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| - Wow, a good Japanese restaurant in Montréal that isn't ridiculously pricey and is good for eating alone as well as in groups? Ladies and gentleman, Yokato Yokabai takes the cake! Located a half mile walking distance from my apartment, it serves up surprisingly authentic Hakata ramen and side dishes to go along with it, in addition to having a multi-tiered shelf full of Japanese goodies that take me back to my childhood. Everything is made fresh in the kitchen, which is open-air so you can see the food being made! Places like this have long been overdue, and it lives up to the hype.
I went in relatively early in the dinner shift, so I was able to just be seated at the bar with no problem. They give you slips of paper that have all of the menu options on them, and you just check off what you want. I ordered the karaage (like Japanese-style chicken nuggets), the kare-miso tonkatsu ramen, and the green tea ice cream. Upon biting into my first piece of crispy, crunchy karaage, I was once again correct in stating that Asians really do know how to fry their chicken. Not only was the outside not soggy at all, but it was super juicy and tender on the inside and had this magical sauce-like stuff on top that gave it that extra dimension. I would have ordered another plate of that straight off the bat if I didn't have more dishes to try haha. Next came the main show - the ramen. Personally, I loved all of the components - including the egg being cooked with a deliciously gooey center, crunchy nori, and fatty pork that just melts in your mouth - except for the noodles. Now, I know that Hakata ramen noodles are thinner than their Hokkaido ramen counterparts, and I hold a personal preference for thicker noodles due to their ability to soak up more of the broth. It was still good nonetheless, and I also found the thick broth to actually have somewhat of a kick unlike what most Montréal Asian restaurants advertise as spicy (aka nothing at all), but I still would have called it in between mild and medium at best. Finally, green tea ice cream is always a hit with me, and this time was no different. They served it up in these wooden boxes and garnished it with green tea Pocky, making it look super pretty and cute! All good things must come to an end, however, so I reluctantly left before I had a chance to buy some of the snacks along the wall.
Yokato Yokabai serves up really tasty, moderately-priced Hakata ramen in a cozy environment. While I don't necessarily think that it was worth paying $14.50 for a bowl (using Nouilles de Lan Zhou as a reference point since they give you so much more for cheaper), I still want to come back and try the other sides. In particular, the chasu-don and fried burdock root look extremely appetizing, so maybe I'll just order a bunch of small plates and have a light meal next time I come here.
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