Afuri Kara Kurenai Downtown Portland

There are certain restaurants that have so many locations in the world, you won't have a problem finding an outpost in a major city.  We all know that Greater Vancouver (the one in BC) has 2 locations of Afuri Ramen, one in Richmond and one in Vancouver proper.  I've had differing experiences with the Vancouver one being better in my opinion.  Now, I got the chance to compare with the one of the locations in Portland (the spicy Afuri Kara Kurenai), right next to the original Voodoo Donuts (yes, we did get some of those too, although Bluestar is better!).

Just like the last time I was in the Vancouver location, we tried the Buta Gyoza.  These dumplings were prepared textbook-style with a crispy and browned bottom.  As you can see in the picture, there was a uniformly crispy skirt which was nutty and aromatic.  The dumpling skin itself was thin and had bouncy elasticity.  Inside, the pork and leek filling was tender and juicy.  It was also nicely seasoned being sweet and savoury.

Before we got to the ramen, we had 2 rice bowls including the Purutoro Chashu Meshi and the Spicy Karaage Don.  For the chashu don, it was a collection of components that created a flavor explosion.  Beyond the buttery tender pork belly, we found the crunch and tang from the pickled veg and the brightness of the green onions.  This was further enhanced by the addition of tangy yuzu and umaminess from the nori.  As for the chicken karaage, it was plentiful with a crunchy exterior and juicy meat.  The spicy mayo and chili sauce was medium in heat and added plenty of flavoring for the rice.  Add in the pickled ginger, nori and green onions and we had some of tang, brightness and umami to complete dish.

Onto the ramen, a visit to Afuri wouldn't be complete without ordering their signature Yuzu Shiro Shoyu Ramen.  If you've read my previous posts about this bowl of ramen, you know it isn't my personal favorite.  But after all these times, it has started to grow on me.  This time around, the chicken broth was super light and fragrant with the brightness of yuzu.  Was it any different than before?  Probably not, but for those who don't want a heavy tonkotsu broth, this is the way to go.  The thin noodles had a good chewiness and elasticity even while sitting in the hot broth.  There was some super moist sous-vide chicken breast chashu as well as a perfect custardy egg.

Moving from light and mild, we went to the Yuzu Kara Kurenai Ramen in also a chicken broth, but with the addition of yuzu spiced miso, chili powder and spicy menma.  We weren't in the mood to have our tastebuds being scorched, so we went for medium hot for this.  That was actually perfect as the spice level was noticeable, but at the same time, we could taste the richness of the miso and even some background brightness from the yuzu.

Now my favorite bowl here at Afuri is hands-down, the vegan Hazelnut Tantanmen.  Yes, that is not a misprint.  Despite being vegan, this bowl of noodles has all the texture and flavors to make up for the lack of meat products.  Beyond the chewy thicker noodles, the spicy miso tare added salty and sweet depth.  Tying it altogether was the hazelnut broth that gave each strand of noodle a delicious nutty and aromatic hug.  But wait, there was more!  The miso cashews only amped the nuttiness and umaminess of the dish and let's not forget the spice too as it also had some kick.  This was not lacking in impact.

We had one last bowl of noodles and this was the Kara Kurenai Tsukemen.  Also known as "dipping noodles" this dry ramen came with a spicy shoyu tsuyu.  As you can see in the picture, this sauce meant business.  We chose medium hot again, but this time, due to the concentrated nature of the dip and the amount coating each noodle, there was some real tongue-numbing instances.  This had most of the same components as the soup version except with thick noodles for dipping.

At Afuri, they also have a selection of Cocktails and we tried Yuzu Limeade, Ube Colada, Housemade Ginger Ale and Mai Thai on Fire.  Naturally, I gravitated to the non-alcoholic and refreshing drinks more.  They did a good job in cooling down my mouth from the spiciness.  I did enjoy the Ube Colada.  It was light and sweet from the pineapple juice. The Mai Thai on Fire was exactly that with serrano pepper infused rum.  It also had some orange liqueur and lime juice for balance.  Overall, this experience at Afuri was quite good.  In addition to some of their classics, they spiced it up figuratively and literally.  If you want so heat in your ramen and drinks, this is the place to be.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- If you want it spicy, it can be really spicy

- Spacious room

- Solid eats

The Bad:

- Seating is quite communal, so if that isn't your thing...

Toya Ramen & Bar

Finally breaking out of the streak of Thai restaurants in Portland, we moved onto a different Asian cuisine with Toya Ramen & Bar.  This modern noodle bar is Japanese-inspired, which is key to the overall understanding of the menu.  They take food in all sorts of creative directions and although they have some of the classics available, there are re-imagined plates as well.  We were excited to try some of their creations as well as taking in the energetic vibe and cocktails.

We began with some small plates including the fantastic Miso Eggplant.  This was full of umaminess with smoky and sweet notes.  There was a slight tang to it that made things appetizing.  Although the eggplant was tender, it was not mushy.  The crunch from the bubu arare added the necessary texture.  We also had the 5pc Hawaiian Kanpachi that was dressing in ponzu jelly, jalapeno and sansho oil.  The buttery pieces of fish were fresh and bright. There was some balanced saltiness with herbal notes and sweetness.  Burdock and seaweed on top came through with crispiness.

We then had the Crispy Gau Gee (or deep fried dumplings).  Although one would think this shape of dumpling and its preparation was only beneficial in saving time and effort, the results were actually quite good.  The outer wrapper was crispy and fairly light without being greasy.  The star of the show was the pork & cabbage filling.  It was moist and tender with some juiciness.  The seasoning was on point with equal parts sweetness and saltiness.

Before we got to the noodles, we tried their Lan-Roc Farms Tonkatsu featuring a panko fried duroc pork cutlet, cabbage, toya "57" sauce and takuan.  Fully-cooked through, but still juicy and tender, the pork cutlet was coated in a crispy layer of panko.  It was quite good on its own but the sauce on the side some tangy spice.  Loved the pickles (takuan) on the side as well as the sesame seed slaw.  It was rather aromatic and provided some relief from the fried panko.

Starting with something more traditional, we had the Shoyu Black.  This looked the part and also tasted the part with a silky chicken broth that wasn't too heavy, but not short on umaminess either.  Naturally, the black garlic oil did some of the heavy lifting with sweetness and almost smokiness.  The ajitama egg yolk was custardy while the egg white was delicate.  Torched and buttery, the pork chashu melted in my mouth.  Noodles were al dente as well.

From here, we moved onto something fusion with the Spicy Tom Yum Men.  Yep, we really didn't get away from Thai food with this meal.  Not complaining as I love Tom Yum!  For this bowl of noodles, the soup base was a clear chicken broth infused with tom yum.  I found it medium-flavored and spiced.  I definitely could've done spicier, but they provided some extra spice on the side.  The lemongrass component really came through being aromatic and gingery.  Noodles were firmly al dente and held up to the soup.  The sous vide chicken breast was supremely tender and juicy while the pork was equally tender.

We had an off-menu item in the Duck Ramen.  We are always game for some duck broth and this one delivered with a mild silkiness giving way to natural duck aroma. Unlike some versions, the duck broth was not salty.  Rather, it featured inherent umaminess and background fall flavors.  The sous-vide duck was perfectly tender as well as the sous-vide chicken.  For this bowl, we found thin ramen that worked beautifully with the duck and the broth.

They also have a selection of soupless ramen and we had a couple including the OG Abura Soba.  If you've ever had Kokoro Mazesoba before (lots of international locations), you would know exactly what this bowl is about.  With chewy noodles topped with shoyu tare, allium oil, onsen egg, pork chashu, green onion, nori and menma, there was more than enough components to ensure umaminess with a peppery and savory flavor profile.

The other soupless ramen we tried was the Caronaramen with onsen egg, chicken butter, speck, black pepper, parm and pecorino.  Yes, this did eat like an actual carbonara except with ramen noodles.  The noodles were firmly chewy and when mixed with the egg, resulted in a creamy and silky coating spiked with the saltiness of the speck and cheesiness of the parm pecorino.  Add in the black pepper, and we had a slight bite as well.

We had 3 desserts including the Hojicha Gelato, Black Sesame Cheesecake and Panna Cotta.  Of the 3, my favourite was the was the cheesecake as it was rich and creamy with a sweet nuttiness.  As for the panna cotta, it was thick and had real umami with the combination of salty miso, peanut butter and chocolate.  Lots of sweet and salty here with the rich taste of chocolate.  I really enjoyed the taste of the gelato as it was nutty and sweet.  I wished it was creamier though.  Overall, the food at Toya was delicious and the fusion aspect worked well in my opinion.  Great place to grab drinks, meet with friends and have some eats.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 The Good:
- Solid eats
- Good cocktails
- Nice vibe

The Bad:
- I would've liked the Tom Yum to be spicier, but you can get extra on the side (also understand that that you can add flavor but can't take it away)  

Ramen One

Have you ever dined alone?  I'm sure there were times that you had to grab a quick lunch or you just needed food and no one was available to join you.  Maybe you just wanted peace & quiet and couldn't be bothered with company.  Hey, it is possible we just want to be anti-social.  So we could go to any restaurant and dine alone really, but how about a place that is designed for the solo diner in mind?  Imagine individual cubbies where you have dividers separating you from the people next to you and also your own water dispenser, condiments and serving window?  Talk about keeping everything to yourself!

That is the concept at Ramen One on Broadway where you do not have to be bothered by anyone except for the person who takes your order.  Maybe they should have an iPad available so you can just pick what you want...  So as mentioned, you have your own water station and all the condiments to make you happy like sesame seeds, soy and seasoning powders.  Oh and that little curtain?  That is where the food comes out from.  They do a quick knock on the wall and the food slides out.  Get your camera ready!

You can order bowls a la carte, but they are also available as combos with this particular one being the Shoyu Ramen with chashu, bamboo shoots, woodear mushroom, nori and green onions.  We got a Tako Wasabi on the side as well as a Sake Egg.  I thought the broth was clean and balanced in terms of flavour.  It was on the milder side and firm noodles had a good chew.  The thinly-sliced chashu was beautifully seared and was easily eaten.  On the side, the Tako Wasabi had a combo of sweetness, tanginess and the unmistakable hit of wasabi.  The Sake Egg was served on the side due to it being cold and should be eaten cold.  It was similar to other ramen eggs, except the sweet taste of mirin was amped by a hit of sharpness.

The next 2 choices were somewhat similar in the Soy Milk & Dashi and the Soy Milk, Chicken and Spring Onion Oil.  Due to the use of soy milk, I found the broth to be rather thick and creamy.  I didn't get much in the way of soy aftertaste, which was a good thing.  I did notice that when the noodles soaked up the broth, things got a bit goopy.  Better to eat this immediately.  The latter had a noticeable sweetness due to the chicken and also brightness from the oil.

Moving away from soup, we had the Dry Noodles with Chashu as well as the Chashu Rice.  Of course these had the exact flavour profile, but due to the difference in carb, they ate very differently.  I found the noodles to be my personal favourite.  The noodles were al dente and appealingly chewy.  A touch salty, but necessary, the chashu was fatty and tender.  As for the rice, it was more mild-tasting as the plain rice needed the pork to give it impact.  Maybe a bit too much green onion for my liking.  The eggs were good though being custardy in the middle and well-seasoned.

So on the side of the other combos, we had 3 flavours of Onigiri including shiso, pork floss and shredded chasu.  Serving it without the nori encasing the warm rice allowed it to remain crisp.  I found the rice to be slightly dry, but still fine.  I thought the chashu to be the most flavourful and moist due to the amount of flavoured meat.  One of the drink options that I thought was interesting was the cold brew Cream of Earl Grey.  They provide a strainer so that you do not get any loose tea leaves in your drink.  Pretty good and refreshing.

For dessert, we were served a Buttermilk Ice Cream Cone as well as Castella Cheese Tart.  Really enjoyed the ice cream as it had Hokkaido milk vibes.  It was creamy, but not too heavy and purposefully sweet. It was aromatic as well.  If you have ever tried a Castella cheese tart, you will know what I'm talking about when I say they are delicious.  It was served warm and was custardy.  The cheese really came through and again, it was only sweet enough.  The tart shell was firm and had a nice texture.  Overall, the concept here at Ramen One is neat and serves a purpose.  The ramen is quite good but you really do have to eat it right away as the noodles start to absorb the broth quickly.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Concept seems novel but it does serve a purpose
- Decent eats
- Love the Castella desserts

The Bad:
- Need to eat right away as the noodles get soft quickly

Kintaro Ramen

Our last meal in Paris was actually not Kintaro Ramen.  In actuality, it was McDonald's but I'm not going to blog about that.  But the second-to-last meal was a quick Japanese ramen before we visited the Louvre in the evening.  Again, this was not our first choice, as we had another ramen spot in mind, but they were open.  The positive about walking to Kintaro was that we could take in the sights and sounds of the 2nd arrondissement.

Looking over the menu, there wasn't a whole lot of choice when it came to starters, so we went for the ol' standby being the Chicken Karaage.  This was surely crispy due to the aggressive deep-fry.  However, that also meant that the chicken wasn't as juicy as we would've liked.  It wasn't dry per se, but it was lacking moisture.  In terms of flavour, it was okay, but it could've used a bit more saltiness.  The squeeze of lemon helped.

Onto the ramen, I decided to have the standard being the Shoyu with chashu, nori and bamboo shoots.  With all of the ramen we've had, the best way to describe this was - serviceable.  The broth was extremely light and although it had enough soy flavour to keep things from being bland, there was no depth.  As for the noodles, they were nicely chewy and the chashu was fairly tender and balanced with meat-to-fat ratio.

Viv ended up with the Tori Ramen with a chicken soup base and served with chicken and a ramen egg.  Due to the fatty broth, this had much more body and overall flavour.  It wasn't as clean as the shoyu broth, yet we were much more happy with the natural sweetness and chicken essence.  As for the meat, it was tender while the egg featured a custardy yolk but was rather mild-tasting.

My daughter had her favourite in the Miso Ramen.  Now this was much more impactful than the shoyu.  Naturally, with the addition of miso, we got the fermented saltiness that gave the broth some depth-of-flavour.  With that being said, it wasn't an umami bomb, but was much tastier.  There was also more fat in the broth which gave it some aromatics.

So my son went big with the Chashu Ramen which was essentially the shoyu ramen, except with double the chashu.  Great for those who are a bit more hungry.  Seeing how the chashu was sliced thin and tender, this was a good call.  Broth was still the weakest of the bunch we had.  With that being said, this was a decent meal that was reasonably-priced.  Naturally, I've had better ramen, yet this served a purpose and did the job.

The Good:
- Decent service
- Serviceable eats
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Broth on the lighter side

 

Matsunoki Ramen

While we were dining at Buranko Cafe the day before, I noticed that Pine Street Market was right across the street.  You see, we were scheduled to check out Matsunoki Ramen, which is located right in the market.  The place has only been in operation for less than a year, but the people behind it are no rookies.  They have countless years of experience in producing delicious and authentic ramen.  We were excited to try the place out and really loved the vibes of the market at this counter-service food stall.

Before we got to the ramen, we began with an array of appies including the Fried Shishito Peppers with chili mayo and the Popcorn Tofu with spicy soy-sesame sauce.  These were yummy little bites with the shishito being fairly mild except for a few outliers.  The chili mayo was a good compliment, but since the peppers were salted already, they ate well on their own.  The little fried cubes of tofu were pretty crispy and mildly-flavoured.  It definitely needed the soy sauce on the side.  Nice balance with the sauce.

As much as Matsunoki serves ramen, they also feature fried chicken on the menu.  We had their Jumbo Tenders marinated in soy, ginger and spices.  As such, the tenders had plenty of impact.  They were fried until crispy (as the menu suggested) and served with a side of curry dip.  Despite the appearance of an aggressive deep fry, the chicken tenders were actually quite moist and almost juicy.  The ginger really came through.

Onto the ramen, my son went for his usual in the Black Garlic Shoyu with fresh garlic, black garlic oil, garlic crunch, ramen egg and pork belly chashu.  This was legit with a rich broth that wasn't too heavy, but still had plenty of umaminess and aroma.  Lots of meatiness with the triple garlic making an impact where we had texture, fermented essence and the sharpness of the fresh garlic.  The thin noodles were al dente while the chashu was buttery soft and nicely torched.

My daughter had something from their Winter Special Menu in the Hokkaido Butter Ramen with a tonkotsu shoyu, black pepper, butter, diced chashu, ramen egg, corn, green onion, bean sprouts and sesame.  As expected, the broth was buttery with the nutty fattiness of the butter coming through.  It was not heavy, yet still full-of-depth with a certain silkiness.  Nice addition of some black pepper to offer a background bite.  This one had the thick noodles and there was a much more firm texture.

Viv had the Spicy Garlic Ramen with triple garlic, ma-po tofu, green onions, ramen egg and pork belly chashu.  Yah, they weren't kidding when they said "all the fire".  This had a real kick, but at the same time, wasn't painful to eat.  We could still discern the garlic from the spicy broth.  Loved the addition of the tofu as it added a silky texture while offering up another layer of spice.  This came with thin noodles and personally, I would've chosen thick instead to stand up to the intensity of the broth.

For myself, I went really off-the-board with the Vegan Tokyo Shoyu with corn, collard greens, green onion, sprouts and marinated tofu.  You know what?  This was good!  It is true that this was the lightest of the 4 bowls of ramen, but it had a clean broth that had umaminess, sweetness and surprising depth.  The thick noodles were chewy and appealing while the seared tofu did its best "meat" interpretation with a firm texture.  Overall, the food at Matsunoki Ramen was delicious and reasonably-priced.  Appies were good, but the real stars were the bowls of ramen.  Can't go wrong with any of the ones we had.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Discernible differences with each bowl of ramen
- Impactful flavors
- Things are prepared properly

The Bad:
- Being in a market, seating can be hard to find during busy times

Kokoro Mazesoba (Ironwood)

Okay, I've been to Kokoro Mazesoba on a few occasions, starting with their Downtown location.  Then I made it out to their Burnaby spot afterwards.  For those who don't know, they specialize in mixed noodles with a variety of toppings.  There is no soup with this and once you are finished, you can get a bowl of rice to soak up the remaining sauce and ingredients.  Jackie and I visited the new Ironwood location in Richmond recently and we did a good overview of the menu.

To begin, let me talk about their drinks first.  We had the Blue Hawaii Lemonade, Strawberry Iced Latte, Kokoro Grape Refresher and Japanese Crown Melon Milk.  These were all non-alcoholic and fruity.  I found the lemonade and refresher to be the refreshing as it helped us eat more food.  The strawberry iced latte was sweet and milky while the crown melon was also milky and mildly sweet.  It was the most aromatic of the bunch.

So with the appies, we got them all including the 10 pc Pork Gyoza and Takoyaki.  Served in the cast iron pan it was prepared in (maybe not this particular one because it is upside down), the gyoza were nicely seared with a crispy skirt.  Dumpling wrapper was fairly thin and had good elasticity.  Inside, the pork filling was juicy and tender.  As for the takoyaki, it was pretty typical with a slightly crispy exterior giving way to a soft interior with bits of chewy octopus.

We also got the Ebi Mayo as well as the Karaage Bao.  I enjoyed their ebi mayo as the shrimp were quite large and prepared properly.  They were lightly battered and fried until crispy.  The shrimp were meaty and not overdone either.  The best part was that the coating of sweet mayo was not overdone, so enough for flavour and moisture without a gross amount.  So the steamed bun was filled with 2 large pieces of crispy chicken karaage.  The meat was juicy and seasoned but the spicy glaze and chili mayo added some more impact.

On the topic of karaage, we got both the Spicy Chicken Karaage and the Chicken Karaage.  Well, the spicy karaage was coated with far more glaze than the one found in the bao, so it was much spicier and of course saucier.  Chicken was the same as expected.  For the regular chicken karaage, the batter was predictably more crispy due to the lack of sauce on the outside.  The chicken was still juicy, but less flavourful.  However the side of chili mayo did help with things.

Getting to their specialty, we did a comprehensive overview starting with one of their basic bowls in the Shio.  This featured their made-fresh daily multi-grain soba topped with slow-braised pork chashu, bamboo shoots, nori, spinach, minced garlic, ground saba, green onion and sesame.  Due to the amount of green onion, that was the dominant texture and flavour.  Hence, the bowl was green-tasting and "fresh".  The noodles were chewy while the pork was super soft and tender.  Amping up things, the Zenbu consisted of the same ingredients except adding minced pork & beef, egg yolk, half soft-boiled egg, chives and nori sheets.  This was much more fulfilling in terms of meatiness and silkiness.  The minced meat and egg yolk coated the noodles creating both texture and flavour.    For me, this is my personal favourite whenever I dine at Kokoro Mazesoba.

Onto two very different bowls from the previous ones, we had the Carbonara and the Mentaiko Cream.  With the carbonara, I personally do not think the red onion is necessary (and you can omit this if you want) because it is so strong that it overwhelms the delicate flavours.  So with me picking out the onion, the carbonara was quite tasty.  Creamy and cheesy while having chewy noodles and the tender chashu.  As for the mentaiko, it was similar to the shio except with the addition of fish eggs and egg yolk.  This of course made this silky and briny.

Next we moved onto the Salmon Mazesoba and the Chicken Karaage Rice Bowl.  So for the salmon, it was same components found in the shio except with the addition of bite-sized raw Atlantic salmon and an egg yolk.  As you can imagine, this was a very subtle-tasting bowl with the umaminess of the ground fish and nori.  For something different, yet the same, the rice bowl featured many of the same things as the zenbu except with the addition of chicken karaage and mesclun greens.  I personally liked the minced meat and egg with the rice much more than the noodles.  I found it a better match where the rice soaked it up and hence had more impact.

Our last 2 items were their soup ramen including the Vegan Ramen and Tamago Ramen.  Interestingly, I thought the vegan ramen was quite good with a thick broth that was quite flavourful and creamy.  Could really taste the tomato and the depth of the soybean.  Seared tofu had a nice texture to it too.  As for the other, it was a typical pork bone broth which had good meatiness, yet wasn't heavy.  The pork chashu was fatty and tender while the tamago had a custardy yolk.  We had the thin noodles and they were al dente.  You can get more noodles if you want too.  So after all these dishes, it was pretty obvious to us that many of the components are similar.  However, that isn't a bad thing. With just a switch of some ingredients, the bowls taste remarkably different.  My favourites were the Zenbu, Chicken Karaage Rice Bowl, Carbonara and *gasp* Vegan Ramen.  Lots of choice and with the option of adding a bowl of rice to sop up the remaining sauce or add more ramen to your bowl, you won't leave hungry.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Interesting flavours
- Unfortunately we didn't get to have any, but their Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream is so good!

The Bad:
- You have to like onions of all kinds here (but you can opt to have them omit it)