where jess ate

With the rising popularity of ramen in Toronto, is it any surprise that I’m writing yet another ramen post? Ramen Raijin is another new addition to the Toronto ramen scene and is brought to you by Daiji Matsubara who opened up Kintaro and Motomachi Shokudo in Vancouver.

Ramen Raijin is located near the Yonge and Gerrard intersection and unlike the other ramen spots in the city, it’s actually quite spacious. There’s plenty of seating (including bar seating) in the front half of the restaurant with another section at the back.

We started out with the Gyozas ($2.50 for 5 pieces/$4.50 for 10 pieces). We ordered the small and for $2.50 I thought it was a steal. The filling was quite nice and I really enjoyed their thin skin.

As far as their ramen options go, there are three main types – the Noukou Tonkotsu (pork bone broth), the Assari Toridashi (clear chicken soup broth) and a special bamboo charcoal dark miso ramen. While the tonkotsu pork bone broths have been rising in popularity, I haven’t seen the last two options at other ramen joints.

Since I’m a huge fan of tonkotsu broth, I ordered the Noukou Tonkotsu Shio Ramen – pork shoulder, green onion, canola flower, black fungus, cabbage, seasoned soft boiled egg and housemade black oil ($9.50).

The tonkotsu pork bone broth was rich and creamy, just like it should be. Raijin’s broth was actually quite nice but in my opinion, it doesn’t beat Sansotei or Santouka. The portion here was quite generous, with a large bowl packed full of wavy noodles. The noodles were actually my favourite part – they had a nice bite to them and I loved their chewy texture.

As for the meat, this bowl came with one piece of pork shoulder. I found it a bit too lean for my liking as I prefer my ramen meat on the fatty side. It was lacking that melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Mike went with the Noukou Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen – pork shoulder, green onion, bean sprouts, nori seaweed, canola flower and seasoned soft boiled egg ($9.50). If you’ve been reading my ramen posts, you’ll notice that I’m a fan of shio ramen and Mike’s go-to is the shoyu so it’s no surprise he chose this bowl. Overall, he enjoyed it. I only had a bite of this and while it wasn’t bad, I preferred my shio bowl.

Overall, Mike and I were quite pleased with our meal here. While I still think Santouka is home of the best ramen in Toronto, Ramen Raijin is another great addition to Toronto’s ramen scene.

At a glance:
• Located at Yonge and Gerrard
• Brought to you by the owner of Kintaro and Motomachi Shokudo in Vancouver
• 3 types of ramen – Noukou Tonkotsu (pork bone broth), Assari Toridashi (chicken broth) and a special bamboo charcoal dark miso ramen
• Enjoyed the ramen but my preference is still Santouka
• Much larger space than competing ramen joints
• Open from 11:30am to 11pm daily

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars