Domu

Since, I had a lovely snack from Maryland fried chicken earlier... I was craving ramen big time. But come on, you ain't gonna find a proper ramen joint in Orlando, the land of the chain restos... Why even bother, right? Well... Fuck that noise. I'm gonna find a ramen joint if it takes me all night in this sea of pedestrian slop. What's this... A ramen and cocktail joint? No fucking way... That is my favorite combo. But I'm still skeptical of a ramen joint down here in the land of socks and sandals... So, the pouch needed to investigate this specimen a bit closer...

Toki Old Fashioned. They have a decent booze list and a bunch of Japanese party liquors. I got this Suntory style old fashioned and it was pretty good.

Pigs In A Blanket, chashu, cucumber, pickled cabbage, scallion, spicy mayo, steamed bao buns. I know I know... Why am I being such a sucker for this played out baos... I gotta admit it was pretty tasty. I wouldn't get them again, save room for some other vittles.

Sichuan Cucumbers, sesame oil, fried garlic, sesame seeds, Japanese spices. Doesn't sound so Sichuan does it? But it tasted pretty good, had nice flavor all around and the crunch of the seasoned cucumbers.

KFC. These are some of the biggest wings I have seen... That's because they are more heavily battered with a ultra crispy crust. The glaze on top was something they called a Korean Butter Sauce. It sounds funny but it worked nicely with them. These were pretty damn good craveworthy wings. They were totally addictive.

Domu Don, uni, ikura, spicy tuna, nori, rice. If there's an uni dish on the menu, it's gonna be on the table. This was a bowl of flavors. A good amount of dressed tuna cubes and you can't miss that giant lobe of uni.

Uni Pasta, uni butter sauce, ikura, microgreens, crispy red quinoa, chives, uni. This was basically the same as the Domu Don but with ramen instead... Not just any ordinary ramen, they use the primo Sun Noodles here as well, just like every other respectable ramen joint. Ok, this uni pasta might be a bit better than the Domu Don... That uni butter sauce kills it in this bowl.

Richie Rich, tonkotsu base broth, chashu, ajitama brulee, kikurage, scallions, fried garlic, domudama, burnt garlic oil. This was big bowl of ramen with a good amount of broth... Like how it should be and not just a couple ladles of it. The broth is the dish... And this broth was pretty rich and the burnt garlic oil elevated this broth to another level of flavor. Very good tonkotsu broth and paired up with the Sun Noodles and you got yourself a proper ramen bowl. I liked how they added a nice spin to the egg, they brulee it to give it that crunchy sweetness to it, that's a nice move. The chashu was pretty much standard issue, they could give a couple more slices because they were paper thin. Overall, this was a pretty respectable tonkotsu ramen, not very traditional but it worked.

Tokyo, shoyu base broth, fried chicken thigh,, ajitama brulee, kikurage, seared garlic chives, infused duck fat. If you wanted something lighter this shoyu broth will do the trick... If you think lighter means less flavor you're wrong. They add a nice amount of infused duck fat in the broth and that makes the light looking broth into a explosion of fatty ducky flavor. I had them put the fried chicken thigh on the side because I didn't how they were gonna prepare it... But it was pretty simple, they just lightly coated the thigh and deep fried it, so there weren't really any crust to it. But it was great in the broth. This bowl was another winner in my book. 

How the fuck is this possible? A very respectable ramen joint in Orlando? Seriously, what the fuck is going on in here? The place was packed with a diverse crowd but they were mostly millennials that wanted to look hip at a hip food scene... I guess the fucking Waldo looking millennials are all the same no matter what state you're in. This ramen joint gave me hope that Orlando is not just filled with overweight oinkers looking for the cheapest early bird buffet special as I once thought. They are doing it right and I would definitely come back for more.

East End Market
3201 Corrine Dr Suite 100
Orlando, FL 32803
http://www.domufl.com/