices tend to be more reasonable. Something that’s more possible when you’re not paying (much) for the ambience.   Newport Court is a little alleyway that leads from Charing X Road into the heart of London’s Chinatown. It's packed with little food shops on either side with a distinctly Asian flavour. In fact, there are at least three other establishments on the same side of the street that also offer ice ceam. I will check them out at some point soon, I promise, but I had a tough day yesterday and I was not in the mood for surprises.     Ordering the same thing over and over again arguably shows a lack of imagination. As far as desserts are concerned, I plead guilty. My willingness to eat almost anything as a ma...