Kinton Ramen 4

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Jun 26, 2015

Company: +Will Ives 

Will and I had plans to go on an Escape Room double date in North York and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some good Korean food since we were in the area... little did I know that they had a Kinton Ramen down the street from where we were going! It also turned out that my dad brought back some take-out pork bone soup for lunch that day so I already had my Korean fix. I was very excited to try Kinton since I've heard the name so many times. 

The location looked pretty small from the outside and like your typical noodle bar. We entered to the staff yelling (welcoming) us in and were seated for two at the bar as the rest of the place was already full. It was pretty hot where we were as the staff was right in front of us preparing the soups. It was definitely interesting to see but it made a difficult to talk with all of their yelling. It was a fun atmosphere though and made for a lively dinner.

The menu is very easy to understand, they direct you step-by-step how to place an order and I went with the Regular Original Pork Broth with Thick Noodles and Pork Shoulder. We watched all the orders being made and it was fun being on the front line for that to see their process. I was a bit surprised on how fatty the broth was when I first got it, especially for a regular. Nonetheless, the broth tasted good, pretty rich. The pork shoulder was delicious, such amazing flavour with each bite! The egg was also cooked perfectly, still a bit runny on the inside. The noodles were also amazing, excellent quality and fresh. I can see why Kinton has built up such a good establishment, they really use the finest of ingredients.

Food: 4/5 - Excellent ingredients, only complaint is the fattiness of the broth.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very clean and simple with wooden decor.
Service: 4/5 - Quick in turning customers over, fast to get the ramen.

Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Lots of options to try, would try to go to another location.
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.kintonramen.com/

Pho Vietnam

Date Visited: Dinner on Thursday Jan 15, 2015 

Company: +Stephanie

After our first pho date, +Stephanie was craving for more so we decided to go again another night I was in Scarborough for work. There's a ton of Vietnamese restaurants in Scarborough so I decided to look up what the best one was for pho. I saw Pho Vietnam come up few times in Google and it was fairly close to our area so we decided to check it out. Trying to find the place wasn't very difficult as it has a huge brightly lit sign of the restaurant name. Upon first glance, you can tell this is a more modern and glamorized pho place compared to the usual hole-in-the-walls. The size and layout of the restaurant was very standard though with order sheets still at the table.

We ordered Large Pork Spring Rolls to start and they actually didn't even come until after we got our pho! I didn't think that the Spring Rolls would be as large as they were, we definitely could have done with just a small! The flavour and texture were on point, so crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside. The sauce we were given was a little too sweet for me, we were trying to figure out what it was as we still have no idea. Really wish we got them earlier to enjoy them on their own first. The pickled carrots and radish on the side were good to cleanse the pallet but I wish they were more fresh.

I ordered my classic Rare Beef and Beef Balls pho and the broth was very clear. I noticed later that all the pho was rolled up in a ball at the bottom which is probably why the broth looked like it had nothing in it. I found the meat a tad too lean and tough to chew. I thought that they didn't even give very much but a lot had sunken to the bottom. The cut of beef wasn't the best for pho. The noodles were also thicker making it heavy and very filling, and not as glassy as I like them. The broth was good but altogether, it was a very mediocre bowl of pho.

Food: 2.5/5 - OK food, nothing outstanding and probably overrated.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very chic designs.
Service: 3/5 - Fast service, fairly nice.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Probably would go back, awesome spring rolls!
Overall: 3/5

Website: n/a

Pho Real

Date Visited: Late dinner on Saturday Dec 20, 2014

Company: Post-Secret Santa get together dinner with +Kelvin, +Stanley, and Vanessa

After our Annual Secret Santa gift exchange in Woodbridge, some of us were leftover and decided to go for a small, late dinner. We looked up some Pho places and found Pho Real in the area which had some decent reviews. It was a little hard to find the location in the dark at the back corner of a plaza with small signage. The restaurant was medium-sized like a typical Vietnamese restaurant with tons of windows but very interesting decor in the corners. 

We got a table for four easily, it surprisingly wasn't empty on a late Friday night. I did notice that the prices were a bit higher than you would usually pay for pho. I ordered Grilled Chicken Vermicelli which ended to be around $14 after tax/tip. There was 4 of us so it took a bit longer than usual to get our dishes. +Stanley and +Kelvin ordered Pho while Vanessa and I ordered Vermicelli. In the end, the Pho was really the way to go. I had a small bowl to taste and thought the broth flavour was wonderful, some of the best I've had. The Vermicelli dishes on the other hand were a totally different story. I found my Vermicelli extremely spicy, nothing in my bowl seemed like it was spicy but I would get random bursts of it every so often so it was probably the sauce... bad idea to pour it all in? I found it a bit difficult to finish but managed to survive. But mine didn't even compare to the level spiciness of Vanessa's Beef Vermicelli had, her and +Kelvin had to order a drink in order to even be able to eat it. Other than that, the chicken its self wasn't the greatest, it was a fatty piece of chicken and just covered with spices of all sorts. The spring roll was also shaped oddly and very oily. Despite the fact that the Vermicelli wasn't very good, I still have faith from the few bites of the Pho I had that this place is worth checking out if you don't mind spending a bit more and they also have an interesting 7 course beef meal.

Food: 2.5/5 - Authentic pho, wasn't a fan of the vermicelli.

Decor: 2.5/5 - OK, pretty clean, your average pho spot.

Service: 3/5 - Pretty on top of things.

Willingness to go Back: 3/5 - Definitely would recommend it if I was in the area.

Overall: 2.5/5

Website: none

Pho Viet Nam 999

Date Visited: Dinner on Thursday Dec 26, 2013
Company: +Lilian




+Lilian and I decided to check out Pho Viet Nam 999 on Boxing Day when our parents were going out for dinner with their friends. We had noticed it opened a while back and wanted to check it out, but never got around to actually going there.  When we pulled in the parking lot, we could see that it was pretty busy and parking was scarce. They share part of the lot with the popular Red Lobster next door so that may have been why there were so many cars. We were told to seat ourselves upon entering and there were a few open tables around but it was surprisingly full for the spacious restaurant.

Checking out the menu, +Lilian and I both felt nostalgic toward our University pho restaurants we'd regular back then as the set-up was identical to them. We were served tea and wrote down our orders on the paper on the table for the waitress to take. To start, we got the classic Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls. I read some reviews in the meanwhile and many complained about the service received here. I was surprised because our food came very timely and the place was busy too. Just after eating half of our Spring Rolls, our Pho came right away. Their Shrimp Spring Rolls also included shredded pork which wasn't something I saw regularly. I think the most important aspect of this simple dish is having fresh ingredients which they did. They were stingy on the shrimp though, only two in 1 roll (maybe because of the pork) and the rice paper didn't fully wrap the ends. The sauce was also a bit bland, needed to be more sweeter as I felt like I had to put a lot of it on.

For the pho, I ordered my go-to Rare Beef & Beef Balls Noodle Soup in medium. The portion size was good and there was a perfect amount of beef. The bean sprouts, mint, and lime was very fresh and I was happy they just had all the classic staples of a Vietnamese restaurant like hoisin and Siracha sauce. I found the broth a bit oily, especially just looking at it. The lime gave the broth a very strong sour flavour rather than a subtle one which I am used to. The beef was very tender and the balls had excellent flavour. Other than that there's no real criticisms, it was very authentic pho and even run by a family. We went up to the cash after having some more tea to pay and we were on our way! Most people will point out that it is pricier than what you would find in the Toronto area but I'm super excited to have a place like this so close to me. I left with the perfect amount of fullness in my belly. Brings back a lot of memories!

Food: 3.5/5 - Not the best Vietnamese food I've had but still good nonetheless

Decor: 3/5 - So classic, large open space, lots of tables, minimal random decorations.

Service: 3/5 - Quick, to the point with no small talk, just the way it should be. Decent waiting time.

Willingness to go back: 4.5/5 - For sure would go back when I'm craving pho.

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: none

Santouka Ramen

Visited: Early dinner Sunday Apr 21, 2013

Company: Had planned to go after the Jays game with group of 8

With the popularity of ramen growing as rapidly as it has in Toronto the last year, I knew I had to go big for my first experience. I had heard about the hype of Santouka from +Gisele and +Mohan both recently, a noodle bar with people lining down the street to get in and raving reviews everywhere. I was rather excited to taste the epic-ness of this crazed ramen finally, and to experience it with both foodies and non.

When we arrived, there was only one group in front of us, but it was always a worry to be in a group of 8 going to a restaurant with very limited seating. We were told it would be a wait of 5-10 minutes, but really depended on how fast people would be. Waiting in line was quite an interesting time, being asked for money by strangers and getting chirped by someone on the bus for waiting in line to get into the restaurant. The anticipation was building, as were our appetites  Luckily, everyone stuck it out and waited to be seated rather then getting sushi instead :P.   

You can tell from the menu that they aren't messing around, with only four ramen choices and some rice dishes, it's pretty obvious what you should be getting. I decided on a combo to try both. I chose the Shio Ramen which is their signature dish and because I like creamy broths, paired with the Negi Meshi Rice Bowl which I had found out that is topped dried bonito which is a fish (not a vegetable as believed by +Mohan). There is also a minimum order of about $10 in case you were interested in waiting in line just to get an ice-cream. +Jérémie also requested that I point out that butter is $1 on the menu.

Ok, now on to the ramen... They were actually pretty quick with the orders and were presented quite appealingly. I was so excited but had to take a few photos for the blog first... but with that wait, that first spoonful of broth was just heavenly. The taste was very rich with flavour and not too creamy, I don't even know how else to describe it. The temperature was so perfect though, they have that down to a tee. The noodles were good but nothing special, and the toppings were an interesting combo but fun to try with the group discussing what things were. I got quite full from it after a few bites though, maybe it was the salt? I know others had complaints of the fattiness of the meat and in the soup but I think that just comes with Asian cooking. The rice was...rice but I didn't quite enjoy the bonito flakes, it was a lot more fishy then I had hoped so I was basically just having rice with green onions, and that's just weird. I would just go for the ramen next time, the portion was decent sized for myself and didn't stuff me but maybe for others it was too small. I couldn't see myself coming for a meal here, maybe when you're only a bit hungry. 

So that was my first ramen experience... I think after a few more go's, I'll enjoy it more and may have better reviews? Just like all foreign foods, you have to acquire a taste for it and even though I enjoyed the ramen, I don't understand the hype for it. Maybe all the other ramen places are bad and I just don't know because I went straight for the best, but I guess I will find out eventually. Looking through the photos, I definitely crave ramen but it didn't leave that much of a lasting impression on me. What did everyone else think?

Food: 3.5/5 - Good ramen, okay rice.

Decor: 4/5 - Clean, simple, tight, super Asian.

Service: 4/5 - Very friendly staff, I was actually surprised they weren't stuck up and were really nice to us noobies.

Likeliness to come back: 1.5/5 - Would like to try the other broths, but wouldn't wait in line for this.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/