Located at 3235 Hwy 7 East, Unit 22 in Markham

Mandy, Wendy, and I were due for a catch-up.  Since I am always on the hunt to try out new restaurants, I selected Sonoya Ramen House.  It is located on the outside plaza strip of First Markham Place and incidentally right beside Aka Teppan.  

Quiet and casual environment

When you type in their address, it actually takes you to Kenzo Japanese Noodle House and that is apparently their first location

It was quiet on a Monday evening.  The interior of the restaurant is nicely decorated and feels homey.

Since this was a ramen restaurant, I knew for sure I had to try their soupy noodles!  I selected the Tonkotsu Ramen.

Our server brought out our bowls on individual trays with a small appetizer of pickled ginger and sweet pickled onion.  The sweet pickled onion was really good!

Each bowl was nicely reminiscent of traditional Japanese designs.  My Tonkotsu had a light broth to it that surprisingly tasted very good!  I wasn’t thirsty either afterwards so I can assume that they didn’t add much MSG in it.  There were three slices of char siu that I thought were too thick and unlike other ramen places that serve it rather soft and thin.

Appetizer of pickled onions and pickled ginger

Tonkotsu Ramen とんこつ ラーメン. $10.95
-Hakata district speciality, distinctive of its creamy, pork bone-based broth

The ramen noodles were good.  They were a bit more slippery than chewy and didn’t seem to me like they were the authentic ramen variety.

Nevertheless, the part I loved the most was the soup base.  I couldn’t get enough of it and kept scooping it up to drink using the oversized spoon. :3.  Also, I learned that the white and pink thin piece of crab meat is actually called a naruto.  Oh, the things you learn when dining out. 🙂

Mandy ordered the vegetable ramen and Wendy had the rice.  Both looked good too!

Katsudon カツドン. $9.95
-Rice bowl dish topped with breaded deep-fried pork cutlet, onion and egg

Sapporo Miso Ramen サッポロ みそ ラーメン. $10.95
-Sapporo style miso based ramen with roasted vegetables, ground pork

Educational posters on the wall

All in all, this was a okay ramen house.  I wouldn’t say I would come here again or recommend it to friends but if I were to come again, I would likely try their appetizers and see if their donburi is comparable to the one I’ve had before at Donburi.