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Over the weekend, Ryan and I ate lunch with one of his friends at Ramen Raijin. Ramen Raijin is part of the Zakkushi Group of restaurants, others of which include Sushiya Sushi Bar and a few locations of Zakkushi Yakitori Izakaya.
Obviously Ramen Raijin specializes in ramen, and they offer their house-made noodles in either chicken or pork broths.
For an appetizer, the three of us shared this Japanese poutine, which consisted of a bowl of French fries and cheese curds drizzled with a teriyaki mayonnaise sauce and topped with sliced green onions and nori. There was also the choice of a butter soy sauce ‘gravy,’ but I love mayonnaise so we went with the first option. It was not surprise that I found it delicious, and later that weekend we saw that another Japanese restaurant was serving a similar dish, calling it ‘okonomiyaki fries.’
Ryan ordered this Tonkotsu Miso ramen soup, a rich and creamy miso-flavoured pork and dashi broth topped with corn, cabbage, green onion, bean sprouts, ground pork and tender pork shoulder.
Ryan’s friend ordered the cha-syu plate as an appetizer, which included barbecue pork shoulder and pork belly served with ponzu-dressed bean sprouts and green onion with teriyaki and chili sauces on the side.
Ryan’s friend also ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu ramen soup, which was made with a rich pork and dashi broth, corn, bean sprouts, green onions, cabbage, chili oil, and more pork shoulder. He said he was “starving” and also ordered the tender pork gyoza. Somehow he managed to finish all of it, and order a cheesecake for dessert!
I ordered the Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen, again made with the rich pork and dashi broth served with green onion, canola flower, bean sprouts, nori, a boiled egg, and pork shoulder, which I gave to Ryan. The ramen soups come in three sizes, and I ordered the small, which was still enough to be extremely filling. The broths we had were so rich and creamy with an amazingly silky mouthfeel – how did they do it? Ryan insists there was cream in the broth, but I’m not so sure. I’d love to have a recipe for a broth like this!
Ramen Raijin also offers meal combos, such as the Ramen Combo which includes your choice of ramen, a rice bowl (of which there are five varieties), and a salad; the Dessert Set (which obviously comes with dessert); and the Beer Set, which includes your choice of ramen, gyoza, and a pint of Sapporo beer.
In addition to the ramen noodle soups, the menu also offered soupless noodles, where you dip your noodles into a savoury sauce before eating. I definitely will be back to try the Vegetarian Soupless Ramen dish!
Visit Ramen Raijin:
3 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M5B 2P3
(647) 748-1500
