Tasu Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Durham

This is our second time visiting this restaurant. It's very convenient to the neighboring hotels. We wanted some noodles, perfect on a cold winter day.

The curry noodles were absolutely delicious! The fresh lime perfectly complemented the rich, flavorful broth. You can select additions for your ramen, but the bok choy that comes in it is so refreshing, blanched just right, not overcooked. You can pick your protein of choice. I selected tofu. There was a reasonable amount included, but the pieces definitely were not bite size, which made it difficult to eat. Even though it was messy, it was worth it. Some of the ingredients were a bit strange to me -- the mushrooms were one of the strangest things I've seen. The bamboo had a unique taste, probably a different species than I'm accustomed to. My take on the curry ramen is that it needed a bit more curry flavor (it was a little too subtle) and the spice level was well below what I prefer. I'll definitely go for thai spicy next time.

I had some of the other dishes on a previous visit, and those items were just ok, easily forgettable, but the ramen is definitely on point, especially on a bone chilling day.

The customer service leaves a lot to be desired, so adjust your expectations. If you focus on the food itself - speaking only about the ramen, you should have a decent experience.

Edit-Update* I have to be honest, every time I think of ramen, I can't help but think of Tasu. They have really set a high standard for what I want my ramen to taste like. The unfortunate part is that they don't open very early, so I often miss them for lunch because they don't open until 12:00. Also, they now have a sign posted that they are closed for renovations, so I've missed them yet again. How...

We stopped by this location because they had traditional Asian food as well as poke, but upon viewing their menu it was safe to say they had a little bit of everything, Asian and non-Asian. It would probably be a solid spot to stop at if you have a group of people who want different things. Anyway, this review is based on the kung pao chicken and poke.

I got two of the fried chicken spring rolls to start, which were good, but nothing to write home about. After that, I tried the miso soup that came with my kung pao chicken. It was tasty, a little heavy on the pepper side of things, but I prefer it that way anyway. It was nice to not have to season the miso so that it tasted good, as I usually have to do elsewhere. I got the kung pao chicken extra spicy, with extra broccoli, and a side of lo mein and it was delicious. The portions were solid and the kung pao chicken was fantastic. Easily the best lo mein I've had in years, actually seasoned and sauced, with pieces of shallots and garlic, unlike a lot of this boiled spaghetti and soy sauce places try to pass off as lo mein. I would definitely get this item again. My partner's poke was a solid portion and she said that it was fresh and delicious, that she'd get it again. They were even able to accommodate her gluten allergy, with gluten-free soy sauce available. The only downside I'd say is that my meal took a while to come out when we were the only people in the restaurant, but at least it was made to order and fresh. I can't speak for the tons of other items they have on their menu, but I'd definitely give this...

Avoid ordering online! And maybe avoid altogether?

Their website isn't set up in a way to take the orders properly, and the customer is blamed on the back end, at least that was my experience. I ordered a Bento Box with Sesame Chicken, and the website seems to also offer a way to add additional protein, like Honey Shrimp, which I did. I was shocked to learn that the extra protein option is actually a seafood upcharge, making it my primary entree choice. That would have been fine, except that it doesn't then void out the original order of sesame chicken. You can see my receipt in the photos, and understand why I believed that I had ordered Sesame Chicken with a side of Honey Shrimp. It seemed like the staff understood the tech glitch, but still wanted to explain to me why I was in the wrong. To their credit, after I pressed the issue, they did give me the sesame chicken at no additional charge, which I believe is fair based on how their website is setup. Oddly enough, Honey Shrimp isn't even an option on the in-person menu in the Bento Box section!

Bottom Line: It was a lot of hassle for food that's only okay, and staff that are more concerned with defending their malfunctioning systems rather than immediately accomodating a (repeat) customer. If this place weren't five minutes from my house I probably wouldn't have given them this many chances, as the story in this review is just one of several different customer service gaffes that should have been worked through in their first year...