Ajisen

 Tuesday February 7, 8:15 p.m.

Savoring my day off a bit more than usual after my first day at school yesterday, I went off to meet The Egg and The Wild Guy for lunch at Ajisen, one of the more famous ramen shops in Toronto. I'd been to Kenzo...the ramen there was OK (although my two eating companions politely disagreed), but the gyoza was a bit weird, so I wanted to make that comparison.
We three went to the branch up near North York Centre, near the north end of the Yonge subway line. Unlike most of this Winter in Toronto thus far, things actually chilled down today, thus making it perfect for gobbling down a bowl of noodles.

 I ordered the BBQ Pork Ramen....otherwise known as cha-siu men in Japanese, which is one of the classic bowls in any respectable ramen shop there. What I got was a bit....interesting. The soup was a bit spicy (kinda like the broth of my favorite bowl of ramen at Foo Foo in Shinjuku Station...but that bowl happened to be tan tan men, a different animal completely), and to be honest, it was nothing that I had ever tasted in any ramen shop in Tokyo or Ichikawa. Frankly, I'm not sure if any discerning Japanese fellow would be too impressed. And the noodles were more like spaghetti than authentic ramen. I mean, it was OK stuff but I don't think any ramen master will be losing any sleep over it.
However, I have to say that the gyoza actually did taste like the dumplings I'd had in ramen shops back in the other country.

So, I can give Ajisen a 6 out of 10. The ramen quest continues...