Raijin Ramen (Burnaby)

At one point, the ramen game in and around Metrotown was pretty weak.  All we had was Kawawa and that's all that needed to be said about that.  In came Kamamarui and things improved considerably by that one addition.  Open the floodgates as now we have Jinya, Yaguchiya, Tokyo Tonkotsu and Raijin.  With Viv overworking herself again, I decided to take the kids to check out Raijin.  Located just around the corner from Kamamarui, Raijin is part of the Zakkushi Group and offers up both chicken and pork broths.

For myself, I decided to try their Hokkaido Miso Ramen sporting light miso chicken broth, veggies, corn, chashu and a pat of butter on top.  The broth was indeed light tasting, but still creamy from the melted butter.  It was fairly aromatic, but not overly impactful.  Noodles were on point being chewy and although the chashu was on the leaner side, it was tender and moist.  My son went for the Tokyo Shoyu Ramen with a lean chicken broth.  This was definitely less robust than my miso butter broth, yet still had a meaty essence.  Salt content was moderate while the chashu was fattier, hence more silky in texture.  Unfortunately, the egg we added to the order was a fail being almost completely cooked.

My daughter decided on the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen with a pork soup base featuring bonito, seaweed, shiitake and shrimp.  I can't say that the ingredients were super evident after trying the broth, but it was indeed full of umami.  The black garlic oil on top merely amped up the already rich umaminess.  Once again, the noodles were chewy and remained so throughout while the crunch of wood ear mushrooms was welcomed.  On the side, she had the Gyoza (she didn't finish it, she was just greedy...).  As evidenced in the picture, the sear on the bottom was fairly weak and uneven (some were seared more).  As such, the crispiness was just lacking.  However, the tender and thin dumpling skin was good.  Inside, the filling was balanced and juicy.

For my son, he wanted a side of Chicken Karaage, so I obliged.  Somehow I think I spoil my kids...  There was no Viv to say no this time!  LOL...  Well, it was a good call as the chicken was juicy and nicely seasoned.  The thin coating on the outside was lightly crispy and not greasy.  We liked how the pieces were just the right size where it retained a tender texture while not being too big to pick up with chopsticks.  Overall, we thought the ramen and sides at Raijin were above-average but at the same time, didn't stand out.  But for Burnaby, I guess they will have a steady stream of customers.

The Good:
- On point noodles and chashu
- Okay pricing
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Broth is okay, but doesn't stand out