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Over 22 hours of cooking, this tonkotsu broth develops its deep flavour and transforms into the thick, creamy broth the Japanese ramen style is famous for.
It’s this process that sits at the heart of BUTAOK, an all-new ramen destination coming to Adelaide.
The new tonkotsu ramen restaurant comes from the team behind specialty ramen venue Toriok, but will arrive with its own identity, atmosphere and flavours.
“The idea for BUTAOK came from our desire to explore another side of Japanese ramen,” owner Hugh Ok said.
Over the past 12 months, there was one thing the Toriok team continued to hear from seasoned ramen lovers who had travelled through Japan and experienced the dish in its many forms.
“One thing we continued to hear was how much people loved and missed a rich, satisfying bowl of tonkotsu ramen,” Hugh said.
“That feedback inspired us to explore what we could create with pork broth here in Adelaide.”
But simply adding tonkotsu to an existing menu didn’t feel like enough.
The team believed the specialty deserved its own restaurant, one centred entirely around pork broth, allowing them to give the style the time, attention and identity it deserved.
From there, BUTAOK was born.
While Adelaide ramen lovers may already be familiar with the team through Toriok, this new venue is being designed to stand entirely on its own.
“Toriok introduced our approach to chicken paitan ramen, while BUTAOK will be entirely focused on showcasing pork broth and what we can create from it,” Hugh said.
The philosophy behind the new restaurant is deliberately uncomplicated with the focus on fewer things and spending more time doing them properly.
Naturally, the menu will revolve around tonkotsu ramen, with the noodles, toppings and every element of the bowl carefully considered to complement the richness and character of its 22-hour broth.
For those unfamiliar with the style, tonkotsu originated in Japan and is known for its rich, opaque pork broth, created by cooking pork bones at high heat for many hours until the fats and collagen emulsify into the liquid.
BUTAOK will also have its own personality. The team wants the space to feel warm, energetic and approachable, somewhere diners can drop in for a seriously good bowl of ramen without any fuss.
“For us, BUTAOK represents an opportunity to introduce another style of ramen to the Adelaide community,” Hugh said.
The venue will have 16 seats, similar to what you experience at Toriok, as well as an additional eight single seat dining spaces, inspired by the individual ramen dining experience commonly found in Japan.
To maintain the quality and consistency of every bowl, they will also be limiting service to 100 bowls per service, following the same approach as Toriok.
After receiving plenty of support from customers and hearing stories from ramen lovers who have eaten their way around the world, the team is excited to bring its own interpretation of tonkotsu to Adelaide.
Most importantly, they want BUTAOK to stand on its own.
A dedicated tonkotsu ramen restaurant, a broth that takes 22 hours to create and one very simple goal to make a damn good bowl of ramen.
While the team is keeping the exact opening date close to its chest for now, more details are expected to be revealed soon.
“We can’t wait to welcome Adelaide to BUTAOK.”
BUTAOK
When: TBC
Where: Norwood
For updates, head to their instagram @Butaok_adl
