JINYA RAMEN – TAPAS

Jinya’s Toronto location is gaining popularity with their thick broth and brussels sprouts ramen, but the noodle shop has plenty more to offer than just ramen. I stopped by with a few Instagramers back in November to taste their tapas and beer menu, organized by DKLo of DKLoEvents. While I was initially disappointed that the evening wouldn’t be centered around delicious ramen, I discovered a bevy of new tasty items at Jinya that I’ve already ordered again since!

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

In addition to food, we were also at Jinya to try out a few of the new craft beers available including two brews from Cameron’s Brewing in Oakville. Both The Hubby and I opted to start the evening with Cameron’s Amber Red Ale, which complimented our savoury snacks perfectly. We proceeded to refill our beer glasses a few times throughout the night.

In total we tried 8 different tapas dishes and I would easily re-order 5 of them. The Jinya Bun especially was amazing and my favourite bite of the night.

• Jinya Dynamite – Mini scallops in a creamy mentaiko mayo sauce topped with nori and served with crostini. This was so good, absolutely packed with umami. I don’t see the item on the menu anymore, but if it shows up again, I would definitely recommend trying it out.
• Pork Gyoza – Thin wrappers with a savoury filling and crispy bottom.
• Takoyaki – I liked the texture of the takoyaki at Jinya and the big chunk of octopus inside each gooey sphere. The line of takoyaki was set on a bed of scrambled eggs, which I found distracting.
• Crispy Chicken – Jinya’s version of karaage, crispy, juicy dark meat. I only wish it was served with mayo.
• Jinya Bun – Must order, no question about it. A thick slab of buttery soft, braised chashu, served on a pillowy steamed bao with Kewpie mayo and Jinya’s original bun sauce. This was the one plate that I ordered seconds of.

There were a few dishes that night that missed the mark for me. The first being the Quinoa Salad with Sesame Dressing. I thought it was an interesting idea to have a salad on the menu, but didn’t love the texture of the quinoa. I also could never see myself ordering the dish, or visiting with anyone who would opt for salad over noodles. Unfortunately, the only ramen we did try that night, the Vegetable Soup Ramen, was very disappointing. The broth had no flavour or depth and the topping of raw salad greens seemed haphazardly placed and didn’t taste very good. I was quite sad and didn’t even photograph the bowl. Jinya’s menu does feature another vegetarian ramen bowl, which I have not tried.

Overall, Jinya’s tapas menu proved that there’s more to them than just ramen. My heart melts for the Jinya Bun.