Foo Foo Tei

W:  Foo Foo Tei is located in a middle of neighborhood and they serve Osaka style stringy ramen noodles swimming in over 30 different kinds broth.  I always like to be different. But this is one time being different did not pay off. I was ordered, even mandated to try the #17 at Foo Foo Tei. I was told this was their pot of gold. Their Pièce de résistance. Their claim to fame. Their… you get the point. 

S:  With all that said, I decide to order infamous #17 - Nanchatte Tonkotsu Ramen.

      Fun Fact:  Tonkotsu broth, not to be confuse with Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) is created from slow roasted
      pork bones but Nanchatte in Japanese mean, fake, half-arsed or just kidding.  So number #17 is
      translated  to Just Kidding Pork Broth...they made it with chicken instead and it is even creamier than the
      traditional Tonkotsu beside the fact that they include cream to it.

W:  The #17 is a creamy white ramen broth that has pieces of pork and crisp vegetables floating inside.  Silky, milky and smooth. It opened up a new dimension of taste buds. But instead of following the herd I decided to be special and ordered #19, a spicy kim chee style sea food noodle soup. Don’t get me wrong, I was not disappointed but I was not amazingly wowed. My sister who followed the crowd placed the 8^th order of the # 17 at our table. And I was reminded that I was #19 …

S:  #17 was amazing, the velvety broth was sprinkled with a type of liquid crack to entice you to slurp so much that you can even get a milk mustache from its creamy base.  The soft boiled egg was cooked to perfection with a bright orange of gooeyness.  And the pork ... the succulent pork belly; they browned the skin and the next layer was marbled fat and then the meat. It was so yumful that my arteries was saying, "It's ok...I understand.  Go ahead and eat it."  Wow, I really was not trying to sound like a Fatass but guess it just comes naturally LOL. Whatever, I am writing from the clogged heart people! Anyway the symphony of silky chicken broth, pork meat and slurping with the ramen was delightful.

W:  As Fatasses, we did not stop there. We also ordered some amazing appetizers: friend chicken wings, takoyaki squid balls and vienna style sausages served with mustard and ketchup. 

S:  Calamari - love the wasabi mayo, it cost extra but a must for this dish or it will just be a typical calamari dish - Asian style. It has a nice kick to it, but nothing too mind-blowing.

S:  The Takoyaki is something different. I still cannot figure out what is the flaky topping is. But it is QQ, which is a Chinese adjective that describes the mouth feel when your chewing. There is some bounce to it and tons of flavor. I'm sure they put some five spice or nori mix into the batter but very different because it is crunchy and the mayo offsets it with some creaminess.

W:  The takoyaki squid balls were covered in a mayo based sauce. Probably kewpie which is a sweet Japanese mayo and was sprinkled with bonito flakes. Hot balls in my mouth.  AWESOME.  Explosion of flavor. Enough said. The sausages were nothing too special. Grilled little sausages that reminded me of a more flavorful kielbasa sausage. But who could go wrong with a meal consisting of balls and sausages.

W:  The chicken wings were gigantic. If chickens had one night stands with turkeys then these would be the drummettes that would have been produced. Let’s call them Turken wings. They were covered in a thick batter that sealed in the juices. Crispy and crunchy… every attribute you look for when ordering something deep fried.

S: We would definitely come again. But be forewarned. Take people’s advice #17.

Have you guys every tried Foo Foo Tei's other broth, how was it? 

And if you did try #17, do you crave for it?

Foo Foo Tei
15018 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745