Modern pan-Asian restaurant, Torafuku, has just launched a new Taiwanese-style lunch menu. The lunch menu includes a hearty beef noodle soup and five rotating cold side dishes inspired by the share plates served in many Taiwanese-style restaurants (小菜).
I went in for a media tasting and here’s a look at my experience.
Torafuku Beef Noodle Soup
I tried the Torafuku Beef Noodle Soup ($15) and loved the melt-in-your-mouth sake-and-soy braised beef shank; broth with deep flavours; runny and gooey soft-poached eggs; crispy bok chow and pickled mustard cabbage and chewy hand-pulled noodles.
Side Dishes
Five new inventive rotating side dishes will be available at lunch. These side dishes were inspired by how in Taiwan restaurants have the sides pre-made and placed on a shelf in the restaurant. When customers go in, they help themselves and share at their tables.
At Torafuku, the small side dishes will be ordered a la carte to the table for $3.75 each, $10 for three, or an I Want It All option of $16 for five.
I had the perfect accompaniments for the beef noodle soup: Tomato (yuzu plum powder marinated tomato, shiso, red onion), Cucumber (cucumber, agar agar, radish, Kuan Mama’s vinaigrette) and Eggplant (Szechaun marinated eggplants, crispy rice).
The Tomato side dish was refreshing with bright flavours.
The crispy rice added a fun, textural contrast to the Eggplant dish.
I particularly liked the agar “noodles” in this side dish and enjoyed the chewy, gelatinous texture.
Combo Option
For diners ordering a main dish who want to round out their meal, a lunch combo add-on option of $4.50 gives a choice of one side dish and a non-alcoholic beverage.
The lunch menu continues to have Awesomeness in a Bowl rice bowls, served with the restaurant’s signature kickass rice – cooked with sake, butter, dashi, mixed herbs, pickled cabbage, and a poached egg – and a protein such as fried chicken, pork belly ($12 each), or a half-and-half bowl of fried chicken and pork belly ($13).
Also still available on the lunch menu is the Bun Me ($5), a warm Chinese steam bun with pulled pork, pickled cabbage, crispy shallots, and sweet chili bean paste; the Finger Lickin’ Crispy Chicken ( $11) with seven-spice mayo, thai chili, and crispy shallots; and the addictive Everyday I’m Brusseling (OG Version), a vegetable dish with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, crispy kale, parmesan, and lemon juice ($11).
Extended Hours
Torafuku has extended its opening hours to serve lunch and dinner from Tuesday through to Sunday, only closing on Mondays.
Torafuku is located at 958 Main Street, and is now open from Tuesday through Sunday for both lunch (11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and dinner (5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.).