MeNami - Japanese Udon Noodles

Out of all 3 udons, the salmon creamy udon was definitely my favourite. It had somewhat of an Italian taste (kind of like alfredo pasta) with a pretty flavourful salmon.

Good food and even better company - This place specializes in Japanese udon. However, be warned that it is not Japanese owned. The restaurant is Korean owned but with a Japanese flare - so I guess you can think of it as being fusion.

Han Ba Tang

I got to catch up with one of my old friends at Han Ba Tang tonight and we had the opportunity to try this new restaurant. Embarrassingly, we were more concerned about what everyone else was choosing online rather than knowing what sounds tasty. We were caught in the act by our server (oops!) but he was friendly enough to go through some of his favourites on the menu. It seemed like there were quite a few additions to the menu but since we're new, everything seemed fantastic!

I'm an avid foodie for cuisines such as korean foods, so this was perfect for me. If you're not korean, you really don't have to worry too much because the waiters/waitresses all speak perfect English. Bonus on top of that is that the menu is completely in English as well! There are a variety of age groups that come here, so I wouldn't say it's a place just for the younger generation. They take fusion to a whole nother level. 

Kinton Ramen (New location at Yonge and Sheppard)

Busy school schedule means no time to go out and eat! This expedition was a bit of a random, which hopefully will explain the lack of quality in these shots (it was shot by my Samsung Galaxy S4). I couldn't get a picture of the front of the store since someone was either cleaning it or repainting the sign...either way it was a little bit awkward. This sign is located on the side of the restaurant and has a whole wall dedicated to their logo, the pig. Just like all the other Kintons, the layout was pretty much the same but this one in North York is much smaller than the one in Toronto.

From the picture above, you can see that that is pretty much it for the restaurant. There's a side of chairs on the other side of the wall and a long bench where we sat. Ramen restaurant seatings are usually fairly uncomfortable and very intimate. We shared the table with 2 other groups on either side of us, pretty much hearing the whole conversation.

I ordered the spicy garlic light broth, pork belly, with an extra egg that costed $1.50. The ramen only came with noodles and one piece of meat which I was fairly disappointed. Maybe this is a new menu they are trying, but I don't remember only receiving broth and noodles at the other locations. To add seaweed, corn, or "Extras" costed $1 - not amused Kinton

For a $1.50 egg it was fully cooked and not soft boiled. You may be able to see that it's a bit "moist" but I accidentally dipped it in the soup base before. The egg was very cold and the soup was very hot so the mix was quite interesting. At least the texture of the noodle was ramen-like.

I know I asked for a light broth...but it was very close to tasteless. Usually if I were to eat at home, I don't like intense flavours so it's safe to say that I have a very bland taste bud. The only thing I can taste was the garlic and perhaps a pinch of salt. The pork shoulder was pretty much all fat rather than a good proportion. We waited for about 10 minutes although there was a line up. The waiters/waitresses seemed like they were overworked and tired that every time they spoke to us it seemed like they were trying to catch their breath (poor things).

Still managed to finish the whole bowl...but the spicy garlic broth, might have to rethink about ordering that again. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure if I will ever go to this location again after having to pay a total of $13 with tax for one bowl. The rating for this restaurant would have to be no more than 0/5 stars. Sorry Kinton, I was pretty hungry too so it would've been easy to satisfy my ramen craving.