Isshin Ramen [Japanese]

Open by the same people of the popular Kingyo Izakaya, Isshin Ramen (@ramenisshin) sound promising. Ben being the ramen fanatic thathe is have been wanting to try them out even before it opens. So this past Saturday after a cold outdoor event, we decided to head there to warm up with a bowl of ramen.

I have to say this is a rather good location , away from all the other ramen shops on Dandas. They do not have a sign up yet when we went and we basically parked right in front of it without noticing it.

There's not much to talk about decor wise, very basic with the open kitchen by the front and a dragon mural along one side of the wall.

At Isshin Ramen, they have a total of 8 ramen to choose from including 2 vegetarian options.

Japatine $5.20

~ Fresh cut fries topped with fresh mozzarella, Japanese curry gravy, seaweed & green onions

Love the name, the presentation and it look great on picture but it lack all the yummy sloppy goodness of a poutine. As you can see, it's rather dry with barely any gravy that I couldn't really taste the curry flavor. Also wish there was more cheese.

Tonkotsu Shio "Sesame" Ramen $8.95

~ Pure tonkotsu broth seasoned with a blend of natural salts, topped with sesame seed, bamboo shoots, black wood ear mushrooms, marinated soft boiled egg, slow braised pork belly cha-shu, green onions & thin wavy noodles.

I wouldn't say it was bad but there was nothing outstanding compare to the other ramen places. The noodle had a slight soapy taste while the broth was good, it was not amazing. Love the motar & pestle sesame which was definitely fun to grind up and it does change the flavor of the broth in a very subtle way, that's why we were encourage to add it half way through.

 Tonkotsu Shoyu "Roasted Garlic" Ramen $8.95

~ Isshin tonkotsu broth blended with Koji's homemade shoyu, roasted garlic oil, green onions, bamboo shoots, marinated soft boiled egg, pork belly cho-shu & thin wavy noodle

Ben somehow wanted this one which was a surprise since we normally avoid strong flavor topping when trying a ramen place for the first time so that we can taste the broth better. Wish we had a regular tonkotsu shoyu since I really would love to taste their homemade shoyu (soya) in it.

The roasted garlic oil was definitely too much and way too overpowering here.

Verdict :

Good but nothing outstanding / amazing

I will probably stick with my old faves here and here