An authentic Japanese ramen bar located in the heart of London, following the success of their branch in Holburn, Kanada-Ya has recently opened up a second restaurant in the bustly and vibrant Soho area, and I was delighted to be invited along to review their special ramen menu!
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| Kanada Ya Panton Street |
Greeted by the friendly Japanese waitress (see, authentic!), we were shown to our table in the relaxed and casual restaurant. Busy enough for there to be a great atmosphere and buzz, but not so busy that we couldn't hear one another talk, it was a pleasurably - albeit unusually for Picadilly on a Friday night- laid back.
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| Quirky and casual |
Glancing over the menu, we noticed a delicious sounding selection of starters and sides, including Karaage (Japanese fried chicken with house mayo), Truffle edamame, and Paolo's Kale. After much deliberation, we decided to try out the Salmon and Japanese Sour Plum Onigiri - premium Japanese rice balls wrapped in Nori seaweed. A bit like sushi....
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| Salmon Onigiri |
....But better! The salmon was perfectly firm yet flaky, and the plum sauce just sweet enough without being too desert like. We both did feel, however, that there was perhaps just slightly too much rice inside the seaweed wrapper - a nicely generous portion, but we soon discovered we most definitely needed to save enough room for the ramen we were about to be served!
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| Plum Onigiri.... perhaps we should have ordered the single! |
With seven different ramen options on offer, we both went for the Chicken Paitan, which involved a corn fed chicken broth combined with a 'secret sauce', filled with noodles, topped with shredded leek and chashu pork collar. I have to admit, I was initially a little disappointed that none of the options, even the CHICKEN Paitan, came served with poultry as opposed to pork, as I can generally find pork to a bit tasteless.
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| Dinner for 2 |
But I needn't of worried - this time was an exception! After devouring the tender and flavoursome pork, I now wouldn't have wished for anything else! Turns out, when cooked correctly, pork can actually be pretty tasty!
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| It's time for the close up..... |
In addition to the various ramen options, what I particularly like is that you are given options as to your noodle softness - extra hard, hard, regular, or soft. As I love my pasta/noodles/rice(/whatever it is!) aldente, I went for their recommendation of 'hard', which had just the right texture to give a bit of bite - there's nothing worse than mushy noodles! (Wagamama, take note!)
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Table garnishes - add to your taste
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You may expect, with it being such a large bowl served to a rather tiny person, that I wouldn't have been able to manage it all. Wrong! It was so delicious I had no problem finishing it all up!
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All finished!
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Finally, to finish came desert - a matcha soft serve ice cream sprinkled with chocolate chips.
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Tempting?
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Both trying to 'be good', we originally said no, however after seeing the waitress bring some over to a nearby table, temptation got the best of us! And I'm glad it did, as this is a desert that should not be missed! Plus, Matcha is bursting with so many health benefits - Gwyneth Paltrow swears by the stuff. So, if it's good enough for Gwyneth, it's good enough for me!
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Matcha Soft Serve
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Not only was the food fantastic and service absolutely outstanding, but Kanada Ya is also excellent value for money. With ramen bowls beginning at £10.50, for such generous portion sizes and genuine Japanese authenticity, this is one you must try out!
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Now you know why I'm smiling so much!
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I went there on last summer holidays and tried the food. The quality of the food is awesome, and service is good. Everyone should go there once and try the food. Thanks for the article.
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