Hakata Shoryuken Ramen

Hakata Shoryuken Ramen (5321 Yonge Street, North York)
(416) 733-3725

So, the last time I visited this ramen place was a long time ago.

Changes to note:
The prices on their website are about a dollar less than what they actually are (noted today).
The portion size seems much larger than the last time I was here, and if you're not full, you can get more noodles for $2 to be added into your leftover ramen soup.
There is an option of wavy noodles or straight noodles.
It is way, way, way busier now.
They are now open on Mondays.
The $13 lunch special (ramen plus don) is now from Monday to Friday.
There are more menu items now (including tako wasabi).

A little E. Honda. 

Chashu Lover

Seven pieces of melt-in-your-mouth chashu. Really, it is the highlight for me. The soup base is flavourful and very rich. The ramen is filling. The one guy running the room is super efficient. He set us up with menus and water real quick.

Would I return? Yeah, love that chashu. Though you have to wait a little bit for the ramen (there's two guys in the back making it, and only one server), it's good. Not the cheapest, but pretty tasty. Also, Street Fighter. 

Snacks from Japan!

Udon by Lan

It's so fancy; look at all the extra stuff (other than noodles) it has!! So much cutting involved.

Lan came back from Japan with loot bags of stuff, including my very favourite snack in the world: msg crackers.

There was an orange package, and a red one, but I ate them at different times, so I'm not sure if they were different flavours or not. Crispy, puffy, and full of umami, of course, I ate these very quickly.

Also in the package was Japanese variety KitKats. 

Dark was nice. Slightly bitter, but it's what I like.

Not pictured are all the other snacks she brought back and were shared with us. The mochi balls were soft and awesome. 

Cheers to Lan for the imports! 

Green Tea KitKat

Received this import from Japan

It has the KitKat crunch, but it the sweetness is cut with bitterness from the green tea taste. It's a sweet snack for those who don't prefer sweets. :) 

Cheers to Phoebe for this import! 

Kaki no tane

Back a very long while ago, I was talking to Onesan about these Japanese MSG crackers that I love to eat. I lamented about the peanuts that got in the way, and was only aware of one brand available in Canada that didn't have the peanuts. At the time, that brand could only be found in wasabi flavour. So she got this shipped from Japan:

Kaki no tane. Kaki is the snack (or means bird seed or something like that), and tane is peanuts. So kaki no tane is my jam, so to speak. They were MSG delicious! Major thanks to Onesan for this import. 

Sho Ryu Ken

Hakata Ramen Sho Ryu Ken (5321 Yonge Street)

(416) 733-3725

A new ramen place opened up on Yonge Street, and the first thing Jo noticed is that it is named after the uppercut move in Street Fighter. This was confirmed as we peered in from the windows; three paintings of Street Fighter characters in shadowy art style were hanging from the wall. On closer inspection, they are all holding ramen bowls. 

Chun-Li!

Hakata Tonkatsu ramen ($9.80) with egg ($1.50)

I wasn't too crazy about the price, as this seems more expensive than the average ramen place  (I think Ajisen runs from about $8-11). But it is slightly cheaper than Kinton (slightly further down on Yonge Street). The egg texture was awesome. The white part had this soft, silky tofu texture, and the yolk was creamy. It was perfectly soft-boiled; however, it was cold. After leaving it in the soup to heat up for a while, it tasted fine. The meat was great. It was fatty, but the fat in the chashu melted in my mouth. I don't usually like fatty meat, but it was kind of delicious. The noodles were thinner than what I'm used to, but they were bouncy and cooked to my liking. The soup base was okay, but it could've been more meaty flavoured. The amount of noodles seemed a bit scanty for the price, but it filled me up enough for a meal.

I think takoyaki was greened out of the menu.

There are four choices of ramen: Hakata tonkotsu, black tonkotsu, red hot tonkotsu, and chashu lover. They are all basically tonkotsu or variations of tonkotsu.

Would I return? Sure. Service was super prompt (which was way more than we could say for our recent experience at Mabu Station). We were greeted, seated, and given glasses of water almost immediately. I really liked the way the protein was cooked in my meal. I am very amused by the restaurant's name and decor. My only beef with the place is that it is on the more expensive side of ramen, and the soup base could use more flavour if that's the main base for all their ramen dishes. 

Ema-Tei

Ema-Tei (30 St. Patrick Street, Toronto)

(416) 340-0472

Bianca and I had been going through random food site lists for izakayas downtown. The first one we went to seemed more of a sushi joint than it did an izakaya. So we walked all the way back to our old stomping ground on St. Patrick to try out a restaurant I remember seeing in the area. 

It looks legit enough.

Yam tempura. It was decent. I would've preferred more crispiness, but perhaps we let it sit for too long before digging in. I did appreciate the fact that we were given individual tempura sauce bowls. No germ-sharing for the win!

That's so Asian!

Kimchi soup thing and black cod.

I really enjoyed the soup thing. The kimchi taste was more subtle than I had expected. The bowl had a lot of stuff in it. The piece of black cod seemed larger than what I've been given at other izakayas. It was also delicious, as black cod usually is. 

I would've had more food pictures, but I got hungry and forgot to take them.

Would I return? Yes. I enjoyed the food. The prices are comparable to most other izakayas in Toronto. 

Total damage: $52-something for the both of us. There was kimchi soup thing, a beer, yam tempura, black cod, tako wasabi, and something else that I'm forgetting...

Kinton Ramen

Kinton Ramen (51 Baldwin Street, Toronto)

Hours: Mon - Sun: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

647-748-8900

This place is pretty tiny and I've heard that it's always packed. We got there around 1 p.m. on a weekday, and the wait for our party of four was about 20 minutes. They don't take reservations. We ended up at a table in the back, sharing it with other customers.

Spicy garlic ramen with pork belly ($9.80)

There's a choice of pork belly or pork shoulder with each of their noodles. The slab of meat I got seemed dry at first bite, but it seemed okay afterwards... possibly because it soaked up the broth? I'm not sure. There was also the option of light, regular, or rich broth. I got the rich one because I enjoy intense flavour. The broth was good. It wasn't very spicy, but that small mound of garlic certainly delivered. The noodles were good consistency, and they had that bit of bounce that I like.

Bianca and Amanda each got a cheese ramen ($10.80).

It seemed very cheesy, but they noted that the cheese melted into large clumps that were a bit difficult to eat. 

Would I return? Yeah... when I have a lot of time... and don't want to talk to the people I'm with. There's all sorts of noise coming from the staff, similar to what you'd hear in Guu - you know, cheering, greeting, and the like. The environment makes it hard to hear anything else. The wait makes it hard for it to be a quick lunch. I liked what I ate, though. It should also be noted that they don't have air conditioning, but there are fans all over the restaurant. Oh, and their sawaa drinks are priced similarly to the bottled beers. Fair enough.

Niwatei

Niwatei (3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario)
905-513-6492
info@niwatei.com

Pork ramen ($8.80)

I've been craving ramen for so long now. SO LONG! Anyway, this definitely satisfied my craving. Doesn't come with much meat, but the noodles are bouncy and fun, and the broth was so turbid with flavour. I also really like how they don't overboil their eggs. I was pretty full by the end of it, but Lorne was still hungry after eating his bowl of ramen. 

Deep-fried chicken ($6)

The chicken wasn't super crispy, but the meat was nice and moist. They appeared to use dark meat for it. Lorne said that it wasn't great, but I liked that the meat wasn't dried out. Could have been crispier though. 

Would I return? Yes. They have good ramen noodles. The menu isn't super extensive, but it is a ramen joint and that's their focus. I also really enjoy their random racoon cartoons on their menus. So random and so cute!

Total damage: approximately $15 for my noodles and half of the chicken.

Izakaya Ju

Izakaya Ju (3-3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario)
905-474-1058

In J-town, there's a small izakaya that's unlike any that I've been to. It feels more like a small restaurant, and maybe that's because the set-up is almost the same as the adjacent ramen noodle place. In fact, they share washrooms, and I almost walked back into the wrong establishment.

I didn't have much to eat (I actually only had a drink), but Mel's dumpling stuffed chicken wings looked interesting. They deboned a part of the wing, and stuffed it with dumpling filling.

Would I return? Sure. There's a chalkboard full of menu items on the wall, and I remember some of them being interesting. Plus, the plum wine sawa I got wasn't bad. The only thing is that it closes kind of early for an izakaya. I think it was either 10 or 11 p.m... might have been a Thursday or Friday night. I don't know; I like to drink into the night. They have wifi, but Jo couldn't connect to it, even after getting the password.

Total damage: $10 for my plum wine sawa.

Manpuku

Manpuku (105 McCaul Street, Toronto)

416-979-6763

info@manpuku.ca

Hours: 

Mon - Wed 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Thurs - Fri 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sat 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Weird. I thought I posted about Manpuku before, but I guess not. 

Hidden away in a corner of the Village by the Grange food court, there's a small Japanese restaurant with actual Japanese-speaking staff. This place isn't all about sushi or teriyaki. Instead, you might find more commonplace Japanese cuisine, including a succinct selection of rice and noodle dishes.

I wanted Asahi black at the time, but they didn't have any so I tried some Takara Can Chu-Hi grapefruit flavoured. It tasted like grapefruit cooler. Yum!

It wasn't cheap though at about $8.

Takoyaki ($4.99)

They make it fresh so it takes a little while. I wasn't crazy about it as the batter seemed a little thick,  the octopus bits a little small, and it didn't have a crunchy outside.

Cake ($3.99)!

It was a simple cake, drizzled in honey with green tea powder sprinkled on top. Dana asked if the green tea powder was what made it Asian, and we haven't stopped making fun of her since.

Black sesame ice cream

Would I return?
I already have a few times. They have reasonable prices for food, and most of the food is full of umami.

Thanks to Derek and Bianca for supplying most of the pics!

Tsuki Izakaya

Izakaya Tsuki (5182 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-229-6719

In no particular order, here are the pics:

Black sesame ice cream.

Decorated with cereal and chocolate chips. Mel and Jo found the cereal unnecessary as the supposedly crunchy bits got soggy. I didn't mind them, and I liked the chocolate chips. Mel said she's had better black sesame ice cream. Somehow, Jo ended up with the piece of green "choy" in her spoon and bit into it.

Complimentary tofu.

Grilled black cod. It is my favourite fish because it is so fatty and melts in your mouth.

Squid. 

Tuna tataki.

Orange sawa.

Jo liked that the orange was self-squeeze. She thought it looked fun. I'd have much rather they squeezed it in for me. Though, I guess this proves that there's fresh fruit juice in it. The added orange was sort of bonus since the drink was already citrus-flavoured. It was tasty, but it could've used more alcohol percentage.

This is the soup that Jo recommended. It was bursting with flavour and full of stuff. I think this was my favourite of the night.

Would I return? Sure. Their stuff isn't bad, and if you know what to order, it can be a good experience. 

Total damage: $60-something + tax + tip for the three of us.

All pictures courtesy of Professor Crunchy.

Tsuki Izakaya

Izakaya Tsuki (5182 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-229-6719

Complimentary tofu.

 Pitcher of Sapporo

Sapporo is a really nice-tasting beer. It goes down very easy.

Cassis orange.

It's very sweet, and quite nice.

Deep-fried chicken.

This was alright. Not the crispiest of deep-fried things that I've had.

Takoyaki

They were a little more exciting last time I was here, but they were still passable.

Grilled black cod yuan yaki.

Again, it was a small piece of fish, but it was super soft. It makes for some pretty awesome tasting fish.

This was on the specials menu that hasn't changed since the last time I was here:

There are deep-fried chunks of garlic on those skewers.

Straw bbq hamachi

The fish had an intense smoky flavour to it. The waitress explained that you are meant to eat it with the onions, garlic, salt and wasabi. Though, I think the fish itself was already supercharged with taste.

Compliments of the chef.

I really liked this. It was tomato wrapped with fish and sauce. The sauce tasted cream cheesy, and the overall product was pretty spicy.

Deep-fried eel.

The eel was somewhat fatty and soft. I liked the texture, but Sina was annoyed with the bones in it.

Cassis grapefruit.

It's not bad, but it's got nothing on the Cassis orange.

Would I return? Yes. There are certain items that they seem to do quite well (black cod), and I've yet to try some of their other menu options. Their alcohol list isn't extensive, but it's enough for me. The staff is courteous and pleasant.

Total damage: partially (a big majority) sponsored by Andrea. Thanks!