Ramen Izakaya is located at 8391 Alexandra Rd., the Rodeo Drive of food in Richmond if you will, all the great diners, restaurants and cafes are located on that tiny strip. I honestly didn't know what to expect of this place except what Michael has told me.
I loved the interior of the restaurant, it really did look like the ramen restaurants I have been to in Tokyo. It was loads of fun walking through the restaurant to our table, you can just feel the authenticity come through from the environment and the staff.
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| A whole row of condiments to choose from at each table |
Ramen Izakaya creates everything from scratch, especially the pork bone soup, which is boiled for hours before serving. When we sat down at our table I loved that there was a guide to how to eat ramen, and there were the exact condiments that we can put in to our bowls to accommodate with our noodles. My mom loves ramen with fatty pork with soup, so I know good ramen when I see it. This one was fabulous.
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| Fried chicken with garlic sauce and salad |
I had a crave for chicken so Michael decided to order one of their specials, the fried chicken with garlic sauce and salad ($6). The chicken was like summer on a plate, it tasted citrusy with a touch of garlic, just enough not to overpower the chicken's flavour. The chicken was fried and you might think fried chicken is oily and greasy but this was far from that. It was very light and the salad was very refreshing just like summer should be. Michael thought it had a bit too much of the garlic sauce on it, which took a bit of the crunch out of the fried chicken, but he thought the flavour was perfect.
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| Takoyaki |
Michael ordered the Takoyaki (four pieces for $3.75) and it was so delicious I'd have to say it was best I've ever had. The exterior was lightly crisped and the inside just oozed out with squid. The sauce was so good it had tang and gave the takoyaki a little zing. In hindsight, Michael wishes he ordered the larger portion with eight pieces.
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| Tonkotsu Ae Soba |
For entrees I had the Tonkotsu Ae Soba ($8.75), ramen cooked in their signature pork soup and then drained. What caught my attention was not only because it was soupless but it was also the staff favourite. Sold! When my noodles arrived, I found out it wasn't technically soupless there was some soup on the bottom but it didn't bother me. Of course I was keen on following the how to eat ramen 101.
First I didn't allow it to cool down. Second I tasted the ramen without any of the condiments. Third was to add whatever condiment you wanted, for me that was a hint of garlic and the special vinegar and soy for ramen and goyza. I loved that I got to add the condiments in to the noodles because I have never tried that before. It's definitely not packaged noodles. Along with the noodles was a half a boiled egg with the yolk oozing out. My one problem with my bowl was that there was bean sprouts with the noodles. I thought they gave a nice crunch but there was a little earthy taste for me that I thought it didn't go well with the noodles and broth. That's just my own judgment though.
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| Tonkotsu Miso Ramen |
Michael had the Tonkotsu Miso Ramen ($8.95), a full bowl of pork broth with lots of miso added to cover a bed of ramen noodles. His dish didn't come with as many toppings as mine but there was a decent serving of pork slices in the bowl, chopped green onions, bean sprouts and a thick slice of seaweed included. Anything involving miso soup usually gets Michael sitting up so it wasn't that surprising that he wolfed down his noodles and started drinking the soup, too.
I actually can't wait to return to this ramen place, there are so many other things I can't wait to try on the menu. Everything must be delicious!
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