Since the time Guy first announced that he was opening a ramen joint... I gave birth to 4 kids, 2 dogs, 6 sea monkeys and a goat. Yes, it has been that fucking long of a wait for some decent ramen in this one horse town... By the time I get to sample the damn tonkotsu, I will have zero taste buds and hair on my head left... My ball sack is almost down to my knees already for fuck sake. We all first experienced his tonkotsu ramen at Miso Izakaya. The limited bowls of noods would come and go in spurts, but the tonkotsu there was the best to be found anywhere in the metro-area if not in the entire state. After awhile, the thick milky collagen rich broth was diluted down to accommodate the masses of whities that thought it was the hip thing to nosh on... Sadly, a lot of these motherfuckers left insane amounts of tonkotsu broth and Sun Noodles in the bowl uneaten. Nothing pisses me off than running out of broth when I get there and these cracker ass crackers don't even finish the prized broth. These slobs do not deserve to eat this because they don't get it and don't really care about the lengthy process of making a proper tonkotsu broth. So, when they did do ramen nights, I would have Guy put off to the side a quart of untainted, undiluted, full strength, thick collagen rich tonkotsu just for the pouch because he knows this marsupial would appreciate it.
Now, he has finally almost opened Ton Ton and this first taste is only from the family & fwendz preview... Ton Ton will be officially open Thursday. The space is minimal and well designed for the concept, nothing bright and flashy to distract you from your sole purpose here... Which is to slurp and destroy as many bowls of noods as you can. The joint can accommodate a good amount of eaters, there's a dining side and a noodle bar side. The kitchen setup is good and the plating process goes down the line efficiently (if the right crew is on the line). Let's go take a looksie... Will it be good enough for the pouch or will it be just good enough for the pedestrians that pretend the PCM is a fucking fashion runway... I swear these skinny ass hot sluts in here just walk around the place and eat air and smell the food because they don't want to get fat. Let's find out if the ramen has what it takes to please the snarky pouch...
Hakata Tonkotsu Classic, pork belly, soft boiled egg, menma, wood ear mushrooms, butter garlic corn, scallions, sesame seeds. This bowl is a no brainer... This is the what you come here for... The tonkotsu broth. Did the sniff test and it smelled promising... Did the visual test from an angle to see the sheen and luster of the broth and it was developing a film on top already. That is a good sign it has a good amount of collagen in it. Took the first sip... Fuck me. This was a really good tonkotsu broth. It's rich, complex, milky and packed with collagen. My greasy cheekan lips were sticking together already. Goddamn it, you fucking did it, Guy... And I didn't even sample the rest of the bowl yet. The noodles, of course, were sourced from Sun Noodles. If you ain't using their noodles, you better be fucking making your own noods. The Sun ramen noodles were great as expected, maybe a tad overcooked in this bowl but it didn't take away from the overall mouth orgy I was in the midst of. The pork belly was ultra tender to the point that a toothless whore would have no problem inhaling that hog into her filthy facehole. Gum that shit down like how you did it the other night... Did I say that out loud? Nevermind, move along. The menma (bamboo shoots) were toothy and had that slight crunch to it unlike most places which are soft and forgettable. The butter garlic corn is definitely buttery that a layer of fat pool on top on the side of the broth (do not mix it up). The wood ear shrooms give it that slight crunchy contrast to the noodles. The soft boiled egg could be a bit more runnier but it worked out fine. With every spoonful of broth my lips got stickier and stickier... And my pouch got happier and happier. It's that ultimate umami flavor that was endless until I hit rock bottom of the bowl. Then I made my move over to the shoyu bowl...
Tori Shoyu, char siu, soft boiled egg, menma, spinach, scallions, sesame seeds. If you want a lighter less rich and sticky bowl of noods, this is the one for you. This would be a good summer time noodle bowl, it's refreshing but yet hardy enough to fill your belly with goodies. The ingredients are pretty similar to the tonkotsu. The char siu were thinly sliced and tender. The Sun noodles were spot on with that toothy texture with every slurp. The spinach worked ok in this bowl, I would prefer some hardier greens. The soft boiled egg and the bamboo shoots were the same. The shoyu broth is suppose to be lighter with a chicken and pork base than the tonkotsu but this version coulda used a lil more shoyu for a little extra flavor, color and seasoning. Still a very respectable bowl of shoyu ramen... I would kick an ok looking broad outta bed for another bowl.
Tebasaki Wings. For an appetizer these wings were pretty decent. Thin crispy skin, juicy steamy hot inside. They were a bit sweet but needed some salt on there... The sauce on the bottom of the bowl was scarce, if there were more you can soak it up with the wings to give it that extra flavor. I got a side of the chili paste bomb and it was just like an unseasoned roasted red pepper coulis, zero heat, I think they forgot to add the chili in there. Just put a few squirts of Sriracha and you're good to go.
The Bruce Cost ginger ale with Jasmine tea was pretty good, it woulda been great if I snucked in some bourbon which I totally forgot to.
Preview menu for the night.
Remember, this was just a first look only... But from what I have sampled so far, Guy has hit it out of the park on this ramen concept with the tonkotsu. This joint will be one of the best food options in the entire PCM which there are few and far between inside this bloody food hall. I was hoping that Jia would be somewhat authentic but their shitty ass slop pissed me off to no end. But to have an excellent authentic tonkotsu in the center of the city, now, changes everything... That is fucking ballsy and awesome for the pouch. The question now is... Can he keep it up and consistent going forward? I really hope so but I sense that it may go down the same path like at Miso Izakaya and they will be forced to dilute it to suit the massive rush sure to ensue from this post (well, by one person at least)... And don't forget the gaijins' taste for lighter and less authentic tonkotsu broth because it's just too rich for their sensitive white stomachs... Shit, fuck them, they can order the shoyu for their weak ass pouches... And don't forget to drink all the fucking broth for crying out loud. But keep a quart of the real tonkotsu off to the side for your BFF, okay, Kevin? Oops, I mean Guy.
I'll give you a reach around next time when your mom is not looking... XOXO
Pump Pump Squirt.
675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
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