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| - It was cloudy and cold and I was jonesing for some good, comforting ramen.
A friend had raved about Kenzo so I was excited to give it a shot as I was in the area. Like a little kid on Christmas Eve, I couldn't help but smile ear to ear as I placed my order of Tonkotsu Pork Ramen and takoyaki balls; giddy that they had two of my favourite foods in one restaurant.
Good food, much like good wine, is a multi-sensory experience. It's got to look good, smell good, taste good, and make you feel good.
My ramen came first and it looked pretty good... it had 3 pieces of pork belly, half of a boiled egg, slices of fish ball, seaweed strips, and a HECK of a lot of bean sprouts garnished with green onions.
As I took my first whiff of my soup bowl, I smelled - nothing. Well, not nothing, of course it still smelled like pork broth, but not in the same welcoming, comforting way a good ramen normally smells like.
Reluctantly, I took my first bite of ramen and my fear was confirmed. It wasn't bad; but the ramen did not hold up to my expectations. The ramen was cooked well, the egg would've been better if the yolk was still soft, the pork belly was seasoned well but not as soft as i expected, and the broth was lacking that certain flavour Tonkotsu pork one can only get from hours upon hours of long simmering.
It's not bad - it's a definite step up from those you get from AYCE places; but not the best I've ever had either.
The takoyaki ball looked great; but the flavour was also lacking... It tasted like it was frozen at one point... The batter was a little gummy and overly sticky; the octopus, bland. I like that they have the traditional katsuobushi shavings on top. I won't be ordering this again.
Maybe I picked the wrong ramen? I may give this place another shot next time... but for now, a mere 2 stars from me.
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