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| - Delightfully surprising calibre of Ramen in a completely unassuming atmosphere and location. Come here for the ramen, not for anything else.
Note that this is a different/new restaurant from the old Japanese restaurant which shared the same name in the same location. The server said they've been open for half a year when I went in March 2014.
Location & Ambiance
Tucked in an unmemorable mini-plaza along Hwy 7, they certainly won't be relying on much drive-by advertising, and parking spots are a premium here. In fact I only noticed this place upon leaving the dentist office adjacent to them. My partner and I went in at 3:00pm on a Saturday and grabbed a comfy booth in a mostly empty restaurant. There was plenty of natural light and soft J-pop/ballads playing in the background. Decor was simple and clean with the obligatory Tsunami and Sakura prints - still tasteful though.
Menu and Selection
Their menu is now 75% Ramen, providing around 15-20 variations, and some lunch Bento boxes and appetizers. Ramen and appetizers looked very appealing, bento boxes... not so much (but very cheap if that's the main concern). Very main-stream selection of ramens - tonkotsus, curry pork cutlets, tender pork ribs, etc.... the most unorthodox one is probably the bacon and cheese ramen. Menus were a bit confusing, as they were basically just 6 loose double-sided laminated pages - really could've at least bound them together? Menus were in English and Chinese (considering their main clientele are locals, and the owners likely being Chinese). They're LLBO'ed and serve decently-priced beverages and a typical selection of beers and sakes available from LCBO. No fancy cocktails here. So far so meh right? Well here's where they shine:
Food Quality
We ordered a "Saltier House Tonkotsu Ramen" and another Level 2 Spicy Ramen of which the name now escapes me. But both were simply excellent. The noodles were al-dente (reminscent of the thin noodles at Kinton Ramen before they went downhill); broth was rich, aromatic and well-balanced; pork was tender, well-marbled, and generously-portioned, as were the other ingredients. Of particular note was the order of "extra noodles" that actually came out to be TWICE the amount of noodles than regular, served on the side, at only $1.50 more on the bill. What! From the first bite to the last, I was very surprised at the quality of all the elements in the ramens.
Service
Also surprisingly pleasant. We were served by a sweet, polite, and attentive female server who came to check up on us once (in Chinese-owned place this is pretty good, ha!) and refilled our tea three times during our 30 minute stay. I've read elsewhere the wait time for food was awful, but ours was very efficient, at around 5-10 minutes. Must come back during busy hours to see what's different.
Definitely will be coming back here. For the price, this place would've had my 5 stars if they had better menus, wider drink selections and if they got rid of the very sad-looking Bento Boxes. Guess it's just for a living. Prices are about $1-2 less per item than most Ramen Houses in Toronto, and on-par with many suburban ones in the area, but with much better ramen! Forget Jyuban, Raku, Aji Sai, Shogun etc etc. After my initial visit I've designated this to be my go-to Ramen house in the suburbs.
UPDATE OCTOBER 2015:
A year and a half later, I see they've bound their menus, widened their drink selection, gotten rid of the sad bento boxes, and the food is still amazing! This is small-joint ramen DONE RIGHT. Upgrade to 5 stars all the way!
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