Slurping Turtle, Chicago IL

Slurping Turtle

Pineapple Soda

Pork Belly Snack

Duck Fat Fried Chicken

Kani Croquettes

Shoyu Wonton Ramen – homemade thin ramen noodle, classic Tokyo style soy broth, chicken wonton, grilled chicken, snow peas, marinated egg

Tonkotsu – homemade thin ramen noodle, silky pork broth, braised pork shoulder, pickled mustard greens

Slurping Noodle – rice noodle, clear shio broth, black tiger shrimp, fried tofu, napa cabbage, cilantro

Udon – thick wheat noodle, soy dashi broth with Tempura shrimp and vegetables

Tonkatsu Bento Box with Breaded Pork Cutlet, Fried Rice, Kimchee, Egg Cake, Pickles, Pumpkin

Iron Chef Egg Shooter – Quail Egg, Coconut Milk, Mint, Condensed Milk

Macaron – Raspberry Wasabi, Yuzu, Chocolate-Sesame, Oba, Caramel Soy

Ice Cream – Sea Salt, Black Sesame

…there had been no plans to dine at Slurping Turtle when the trip began, but after a truly disastrous visit to BellyQ for brunch leading to us walking out before even placing an order a friend’s comment about the virtues of Ramen got me thinking “why not?” Certainly not a food I seek out and one that actually brings back few memories as I never even enjoyed the cheap stuff in college I’d heard largely positive things about Takashi Yagihashi’s Izakaya and although I can’t say I was surprised given my lack of a reference point, the meal actually turned out to be a smashing success with even the most finicky eaters in our party of five.

Hip and fun without being ‘loud’ and featuring service that was humorous yet educational as Chef Takashi looked on, largely folding towels and watching a basketball game on the television while we dined, the meal consisted of a trio of appetizers, three desserts, four different soups, and a bento with each proving to be not only well prepared and delicious, but also wholly satisfying…each bowl and bite offering something unique from the others – a true education to a group of novices on the diversity of Japanese broths and noodles.

From the defiantly creamy pork broth to the earthen dashi and from thin ramen to springy rice to thick, toothsome udon I’d be hard pressed to say which noodle dish I liked best while appetizers, particularly the crab croquettes (not to mention the tempura shrimp with the udon) were also very impressive. Picking out a single item in the tonkatsu box, as well, I could have eaten a dozen of the egg cakes – described as a “Castella” as an accoutrement or as dessert…but that would have then prevented me from enjoying the delicious egg shooter, Paris-quality macarons (the Caramel Soy particularly excellent,) and the black sesame ice cream.

Overall a really great meal I think the most important takeaway points from our experience at Slurping Turtle was two-fold…first, that although I never expect to sit down and tuck into a whole bowl of Japanese noodles, I’d gladly go back with a big group willing to order and share diversely. And two, I owe Takashi a visit on my next trip to Chicago.