Kinton Ramen

At the end of the restaurant street in Baldwin Village is Kinton Ramen, one of the most talked about restaurants in Toronto this year. 

Interior

The Kitchen

The Ramen Spoon...

Gyoza ($3.50)

I love dumplings, especially fried dumplings. These were really delicious: the skin was really thin and delicate and the meat was savoury. I would have preferred it if the dumplings were a little crispier, but it was still really well done. The soy sauce was sweet with a spicy kick at the end. 

Shoyu Ramen with pork belly and regular broth ($9.50)

Soy sauce, kinton pork, beansprout, scallion, nori and seasoned egg

First up: the broth which is the base and main flavour of the ramen. I had 3 choices: light, regular and rich. The way the waitress explained it to me was the light broth was a little less salty, while the regular and rich broths had more flavour. I decided to try the regular broth to be on the safe side. It was a tad on the salty side but really tasty and it even had little chunks of meat. 

Next is the pork belly which is a fattier cut of meat compared to pork shoulder. I think my expectations were a lot higher due to my recent eating experiences (Momofuku and Braised Pork Belly) because I didn't find it as tender as I would have liked. It was meaty and probably not as fatty as I expected. 

The noodles were al dente and good with the broth.

The coolest part: the Ajitsuke tamago (soft boiled egg). The yolk was soft, semi-solid, but still a little oozy and it looked like a hard boiled egg on the outside. So cool!

Overall: Very authentic and reminiscent of Japan; from the long ramen bar with the haphazard seating to the welcome greeting "irasshaimase!" shouted in the restaurant when you walked in, I felt like I was back in Tokyo. The service was fast and the food was great. 

Website: http://kintonramen.com/