Growing up, one of my all-time favourite snack foods was instant noodles: whether they were prepared properly (i.e. the 3-step method of
open, boil, enjoy!) or simply crunched up and sprinkled with the soup seasoning, they were always such a treat to have. Considering how much I loved instant noodles, I never really bothered to figure out what the
real version of food instant noodles was attempting to emulate. I had only been introduced to
ramen, a traditional Japanese soup dish, relatively recently at a little restaurant called
Shikiji in Calgary. I became an instant fan of ramen after I finished my first bowl and have been on the hunt for good ramen ever since. (I even attempted an escapade a year ago in Edmonton, which turned out to be a complete disaster. Note to self: Edmonton
does NOT have good ramen). I was headed to Hamilton/Toronto for a month-block in electives, and my good friends and co-writers pointed me to
Uniiverse SLURP! Noodlefest v2, the second coming of an inaugural Toronto noodle festival which featured various restaurants competing to make the
best noodle dish.
The event center, with its high white-beamed ceilings, brown wooden floors, and a section of semi-crumbling brick wall gave off a very New York art gallery kind of feel, which I found entirely charming. Not surprisingly, the event was
packed with people (mostly Asians). There were a variety of both noodle dishes (such as ramen and pho), non-noodle dishes (like pork belly buns, bruschetta-themed tapas), and a variety of bars/coffee shops serving an assortment of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Although the other dishes looked interesting, my companion and I were there for one thing and one thing only - the
ramen! It seemed that most of the participants there had the same idea as us, and subsequently, all the ramen booths were bustling. We elected to skip the
Nota Bene (see below) line as it was the longest line at event and was the closest to the open door. Our strategy was to get as many ramen bowls as we could in order to somewhat satisfy our appetite and to warm up before returning to the Nota Bene line.
The Gabardine
Our first stop was
The Gabardine: Fine Grub and Libations, a restaurant that specializes in a mix of North American and European dishes with a modern flair. Their booth featured the Gabardine version of
Menudo Ramen. Menudo has two versions: the Asian variety originates from the Philipines and is made of garlic, onions, tomato, sliced/diced pork, liver (pig or calf), diced potato, raisins, diced carrots, green bell peppers, soy sauce, vinegar or calamansi and tomato sauce, and seasoned with salt and pepper during the cooking process; the Mexican variety is made with beef stomach in clear broth/red chili base with lime, chopped onions, chopped cilantro and crushed oregano and red chili peppers. The Gabardine elected to model their ramen dish after the Mexican variety and featured beef tongue, pork hock, tripe, Mexican Kimchi, chili, radish, and scallions. The Garbadine actually did a fine job of cooking its ramen noodles; the noodles were thick, firm, but not chewy - the best cooked noodles at the event. The beef tongue, pork hock, and tripe were similarly well cooked and soaked up the flavour of the broth nicely. Unfortunately, I was missing the the taste of the Mexican kimchi. In addition, the soup broth, was fairly average; it had a mild amount of spiciness but otherwise was fairly standard and one note. However, in Vietnamese cuisine, we have a very similar chili-beef soup base used in
Bun Bo Hue, a dish I am not usually a fan of, so I may be a little bit biased. Overall, The Garbadine made an average ramen broth with excellently cooked ramen noodles; although it had an interesting "Mexican" twist, it wasn't as attention grabbing as some of the ramen dishes my companion and I tried that day.
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| Menudo Ramen from The Garbadine |
At the back of the event centre there was a large (and loud!) booth which we later found out was
Kinton Ramen. Like Nota Bene, the line was quite long so we decided to make a pit stop at
Yakatori Bar and Seoul Food Co. for their ramen dish. Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co., like
Tomo Izakaya, specializes in Korean comfort dishes, small bar-style/late-night snack dishes, and sake. They actually had two dishes to offer for Noodlefest: a spicy-marinated tuna sashimi served with caramelized onions and arugula and a dry ramen dish featuring spicy kimchi, bacon, shredded
nori (seaweed), and
bonito flakes (dried tuna). The tuna sashimi dish was served in a paper boat, and the presentation of the dish really caught my eye. However, at the prompting of my companion, we went with the ramen dish instead; we were there for the ramen after all. This was the first time I tried dried ramen. The noodles were well cooked, though slightly softer in texture than at The Gabardine. The kimchi had a note of sweetness - which was quite a delightful surprise - and spicy, though not overpoweringly so that it completely overpowered the rest of the flavours. The bacon, diced into small pieces, was a nice twist on a classic dish as well. The shredded nori had a unique flavour to it and really brought the whole dish together. The downfall of the dish was definitely the bonito flakes. While they added flair to the overall presentation of the dish, they were exceedingly fishy and had a weird (
note weird, not good) melt-in-your-mouth texture. I definitely felt like I needed a stick of Wrigley's after the bonito flakes. Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co. had both good presentation (especially for the sashimi dish!) and interesting flavours in their ramen. They also gave us a coupon for their restaurant, and I am highly considering seeing what else this restaurant has to offer.
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Spicy-marinated Tuna Sashimi, Caremalized Onions, and
Arugula from Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co. |
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| Dry Ramen with Pork, Shredded Nori, and Bonito Flakes |
Kinton Ramen
With two ramen bowls in hand from The Gabardine and Yakitori Bar, my companion and I were finally ready to jump in line for
Kinton Ramen. Kinton Ramen was the only restaurant we tried that day that truly specialized in ramen, and they had all the antics to go along with it (see the video below!). They were definitely the loudest booth at the event, attracting a fair bit of attention to their booth with all of their showmanship. After each batch of ramen noodles was prepared, the cooks would chant loudly at the direction of the head chef. In addition, they torch cooked the meat right at the main table, which was an interesting spectacle to watch while waiting in line for the ramen. Kinton decided to serve
Spicy Garlic and Beef Ramen for their dish at SLURP! Noodlefest. Their ramen was definitely the most traditional ramen served at the event, featuring a spicy broth, corn niblets, and topped with torched beef and a sizeable quantity of minced garlic. Despite the impressive amount of showmanship from Kinton, I was mildly disappointed by the ramen. Although the meat was cooked well and had a nice smoky flavour from the torch and the garlic added a nice note to the ramen, both my companion and I found that the spiciness began to overwhelm the ramen considerably. After finishing the one piece of beef in the bowl, the ramen became very one note (i.e.
hot!). In fact, I was unable to finish my bowl, and my companion - the one with the iron tongue - slurped up the rest of my bowl for me. After browsing their website, however, I would still consider visiting their restaurant, as they have one of the most extensive and customizable ramen menus I have ever seen. Perhaps their spicy garlic ramen was not their best showing.
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| Kinton Ramen: torch-cooking beef |
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| Spicy Garlic Ramen from Kinton Ramen |
Nota Bene
Our last and most anticipated stop was
Nota Bene. Nota Bene can best be described as high-end fusion dining. With unique dishes like
Lobster Tom Yum and more traditional European dishes such as
Rabbit Soffrito, Pappardelle Pasta, Nota Bene was sure to attract a lot of attention at Noodlefest! We waited in line for quite a while, slurping up the last of our Kinton Ramen soup. Nota Bene's ramen was a
Woodfire Bacon & Egg Ramen with the option to add
Pork & Truffle Foam for an additional ($1). I opted to add the foam to my ramen while my companion elected to have the original. Of all the ramens we tried at SLURP! Noodlefest, Nota Bene was the most innovative and unique, and won as mine and my companion's overall favourite ramen at the event. Like Kinton, Nota Bene torch-cooked their bacon (not wood-fired like we were promised), which was a little disappointing. The bacon was thick sliced and not the "typical" bacon you have with your morning breakfast. Nota Bene feature a thicker slice of meat that was much less fatty than normal bacon. Despite not being cooked in a wood-fire, the flame torch did its job of infusing the bacon with a nice smoky flavour; however, it was not nearly crispy enough for me - a die-hard /
die!-heart bacon lover. The noodles were a little on the soft side, and personally, I prefer my ramen noodles a little more al dente. The most disappointing part of the dish, was actually the pork and truffle foam; I actually was unable to detect any hint of truffle flavour in my ramen, which was a huge let down, considering the distinct truffle flavour is one of my favourite flavours in any dish. The egg and broth was where the money was at for Nota Bene's ramen, and definitely made up for all the shortcomings aforementioned. The egg, poached to perfection, was creamy, silky, and burst open perfectly to infuse the broth with the rich yolk. The broth, which was creamy yet light, was one of the most unique soup broths I had ever tasted. It had various notes - sweet, meaty, creamy, eggy, and more! - that played out perfectly with each spoonful of ramen and slid satisfyingly down to warm your stomach. The proportions were a little off, however, and I wouldn't have minded more broth to soak my bacon, egg, and noodles in. Nota Bene, which in Latin means "
Take Note!" really made both my companion and I do just that: take notice! Although it isn't a ramen restaurant, it definitely had the most memorable bite of the event, and I definitely plan to make a stop at Nota Bene in the next couple of weeks when in Toronto.
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| Wood-fired Bacon & Egg Ramen +/- Pork & Truffle Foam from Nota Bene |
At the back of the event centre there was a large (and loud!) booth which we later found out was Kinton Ramen. Like Nota Bene, the line was quite long so we decided to make a pit stop at Yakatori Bar and Seoul Food Co. for their ramen dish. Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co., like Tomo Izakaya, specializes in Korean comfort dishes, small bar-style/late-night snack dishes, and sake. They actually had two dishes to offer for Noodlefest: a spicy-marinated tuna sashimi served with caramelized onions and arugula and a dry ramen dish featuring spicy kimchi, bacon, shredded nori (seaweed), and bonito flakes (dried tuna). The tuna sashimi dish was served in a paper boat, and the presentation of the dish really caught my eye. However, at the prompting of my companion, we went with the ramen dish instead; we were there for the ramen after all. This was the first time I tried dried ramen. The noodles were well cooked, though slightly softer in texture than at The Gabardine. The kimchi had a note of sweetness - which was quite a delightful surprise - and spicy, though not overpoweringly so that it completely overpowered the rest of the flavours. The bacon, diced into small pieces, was a nice twist on a classic dish as well. The shredded nori had a unique flavour to it and really brought the whole dish together. The downfall of the dish was definitely the bonito flakes. While they added flair to the overall presentation of the dish, they were exceedingly fishy and had a weird (note weird, not good) melt-in-your-mouth texture. I definitely felt like I needed a stick of Wrigley's after the bonito flakes. Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co. had both good presentation (especially for the sashimi dish!) and interesting flavours in their ramen. They also gave us a coupon for their restaurant, and I am highly considering seeing what else this restaurant has to offer.
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