VANCOUVER – JINYA RAMEN BAR

Continuing my food adventure in Vancouver, I had grand plans to visit 3 ramen shops in one afternoon. We only managed to fit in two, as both stops had a minimum order of one bowl/person. Our first stop at Jinya Ramen Bar far outshined our second stop at Kintaro, which was disappointing in both their broth and noodle texture. Jinya Ramen Bar, was delicious. Originated in California, Jinya has multiple locations throughout the US and 4 shops in Vancouver. They just recently opened a Toronto location this May and there’s a Calgary location coming soon. I’ve yet to visit the Toronto location, but was very excited to spot the restaurant under construction after our meal in vancouver.

Atmosphere: Of the 4 Vancity JInya locations, I chose to visit the Robson St. one based on its central location. The shop had a good number of seats including two large communal tables. Most of the diner were pairs or singles and turnover was quick. We arrived right as doors opened for lunch and didn’t have to wait for long, even with a group of 4. The restaurant did ask that the entire party was there before seating anyone. By the time we left, a short queue had formed outside.

Service: With the quick turnover of tables, service was efficient and professional. There wasn’t any aspect that was memorable, positive or negative.

Food: Both The Hubby and I stuck to tonkotsu broth. He ordered the Premium Tonkotsu White with chashu, wood ear mushroom, seasoned egg, and thin noodles. I had the Tonkotsu Spicy, mild. The default topping on my bowl was chashu, bean sprouts, wood ear mushroom, green onion and thick noodles. I chose to add a seasoned egg and corn. For both our orders, the seasoned eggs was served on the side.

Breaking down the bowl, first up is the broth. I really enjoyed the depth of flavour and thickness of the broth. The liquid gold was savoury, milky, and lip-smacking good. The broth was quite salty. I had a sip of The Hubby’s broth, which was a blend of chicken and pork broth. The combination was less dense but fattier. As for toppings, I liked the selection of the default inclusions and how crunchy the vegetables were. I am used to the chashu being torched and more rendered than how Jinya served it. The chashu was very tender. Lastly, the noodles were perfect, had and excellent chewiness, was a good portion size and wonderful to slurp up.