My friend suggested we get there 15 mins before opening and i am so glad we did. Closer to 11:30 a line started to form and we were second in line. The waiters were kind enough to serve hot matcha for us while we waited. The matcha was a bit too sweet for my liking, but the subtle grassy note is still there.
I got the signature shoyu with an added egg and a side of karaage to split with my friend.
The karaage is tender and juicy and the wasabi mayo helped to cut the heaviness of it instead of lemon juice which is what is normally served with karaage to lighten it up.
My favorite part of the meal is definitely the broth. I love that they used clams to build complexity in the soup. It adds this clean sweetness to the soup. I know the soup is not light because of the layer of oil floating above the broth, but it tasted clean to me (says the person that can eat 20 pc mcnuggets as a meal). The sweetened bamboo shoots brings out the sweetness of this delicious broth.
The soup is not creamy so if that is your requirement in your ramen you are better off choosing the tonkotsu broth.
The egg is perfectly cooked. When i poked it with my chopsticks, you can see runny golden yellow yolk flooding my spoon and it is delicious. I don't like paying $1.50 for a boiled egg, but I will make an exception for konjiki.
All in all, i think this is my favorite ramen place in Toronto. The portions are smaller than most ramen shops in the GTA, but the sophistication of the flavors makes Kinjiki worth visiting and revisiting.