Truly Tasty
Truly Tasty
Serving True Tastiness Since 2012
BY LINDSAY WICKSTROM
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
2012 was a significant year for Halifax’s culinary scene, ushering in gourmet burgers, food trucks, street food and gastropubs.
It was also the year of ramen.
Jian Li and Shanshan Liu opened Truly Tasty on Quinpool Road, quietly but steadily garnering an army of loyal regulars with their heaping bowls and low prices.
“We were the first and only ramen shop in the Maritimes,” says Liu, noting that Truly Tasty opened right when ramen started to surge in popularity. She mentions David Chang, often credited with igniting the ramen explosion after opening Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City in 2004.
By 2012, the craze was sweeping Vancouver and Toronto. Halifax is typically late to the party with food trends, but Truly Tasty was right on time.
Li (Chef) and Liu met at Saint Mary’s University in 2008. Li worked various kitchen jobs as a student, becoming an adept pho (pronounced fuh) and sushi chef.
When the couple graduated, they combined Li’s cooking experience with their commerce degrees and opened a noodle restaurant.
Why noodles?
The reason is quite romantic.
Chef Li hails from Tianjin, a coastal city in Northern China, whereas Liu grew up in a wheat-growing region in the interior of China.
“I’m a noodle person, you know? I grew up in a hometown where all the wheat [is] growing right in the middle of China,” says Liu. “He is a boy grown up with rice, and noodles are not his thing. But he knows how much I love the noodle. He always says, see? I’m doing this for you.”
The easiest thing to do would have been to open a pho restaurant, but Chef Li wanted to avoid competing against his former employer. So he decided to bring something new to Halifax. He travelled to Vancouver to check out a ramen school, including a demonstration (and sales pitch) of a special Japanese ramen machine and a course he finished online.
He decided to purchase the machine to make all of his noodles in-house.
“You just put the flour and all the ingredients together, and it’s like a little factory,” says Liu, who tells me that it is the only one in Atlantic Canada.
She explains that the whole premise of Truly Tasty is homemade food with local ingredients, so making their noodles is very much the heart and soul of the business.
They use a mixture of local all-purpose and buckwheat flours, and the noodles have been perfected over time to complement Chef Li’s broth.
His broth is what they call a "white chicken broth" in Japan, which is similar to tonkotsu.
“We use a lot of chicken in there to make the broth, and time-wise we boil on high heat for a long time. Then the broth will become creamier and a white colour.”
The broth is also distinctive by virtue of Chef Li’s tare (the concentrated seasoning mixture which provides much of the flavour in ramen), which contains bonito (smoked and dried skipjack tuna).
All the ramen on the menu starts with this base, except for the Veggie Shoyu Ramen, which is 100% vegan. Liu says they have stacked their veggie ramen with abundant veggies and pickled things. It has even converted many non-vegetarian regulars.
In 2020, Truly Tasty moved into their new digs (still on Quinpool), which are bigger, brighter, and more welcoming. Chef Li has more kitchen capacity for his from-scratch operation, and his menu is honed in and on point. In addition, their hours are more reliable now that their kids are older.
“I had two children in these 10 years,” says Liu. “The first one is in the beginning: 2012. So you’re getting really busy and sometimes the baby needs you there, and you have to take a day.”
They are now open five days a week, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and closed in the afternoons to rest and regroup.
I arrive for dinner with some friends in tow, excited to experience the new space and try a few things.
We start with the Tree Fungus Salad, a long-time menu favourite from Northern China. It features fungus mushrooms dressed in a rice vinegar dressing, with radish, pickled onion and local micro greens. The mushrooms are thin black petals with a bit of chew and perfectly deliver the flavours of the dressing.
Another item we try is the Rice Gnocchi, which is a more whimsical dish of Korean rice cakes (the “gnocchi”) served in the spirit of a pasta dish with your choice of soy or spicy sauce, and chopped pork, crispy frites, radish, pickled beet & onion and local micro greens.
It is a crowd-pleaser, and I find it delightful that Chef Li has decided to call these addictively chewy rick sticks “gnocchi.”
“I think that’s his creative name because in the beginning when we called it a rice cake, a lot of people asked: is that a dessert, is that a cake?” explains Liu. “Then he said: it’s a similar idea to gnocchi. Let’s call it gnocchi and people will maybe understand how it tastes or the way it looks.”
While it is on the appetizer menu, she says it isn’t uncommon for regulars to order it as their main course.
The menu's big flavours are tempting, like the popular Tan Tan Ramen with its homemade sesame paste, chill oil, and Sichuan peppercorns. But I choose a more classic offering: the Shoyu Chasu Ramen, to really appreciate the delicate flavours of the broth and tare.
It’s a big feed of noodles and soy-braised pork shoulder in a velvety umami broth. I blend the onsen tamago (custardy slow-cooked egg) and fatty house-made sausage into the broth, adding even more richness. The sautéed cabbage lends heartiness to this comforting dish. The noodles are the backbone, gently firm and receptive to the silky fats and meaty textures.
When finished, I am satisfied yet fantasizing about my next visit to try other popular dishes.
Liu says the abura soba noodles have been a hit with the regulars (especially the Spicy Pork Chasu Abura Soba, a feature dish on Curated’s Best of Quinpool Road Tour). These are soup-less noodles with sautéed cabbage, house-made chilli oil, soft poached egg, house micro green salad and crispy potato frites.
Jian Li and Shanshan Liu
The Fried Chicken Ramen is one of the most popular dishes at Truly Tasty (which I’ve had the pleasure of trying before). Liu explains that fried chicken was a comfort food for Chef Li when growing up in China, especially piled high on top of a bowl of rice. So, he serves a bowl of ramen piled high with his beloved fried chicken.
“The recipe he uses now is still grandma’s recipe,” says Liu. It is also available as a standalone appetizer.
Truly Tasty is a mom-and-pop operation that consistently delivers the perfect package of quality and value over the years, adapting to changing times and consumer preferences.
Liu says their loyal customers have always had their backs through the good and bad times. Relocating during the pandemic, with its waves of closures and the shift to takeout culture, was challenging, but Truly Tasty remains one of Halifax's most solid restaurants.
“They say there are a hundred people with a hundred different tastes. And that’s why we try our best when serving people the food,” says Liu. “You cannot guarantee that every single person loves this, but you try your best to feed them and make them satisfied.”
