A friend and I ventured over to Nine 05 recently for her birthday lunch. Once upon a time, this was a gal who used to eat at Fate about three times a week, so I told her she needed to check out the new Asian spot that's taken its place.
I went with the tonkotsu ramen. When I reviewed Nine 05, this was the dish that got me a little riled up. How were they to know I have a fetish for this stuff? This time around, the soup had improved a bit -- the noodles were cooked right, the broth had more depth, and the temperature was appropriately piping. It still wasn't close to the authentic Japanese dish (even just from appearances, the broth should be pale and opaque), but what the hell -- I like pork belly. Put an oozy egg on top of it, and I like it even more. I'm just going to pretend this dish is called something else.
The birthday girl ordered udon, which were heaped in broth with all kinds of vegetables. I wouldn't call it a bowl of soup, since there were so many noodles in it, but there was just enough broth to make the noodles slurpable. So far, this was one of the most delicious things I've had at Nine 05.
