Restaurant Review: Men-No Kura House of Ramen

By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

 

We tried the Dashimaki Cheese and Dashimaki Mentaiko which were soft and airy and a pleasure to eat. I preferred the stringy cheese over the tobiko. The latter wasn’t as impactful texturally, but it had a briny sweetness. The Chicken Karaage reminded me of the one from Mogu as it had juicy and flavourful chicken and a lightly crispy batter.

We also had the Shio and Shoyu Ramen. The pork broth was rich and fatty. For this type of ramen, drinking the soup was challenging as it was too heavy. But, it added flavour and coated the noodles like a Dan Dan Noodle or Ja Jeun Mein. The noodles were al dente. The shoyu exhibited the soy flavour as expected over the light saltiness of the Shio.

The Black Garlic Ramen was even greasier. The broth was a flavouring agent rather than a soup. The chewy noodles were coated in a porky and nutty aromaticness. A richer saltiness dominated the broth and it lessened the impact of the black garlic.

We also had the Black Garlic Tsukemen that featured warm noodles and a side of dipping broth. The two slices of fatty chashu were buttery soft and had natural flavours. The half-Ajitama egg was also executed properly while being mildly seasoned. The Deluxe Spicy Tsukemen was served cold with a side of bubbling broth. The cold noodles were texturally better than the hot water blanched noodles. The noodles contrasted the broth. Overall, I thought the ramen at Men-no-Kura to be good with well-executed noodles, chashu and egg.  However, the broth was a bit too rich and oily.

 

Men-No Kura House of Ramen

1773 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

 

The Good:

• Love that black garlic

• Chashu and egg were on point

 

The Bad:

• Soup base not really meant for drinking as it is fatty and thick

 

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

 

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