Sherman's Food Adventures: Ramen
Showing posts with label Ramen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramen. Show all posts

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)  

Mauna Sushi

Okay, so this is like my 16th visit to Mauna Sushi?  I've been here so much that we have lost count.  It is not secret that I absolutely love this place where the food is delicious and prices are fair.  They offer up a variety of dishes including their signature aburi oshi, that is Downtown quality.  For those who don't know, they were closed for renovations for quite some time, but they have reopened with a refreshed interior and a revamped kitchen.  Hence, they can offer up a wider variety of cooked dishes as well as pumping out more sushi with quicker turnaround.  Jackie and I went recently to check them out.


We started off with a few things that weren't available on the previous menu (at least not officially) in the Hamachi Sashimi and Uni Nigiri.  As you can tell in the picture, the hamachi had a nice sheen and fresh appearance.  It was buttery with the taste of the sea.  As for the uni, it was creamy and sweet sitting atop chewy seasoned sushi rice.  Nice to see these options available now as the old selection of sashimi and nigiri were quite basic.


Now they also offer a few more small plates including the Ebi Fritter and the Ika Karaage.  Super light and crispy, the ebi fritters had an exterior texture similar to the deep fried taro dumplings you'd find at Cantonese Dim Sum.  The ebi itself was meaty with a snap while the combination of chili mayo and unagi sauce added just the right amount of flavour.  As for the fried squid, it was coated with just enough batter for some crunch.  Otherwise, the squid itself was the star with a tender bite while being well-seasoned.  It came with a side of kewpie mayo.


So we can't forget about the classics right?  Therefore we had the Aburi Ebi Oshi, Aburi Salmon Oshi, Aburi Saba Oshi and the Aburi Hotate Oshi.  Yep, these are just as good, if not better than the ones you find at Miku and Minami.  Due to its location and lack of high-end amenities, the prices for these at Mauna are also more affordable.  I really like how the components are well-portioned and fresh.  Also, the sauces are on point with proper torching.  Can't go wrong with these.

We tried a couple of new noodle dishes starting with the Kaisen Soba.  Okay, we manipulated the noodles so you could see the ample seafood.  Usually, it is hidden underneath.  Anyways, the noodles were al dente and bathed in just enough moisture to keep them from being clumpy.  There was a rich soy/dashi flavour to it that was savoury and full of umami.  The seafood was cooked perfectly with buttery prawns, soft scallops and tender squid.  Loved the shiitake mushrooms too as they also added body and more umami.

As for the second noodle dish, the Seafood Yaki Udon also had a bevy of the same seafood except we didn't touch it and left it how it arrived (LOL).  Once again, the seafood was perfect with the same textures as the soba.  In this one, there was plenty of mentaiko mixed in with the stir-fry adding a lovely brininess.  There was lots of sweetness provided by the seared onions and the overall seasoning of the dish was just right.


In addition to their popular Explosion Roll, they have now created a King Explosion Roll that has limited availability.  The original one consisted of imitation crab, spicy tuna and cucumber with torched oshi sauce, tobiko and black pepper on top.  The new one replaces the imitation crab with real crab, subs sockeye salmon for the tuna and adds uni.  For me personally, I still would go for the original explosion roll, the flavours work more in harmony.  The marinated spicy tuna with sesame oil notes along with the fairly neutral-tasting imitation crab with the bright crunch from the cukes are complimented well by the pops of brininess of the tobiko and creamy smokiness of the aburi sauce.  The new one has some of those elements but the uni does dominate the flavour profile and hence breaks the harmony.

So we can't pay a visit to Mauna without having one of their awesome Sushi Tarts.  They take everything tasty that they have in their arsenal and employ it into one item.  That is the tart with its sushi rice base, a layer of ripe and fresh avocado, they some spicy tuna, more sushi rice, a layer of sockeye salmon, aburi sauce, chopped scallop and ebi.  Put that all together and we have some elements of the explosion roll but with more distinct layers of impact.  So delicious.


Two more new specialty rolls on the menu are the Galaxy Roll and the "Bird's Nest" Roll.  The galaxy roll had very little rice compared to the considerable amount of hamachi, hotate and spicy prawn with large slices of tuna tataki on the outside.  This was pretty subtle-tasting with only unagi sauce doing the heavy lifting.  As for the bird's nest, it contained real crab, hotate and asparagus on the inside with red tuna on the outside.  The impact came from the fried leeks with ponzu on top.  They were pretty sweet and added crunch as well.

When we were served the Tonkotsu Black Ramen, I was initially quite skeptical.  Normally, non-ramen spots do not make good versions of the dish.  However, this one here was more than acceptable with flavourful broth with umaminess.  The black garlic really came through with its fermented essence.  The chashu was buttery soft while the noodles were chewy.  Even the egg was soft and custardy.


Onto a pair of rice bowls, we had the Chicken Katsu Don and the classic Unagi Don.  The piece of chicken featured a crunchy batter while being tender inside.  There was some egg and seared onions added to the mix.  Underneath, we found chewy rice with enough sauce for effect.  Sure, an unagi don can be pretty typical, but this one featured small slices that were individually seared so it was caramelized and smoky.  Of course there was the sweet unagi sauce on top with the same chewy rice underneath.  Pretty tasty.

Okay, you might be wondering why there is a picture of a California Roll and a Dynamite Roll ending this blog post.  Sure, these are not necessarily the rolls I would personally order here, but they have a lunch special that features a small roll of each and miso soup for only $9.99.  Good deal for those looking at a quick meal or take out.  But for me, it is all about the aburi oshi and specialty rolls.  Glad to see they added some other delicious cooked items to round out the menu.  I guess it means I'll be here even more!

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

The Good:
- The aburi sushi here
- Cooked food is solid too
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Loved how they addressed the limited menu issue and also added another sushi chef to speed up the orders, but due to the physical limitations of the place, seating is still limited  

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

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

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