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| - I actually wanted to give this place 2.5 stars but I'll round up just because they had the nuts to open next door to the ramen juggernaut that's Kinton. Not only do they have to compete for customers in the same area, they cannot escaped being compared on every level. That being said, let me tell you that Ryus and Kinton are completely different animals in the world of Japanese Ramen. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you love Kinton, you will actually not enjoy this place.
We came in on a Friday night, the restaurant was completely desserted -- a bad omen. My boyfriend ordered the classic shio ramen while I got the spicy miso mabo ramen (which I've never even heard of before). The stock at Ryus is light and slightly fishy (I think they use fishbones), so it has that seafood umame rather than the usual pork bone taste. My BF, who loves pork bone based ramen, did not like this from the get-go and noted that we didn't have eggs in the ramen. I enjoyed the flavour of his ramen; however, I had a major problem with mine. It was WAYYYY too oily -- and not oily in a "hearty broth" way, but oily in a "floating thick, translucent layer on top" way. I'm the kind of person who will finish all the soup in a ramen and I could not stomach it (even though I usually get the "rich" broth at Kinton). Despite the heaviness of the mabo tanmen, it was lacking in seasoning -- it lacked salt and I could not taste ANY miso flavour. They should really do something about this. Seeing how this is the standout item on their menu, they need to make it tastier or else people will try it and probably never come back.
Even though I hated the mabo tanmen, I still want to give them another chance. It is their soft opening after all; maybe they are still trying to figure out Torontonian taste buds. I feel like they do have their own point of view but it does require the diners' effort to appreciate them while their neighbors are so easy to love. I hope they make the right alterations and find their own niche on Baldwin.
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