It’s so easy to find a bunch of restaurants and give them a negative review….

On the flip slide, it’s rather difficult to find a restaurant that has consistently good quality AND service.
I want to stress the service part because I ate at some restaurants recently that could have been okay if the service had been decent….

Anyhow, lets get to it.  Tonight’s review is on Slurping Turtle in Ann Arbor.

I’ll keep this short and sweet.

I am such a huge supporter of this place as I am with Selden Standard.  Maybe a little less obsessed, but definitely as addicted.
The picture above that I used as my featured photo is from a Ramen Battle that Slurping Turtle had hosted several weeks ago.
In an ironic twist of events, the winner of the battle was Chef Andy Hollyday from Selden Standard. Not entirely relevant, but I thought it was a cool photo.  Chef Andy is shown prepping his ramen bowls for the battle royale, showcasing his talents against top chefs from around the area.

Anyhow,

There’s a huge ramen and asian fusion craze going around …..it’s quite irritating actually because people just aren’t executing it right ::cough:: Johnny Noodle King ::cough::

This place gets it right.  It is owned by Chef Takashi, who has another location in Chicago, and previously had a Michelin starred restaurant in his name.  I had the opportunity to eat at his namesake restaurant “Takashi” when it was around, and was more than blown away.  One of THE BEST restaurants I have ever been to. He unfortunately closed it because he was getting bored and wanted to do something new.  Must be nice to have the luxury to close and open restaurants out of boredom, right?

Slurping Turtle, though not as fancy or prestigious, is still a good representation of the innovation and veracity that Takashi strives for in his brand.

It has never disappointed me, and remains one of my favorites.

I tend to order the same select dishes every time I go.  It’s honestly hard NOT to repeat these dishes because they are soooo delicious.  I crave these in my sleep, and it’s quite annoying because the restaurant is an hour away from me 😦

Featured above: Duck fat fried chicken, and pork belly bao.

Flavor? SWAGGER.  Seriously, words don’t describe what amazing taste and quality this stuff is.
The chicken is to die for.  Forget what you think you know about fried chicken…you haven’t lived until you’ve had DUCK FAT fried chicken.  So clever, so creative, so fucking remarkably delicious.  I haven’t dropped the F bomb in any of my previous 6 posts, so this certainly deserves one…in a good way.

The Bao?  The steamed bun is soft and fluffy, sweet, warm, perfect.
The pork belly inside of it….sweet, savory, fatty, meaty, orgasmic.  The glaze is umami, the tenderness is immaculate.
I have had conversations with people who will argue that Momofuku’s pork belly bao in New York is far better, but in THIS bao, I find happiness and sanctuary.  I will defend its tastiness til death.

Tan Tan Men Ramen.

Holy crap this stuff is so good.  Have I mentioned that they make their noodles in house?  If you walk downstairs, sometimes you’ll see someone using the noodle making contraption…I obviously don’t know what the machine is called, but it’s pretty cool.  If you’ve never had gourmet ramen, or are afraid to because of bad experiences with instant ramen, DO NOT HESITATE WITH THIS DISH.  It is absolutely beautiful the way the flavors combine.  It is spicy, salty, with some pork belly (or shoulder), meat balls, scallions, etc.  The ramen is fresh, chewy, and addicting.  In fact, everything here is addicting.

I really don’t have anything else to say…I always tell myself I should venture out of these 3 items, but why fix what’s not broken?  Their specialty drinks are also very well polished.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is venturing out there, whether it’s for U of M sports festivities, or If you’re passing through on a road trip.

When in doubt, Slurping Turtle.