ramen rating: tokyo table – irvine, ca

Tokyo Table is a fine dining restaurant that offers “modern yet authentic Japanese cuisine, complemented by tastes from other Asian and world cultures.” I have a tendency to look down on and avoid “fusion” type restaurants (more on this later) like Tokyo Table, whose signatures dishes include “sushi pizza” and “grilled pesto salmon.” I recently agreed to try Tokyo Table mainly because of my newfound enthusiasm for honey toast, a simple and delicious Japanese dessert also offered there. I was ambivalent about whether or not to try their ramen, due in part to Go Ramen’s less than lukewarm review, and in part because of the name of the ramen: Tokyo Char-siu Ramen Noodles. Call me picky, but “char-siu” is Chinese. “Chashu” is Japanese. And “Ramen Noodles” is redundant in the way that “ATM machine” is redundant. (An ATM is an Automated Teller Machine! Why would anyone say Automated Teller Machine machine?!? -end of rant.) To me, those are bad omens of things to come. Of course, dummy that I am, I still ordered the ramen.
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