Well, Nan Chuu Izakaya officially opened with ramen on the menu! The glorious thing about this visit is that it was 11pm and there was still ramen available! I know, I know, ramen is probably the last thing you want this late at night, unless you absolutely don't care about your cholesterol level, but it's not like I'm eating here every night. The izakaya was still pretty busy at this time of day, but we didn't have any trouble getting a seat. We were greeted with friendly smiles and nods, and I peaked into the kitchen to see Minoru-san working. Thougjh he was busier than hell, he still managed give me a nod and say hello.
Our intention was to get ramen, and that was our mission. But as soon as we sat down, we saw the menu and thought it would be nice to sample some of the izakaya menu items.....but no, we stuck to our plan and ordered ramen. We'll save the other stuff for another visit.
Though I really, really liked the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen, my eyes sparkled when I saw miso ramen on the menu. Oh God, how long has it been since I had really good miso ramen???? It had been too long and I couldn't resist. Like a fat kid in a candy story (or in this case, a fat guy in a ramen shop), I greedily ordered it, and to really seal the deal, I got it with butter corn. The chashu was cut as if Minoru-san could read my mind, and he knew exactly how I liked my chashu - fatty. It's gotta be at least 50/50 for it to taste good. You want lean and healthy? Stay home. The noodles were cooked to perfection, and I don't think I will ever find a better bowl of ramen outside of Japan. The broth was so thick, you could walk across it, and you could tell that the chef (Minoru-san) had slaved over it for a long time to get the recipe just perfect. It was nice and salty, not lean at all, full of flavour - an explosion of concentrated flavours. This is why they serve ice cold water at ramen shops - to refresh, to cleanse the palette so that you can enjoy anew. Some of you may not share my flavour and passion for ramen. You people are heathens.
When it comes to ramen, I'm like heroine-junkie and Minoru-san is my dealer. Crom laughs at your four winds, and any other ramen shop in town.
Great news! Suzuki Minoru of G-Men Ramen fame is now back in the saddle and making the lower mainland's finest ramen! Nan Chuu Japanese Izakaya will now be serving ramen!
Kintaro, Benkei, Santouka, Sampachi. Aji Sen, Menya and serveral others were available, but G-men's Miso ramen was by far the best ramen I've had outside of Japan. It was rich, it was intense, it was exciting. I got that eager feeling of anticipation before sitting down to a bowl of ramen there. My friend and fellow foodie Eric once ordered two bowls in a row. The atmosphere always mentally put me back in Japan and the service was always spot on. It was my little ramen paradise on this side of the Pacific.
When G-men ramen closed down, I was devastated. I told everyone I would find out where G-Men's chef went, stalk him and get him to make me a bowl of ramen. A few months later, through a strange turn of events, I found him! I got a chance to taste some samples last night and to my surprise, discovered something that tasted even better than his miso ramen - his Shio Tonkotsu Ramen, but I'll get to that after.
The first thing we got to try was cabbage. Doesn't sound very exciting does it? But I was as surprised as anyone else that this simple looking cabbage dish was freakin' amazing. It was lightly dressed with sesame oil, salt, pepper and probably some other stuff, and a perfect way to start the night off.
We also got to try two slight variations of chicken karaage. The first had slightly more seasoning than the second, but don't get me wrong, both were delicious. The meat was incredibly tender, and you know it's the freshest of the fresh, the skin nice and crispy, and the coating had a reasonable amount of seasoning. Add a squirt of lemon or a dip of mayonaise, and you end up with a plate of happiness.
Ok, so maybe it isn't better than his Miso Ramen, but it is a damn fine substitute, and thinking back, I'd have a hard time deciding if one was actually better than the other because I love them both. I could easily order the Shio Tonkotsu if Miso wasn't available. Anyway, my ramen was AWESOME. The broth here is nice and rich, and seasoned to perfection. Some may maon about it being too rich, or too salty, but this is exactly the way I like my ramen, and to be honest, I think ramen should be like this. If you're not screaming for a cup of cold water when you're done, you didn't have good ramen.
The noodles were cooked perfectly - no soggy, fat noodles, or undercooked, clumped-together noodles here. I really couldn't find any flaw in the ramen that I had, and you're hearing this from a guy that lives primarily on Miso Ramen. The only thing I probably would have preferred was a fattier cut of chashu. The only problem is, alot of people don't share my taste in fat and unhealthy cuts of meat, so looks like I lose to the world. Anyway, the entire bowl tasted like pure guilty pleasure, and I greedily gulped down every last bit. Minoru-san, you truly are the Ramen Master.
Other's had different types of ramen, including tan tan men, which could give my dad's tan tan mien a run for it's momey. The sesame paste was mixed in smoothly (no clumps of sesame paste) and there was just the right amount kick.
We finished off the food sampling with fried rice, which had the right amount of shine. Although I was pretty full by that point, it still tasted really good.
On to the drinks! Nan Chuu is an izakaya afterall, haha! We were given a variety of drink samples, mostly named after movies, and most of which I cannot remember the names for the life of me.
This one tasted like Mr. Freeze ice bars, the ones you used to get for 50 cents at the corner store. You know, the ones that turn your tongue whatever color the ice bar is? Anyway, this one tasted really good. I think it had calpis and some other stuff in it.
This one was calpiss, cassis and some other stuff....another really tasty drink.
Suzuki-san on the left, Hide sensei on the right.
This one apparently was minty, but I didn't try it.
The Godfather, haha, the only drink name I remembered. I think it was basically a Black Russian, but I'll have to double check that.....or you could double check that for me and let me know, haha!
By the time this drink came around, I was pretty bagged, and I had to drive home eventually so I cut myself off and sucked back hot tea for the next few hours. Great food, excellent service, awesome experience. Would I go back? Absolutely! During this visit, I also heard that Nan Chuu wll be one of the few ramen shops open till the wee hours of the morning. If I had my way, I'd have them open 24 hrs, haha!
