June 24 - Tue - Rainy
Strolling down College St at Little Italy on the day that Italy had been knocked out by Uruguay. What a gloomy day for Italian fans; and I'm one of them : ( (I'm now cheering for Belgium..... why? ....... coz they make good chocolate!) ok......... back to that gloomy day........ oh.......... we saw "lights".......... there were rows of lamps in the front big window of Ryoji. This place looks classy with soft lightning and wood decor. We were greeted right away and was seated facing to a TV. Our server moved the big leather chair around for my friend to face the TV. Very attentive and caring server!! He went over the menu and gave suggestions on what to order. We had Goya Champru; it's sauteed Japanese bitter melon with salted pork belly and egg. It came in a small portion in a white bowl with a "small" spoon. I finished it in about ten spoonfuls (would be 3ish for a regular) I couldn't tell what's in the sauce, but it tasted so good! Next came the Rafute; one cubed cut pork belly with a soft boiled egg and lotus puree. It was presented so well on a big white plate. The pork belly is tender and the top is crispy. We had a mini ramen after the two tapas. The soup base was good and I love the thin noodles as well. The mini is just $7; reasonable price! This's my fave ramen place nowwwww!!
Our last dish was - SataAndagi; donuts with chocolate together with a scoop of ice cream. Luv the food here, their service, ambiance and the comfy big leather chair : ) Tapas are a bit pricy, but worth to try!