GoBistro

We've all had ramen. For most Americans, it comes from styrofoam cups in flavors like "oriental" and "seafood." We eat it when we are short on time, hungover, broke, or living in a dorm. If cup o' noodles instant ramen is all you've ever known, it can be hard to get excited about a bowl of soup. But the ramen at GoBistro in Hollywood is different:. Open for lunch and dinner, the eatery is a collaboration by partners Andrew Gong, Joao Da Silva, and Niti Masintapan. Together, they also operate two Amazing Asian Bistro locations in Plantation and Pembroke Pines. GoBistro is their latest concept, where each could unleash his creative side. The menu is based on their favorite dishes: a Thai, Chinese, and Brazilian take on Japanese cooking. Gong prepares the ramen, Da Silva the sushi, and Masintapan contributes specialty dishes, like his version of Korean-style chicken wings. The plan, they say, is to expand the menu to their other South Florida restaurants and possibly open more. GoBistro's menu is small. Start with hot and cold appetizers, like DaSilva's stellar jalapeno himachi or tuna poke. Or try the avocado fries, a novelty dish that sells out daily: panko-encrusted slivers of avocado fried to a golden brown. But most people come for the ramen. Gong's tonkotsu take is breathtaking. The broth is made from scratch, a golden-opaque kotteri packed with emulsified goodness from long-boiled pork bones, the result of a two-day cooking process. Fat-laced and fragrant, the surface is like an oil slick that leaves a gelatinous sheen on your lips as you slurp away, revealing firm, crimped noodles and succulent slices of pork belly.