Located at 4860 Yonge Street in North York
Last Tuesday, Jason, Clarissa, and I had lunch at Kenzo Ramen. Last month when we had lunch at Joon’s next door, I spotted this Kenzo and kept it in the back of my mind to go for our next lunch, and here we were!
There are several locations of Kenzo in Toronto and the first one I went to was downtown near Dundas Square several years ago. I remember that ramen experience was one of my first ramen ones (next to Kinton Ramen). I remember not liking it very much, but I was excited to renew my experience and thoughts on this ramen chain. Last time that we were passing by, they have a really cool moving ramen display out in front of their store. Unfortunately, it was a really windy day so they stored it inside the door when we were here.
This Kenzo Japanese Noodle House is near Sheppard Subway Station
They have several selections of ramen for you to choose from. During their lunch hour, there were a lot of people here and the whole restaurant smelled amazing!
It’s cool that we got to sit at a slightly elevated “stage” area of the restaurant
Lots of ramen choices!
I decided to stick with something classic and ordered the Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce based). Jason ordered the King of Kings Ramen and Clarissa ordered the Shio Ramen with a side of Chicken Karaage (deep fried chicken).
The Kings of Kings Ramen. $12.95
-spicy netsu ramen with 5 toppings of roasted pork, sliced egg, fish cake, fresh seaweed, and marinated bamboo shoot
Shio Ramen. $7.95
-seasoned with salt, this dish has a very light refreshing taste. Topped with roasted pork & marinated bamboo shoot
The restaurant had free wifi which we gladly took use of (we sent some Snapchats too haha) and before long, our trays with bowls of ramen arrived.
Chicken Karaage. $8.95
-Japanese style deep fried chicken with lightly coated seasoning
I tried some of the Chicken Karaage that Clarissa ordered and was a little disappointed that the fried chicken chunks were not very crispy after being deep fried. They weren’t very seasoned either. Ekk.
Shoyu Ramen. $7.95
-made with a tasty Japanese soy sauce to create a tangy and savory, yet light taste. Topped off with roasted pork, marinated bamboo shoot
My bowl of ramen was a good portion of noodles for lunch and contained roasted pork, marinated bamboo shoots, a swirly pink fish cake, egg, and of course ramen noodles and the shoyu soup base. The noodles were very fine and tasted moderate. They didn’t taste like “authentic” Japanese ramen noodles and the soup base was also moderate. I still really enjoy the creamy soup base from Santouka or even the one from Raijin Ramen. The roasted pork was tender yet firm and the bamboo shoots were moderate. I liked the smooth and firm fish cake and the soft and well-boiled sliced egg.
Yum! For a big guy though, this portion might not be enough for you. The King of Kings Ramen might be better choice for a big guy
Happy lunch!
I’m glad that I got to try the ramen from Kenzo again, but I think most foodies would agree that Kenzo doesn’t have the best-tasting ramen. It’s good for a quick lunch or dinner spot though! 🙂
Really nice design of the restaurant too
Your thoughts on Kenzo, foodie reader?
