Just when you thought that you've tried 90% of the Ramen places in Toronto (and no, I'm not going to go to Momofuku if I went to the one in NYC), a new one pops up...

My boyfriend and I arrived at Isshin's doorstep earlier than expected, on a cold and rainy Saturday. I was standing around silently cursing to myself for my poor choice of attire (I thought the combination of my favourite plaid flannel from Aritzia + a hoodie + my favourite leather jacket would suffice); shivering ever so often waiting to go inside. 15 minutes felt like an eternity, and there weren't many shops around the area to occupy our time with. Fortunately, the Isshin staff had taped their menu on the window, which made the anticipation that much more exciting (or excruciating, since I still had to wait?)

**If you ever do plan on going, please note that their lunch special only occurs during the week!

I think I was on an adventurous streak, because I didn't want to go with the usual Shoyu or Shio Ramen. I saw that they designated their brand symbol to signify recommended choices, so I mentally chose one of the bowls they recommended as I finally headed inside.

The restaurant itself was pretty spacious with lush dark furniture and standard lighting. I would say that Raijin's amount of space is comparable to this, although I still have yet to venture into the back area of the latter. As we were the first ones to arrive, it was pretty quiet. They had only one waitress working that day (I'm not sure about the number of cooks, as the staff would be in the kitchen at the back) so the common Japanese greeting exchanges amongst workers weren't heard. But that's okay. I'm here more for the food if anything.

Even though it's a Saturday, my boyfriend and I still ordered essentially what is the Lunch Special because I was curious what their Takoyaki tasted like and my boyfriend, the Chicken Karaage (of course).

There were about 3 pieces of Chicken Karaage with dipping sauce for $4.80. I think it's a bit pricey for the amount of pieces offered, so at this point you're pretty much paying for the quality of them (which wasn't bad at all — crispy, juicy and not too greasy).

I don't normally order an appetizer for myself to go with my ramen, but I'll make an exception to this one. The last time I had legit Takoyaki was at Guu, about a year ago. I've had the misfortune of having an unintentionally salty version at Bubbletease this year, so that may have attributed to my decision to order here (or just my affinity to balls of fried octopus?).

These guys came out fresh and hot. I made the mistake of eating one right away, haha. So aside from practically burning my mouth with the first one, I did enjoy them. They were a good mixture of savoury, chewy and delightful with a slight crunchiness due to their shell. They were also kind of filling too, since there were five of them and it's fried food. Not bad for $4.20 though.

As for the main course, I ordered their Red Miso Ramen, with less salt and an additional marinated egg. 

This dish blew me out of the water, hands down. With other ramen bowls (except for Raijin's clear chicken broth based bowls), most are rich, creamy/fatty(?) and full of pork flavour. This one... it's wasn't super rich, and definitely not creamy. It was reminiscent of the way my mom cooks her tomato, beef and potato soup back at home but not exactly either. 

The Red Miso broth had a plethora of vegetables, from carrot bits, bean sprouts, green onion, black wood ear mushrooms and chives. This added to the broth flavour and subdued the pork essence, which I appreciated (not that I don't like pork broth, but I find it particularly appropriate for this bowl). 

As for the pork, it was very soft and easy to chew. Not an overwhelming pork taste, but with enough flavour. I approve.

*Has a Ratatouille moment*

What's interesting about the ramen noodles themselves is that they weren't just savoury; they had a slight tinge of sweetness to it unlike any other. My boyfriend picked up from his bowl first, but it's more apparent in mine. 

My boyfriend opted for the Tonkotsu Shoyu "Roasted Garlic" Ramen, with less salt and an additional topping of sesame seeds.

I didn't have the whole bowl of his ramen, but he chose a more traditional/run-of-the-mill flavour. I don't recall the Garlic Oil flavouring jumping out to me, though that could also be due to my own ramen bowl taking up most of my sensory attention :P

One distinctive quality about Isshin (aside from their special recommendations being thebomb.com) is that for their sesame seed topping, you have the option of grinding them. Often times additional toppings just come in a bowl and that's it, no extra effort or interaction from the customer. This gesture also adds plus points in consideration, as grinding ingredients tends to bring out more of the flavour into whatever mixture they're added to. 

They're also quite generous with their extra noodles too. It was essentially another half a bowl, which made it worthwhile.

Both my boyfriend and I were quite satiated to say the least.

I immediately raved about this place to Jem, so I'm excited to go again, see his reaction(s) to my recommendations and possibly try their other bowls :)

Raijin

The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived! I apologize for being two weeks late — I had to deal with some personal matters that took awhile, but now I finally have time to write here :)

After Ryu, I thought I had been to all the decent ramen places in downtown Toronto. Then I stumbled across a BlogTO post about Raijin. I was a bit skeptical at first because some of the comments were dissuading, claiming things like, "Oh, I got food poisoning from there" or some other sort like that. Then again, quite a few commenters have complained about Touhenboku (I'll probably post about this another time later too, for the curious) and I found it to be alright.

The last time I went to College and Yonge to eat somewhere was for Korean BBQ almost 3 - 4 years ago, so I wasn't the most familiar when it came to that area. There was an initial confusion as to which direction to head to, but my boyfriend and I managed to head to the right way.

Upon entering the restaurant, my first impression is that this place is the most spacious out of all the ramen places I've been to. There's a decent number of seats in varying arrangements (boxed group, the usual long table with booth/cushioned seats at the wall, and bar style like the photo below) with ample walking space. It's bigger than Santouka and it apparently has a completely different dining section at the back (or so my boyfriend says, I never got to see).

The atmosphere is also distinctly quiet, as opposed to the usual animated and loud Japanese greetings from the waiters/waitresses (not that they wouldn't greet you!). Furthermore, I think Raijin has the most decorated interior as well, especially when you manage to fit this guy:

And they even conveniently placed a Valentines' Day special on their centre piece! The menus were also a nice touch, since it was printed on paper reminiscent to Japanese paper.

I don't remember very clearly, but I do believe that Raijin's menu had an assortment of soup bases and ways they prepared the noodle. I really do wish I was able to at least take a picture of one of their menu pages, but I was so busy flipping through that I never got the chance to :(

 As usual, my boyfriend ordered Chicken Kurage as an appetizer for his ramen. I ordered the standard Shoyu ramen with pork and egg, while he ordered ramen with a garlic soup base.

I'd say for the price and quality, Raijin is one of the more bang for the buck places. While it's not the absolute best ramen in the world (realistically speaking), it does have a respectable quality and I would go there again if I was craving for some ramen.

Oh, I almost forgot!

For the people who have a sweet tooth, one thing Raijin has that most ramen places don't have, is a dessert menu :)

I didn't get to try it, but if I go there again, I'd definitely try their Ko-hee-zelee!

Until next time!

Ryu's Noodle Bar

After viewing some of my food photos on my camera, my friend Jody-Ann has been urging me to start posting about food adventures on my blog... So here is my first post!

Last Wednesday, my boyfriend and I decided to go downtown to eat — it was unpleasantly cold but the perfect weather for a nice warm bowl of ramen. We've been to a few different places already, like  Kinton, Santouka, etc etc, so it was only fitting to try one other one that was on his list: Ryu's Noodle Bar. As we walked down Baldwin street with the frigid air blowing against our faces, we scanned the street in anticipation for our destination. Lo and behold, the distinct outdoor decor caught my eye:

Dat extra effort adds some oomph ya know?

The indoor space, similar to other ramen places, was quite cramped and the waiting/reception area was small too. I was just thankful that we had arrived before a large group did so that we could at least squeeze inside! Otherwise though, the place was brightly lit with a section that seats larger groups, which you don't find often in ramen places.

The best part about going on a food adventure with just one other person (especially to ramen places)? There is significantly less waiting time for you because it is easier to accommodate for two people, rather than say, five.

Funny enough, I had no idea that the restaurant was having an anniversary promotion that night. Everything was half off, which was a lovely surprise :)

And here is what I ordered :)

Shoyu Ramen (pork based broth, less salt), thick noodles, extra chashu/pork and extra poached egg

Even though it was a sincere mistake, the second surprise I got that evening was having that odd piece of chicken in my ramen when I ordered just pork, haha. I didn't mind however, as I enjoy chicken too. I find that the chicken pieces here are not only incredibly soft, but the flavouring seems well marinated through the meat that it's not too "in your face" but not too subtle either. The pork pieces were also well cooked and mushy, while the poached egg was a nice addition to the noodles. 

Portions at Ryu's Noodle Bar is pretty decent for its price, especially when you order extra noodles. According to my boyfriend, their serving was "equivalent to your original ramen bowl and then some" :P

What's unique about this place is that when you place your order, the waitress would let you know to order one of their four special sauces as well. They recommend for you to eat your ramen, then halfway through, mix your sauce with your food to induce a fresh flavour.

Their 'House Special' XO sauce

As usual, my boyfriend and I would exchange bits and pieces of our food to try different flavours, which would explain why I purposely ordered different noodles than my boyfriend did. I could've taken a picture of his dish, but he is always impatient when it comes to food (even more so ramen), so I didn't want to burden him by making him wait. He did enjoy the sauce I ordered versus his garlic flavoured one though.

Everytime we go to a ramen place, he would always order gyozas. Out of all the places we've gone to so far, this place had the least saltiest one, which is a good thing for the health-conscious folks :)

I would say this was a successful night of food adventuring/ramen eating/trying a different place.

Until next time :)