Barbara and I used to go to our local Neponset Cafe (the Dorchester one by that name) whenever we needed a ramen fix, as their ramen was the best around. But alas they were another victim of the pandemic and are no longer open.

So we settled for the South Bay branch of Totto Ramen yesterday, even though they’re an international chain. (A small one, but still a chain.) It turned out to be very good, not quite at the level of the Neponset Cafe but still more than adequate. More and more restaurants keep opening in the ever-expanding South Bay neighborhood, where this branch is. A second branch is in Assembly Row in Somerville, another ever-expanding restaurant mecca. If that’s inconvenient for you, try one of the branches in Taipei. Anyway, Barbara started with a pork bun, followed by shrimp ramen. I started with fried gyoza, followed by spicy paitan ramen with pork belly and jammy egg. Everything was delicious, and service was both friendly and impeccable.

The cow was a couple of doors down. As the sign says, don’t sit on her.

Categories: Dorchester/Boston, Food & Restaurants