We came here for dinner promptly as 6, expecting there may be a line up just like the one downtown, but thankfully we didn’t have to wait very long – maybe 5 minutes.
I ordered the Shoyu Ramen, Brian went big and ordered the Shoyu Zenbu Ramen (comes with an egg, extra cha-shu and extra seaweed). We also ordered the mega kara-aage chicken because it piqued our interest.
The Shoyu Ramen was a good portion, the broth was nice, slightly on the thick side and not too salty. The temperature was good too, not too hot or too cold. I added the extra seaweed and egg and I felt like this was a good addition to give it a bit more crunch(from the seaweed) and heaviness from the egg. The egg was slightly salty. The cha-shu was nice, it was a good mix of fat and lean meat. Overall a great bowl of ramen.
The mega kara-aage is a big chicken leg that’s deep fried and served with a soy-citrus sauce. The outside is nice and crispy, still a little greasy but that’s always good. The inside is perfectly fried – still juicy and cooked well.
I love that there are more ramen places opening up closer to me so I don’t have to make the trek downtown. I think that even though Marutama Gaiden’s MO is to bring alternative bowls of ramen at their location, I still think it would be worth serving their Original ramen bowl here – I’d definitely come back a lot more if they did – also, if they brought their deep fried garlic along too!
Food: 4
Service: 4.5
Value: 3.5
Ambiance: 3.5
OVERALL: 4
For more information on Marutama Gaiden and their menu, check out their website here: http://marutama.ca
