The Ramen Butcher(Burnaby) — Restaurant in Burnaby

Good portion sized ramen with lots of toppings and pretty tasty! The service here was very good as the servers were very friendly and courteous. Came here after recommendations from friends and it definitely did not disappoint. However, I must say that the ramen was good but that's about it. Nothing about the ramen really stood out when compared but price point for what you pay for makes it quite affordable and just a good overall place for ramen.

Ordered Chicken Karaage, Original Miso Ramen, and Original Creamy Ramen. The Chicken Karaage arrived first and came hot and juicy, The meat was very tender and flavored well, however, my only gripe is that the chicken was not crispy enough and in many parts I was eating soft gooey batter. But for the price and portion size, you really can't complain. The Original Miso Ramen was had a TON of toppings and was a bit hard to even mix everything together. The chicken and pork broth was rich and flavorful and the hint of miso really worked with the dish very well. The Cha-Su was a massive piece and it was tender to the bite and did not lack in flavor. The noodles were cooked perfectly and was barely able to finish it. The Original Creamy Ramen, similar to Marutama's original ramen had a very nice and creamy soup base which was very rich and flavor. The thin noodles were cooked perfectly and was still al dente after sitting in the warm broth. The Cha-Su again did not disappoint even though it was quite minimalist.

Overall, this ramen place is good not great but well worth the price. The decor inside was very similar to Japanese ramen shops and was clean. This place can get quite busy so be prepared to wait if needed but the establishment had quite a bit of seating. Lots of free street...

The Ramen served here has all the makings of an excellent bowl, but the execution and little details prevent it from being truly great.

I tried the Iekei and the Spicy Tonkotsu ramen. The best part of these bowls was the flavor of the broth, the Iekei was good and the Tonkotsu was delicious, very rich and almost buttery but lacking the pork funk of actual Hakata style ramen.

The bowl was held back by a few key factors. The broth was hot, but not as hot as a proper bowl should be. The lack of heat meant the toppings did not heat up properly and remained almost fridge temperature. The flavor of the broth still felt "closed", like a bowl that had been left to cool down too long.

The table came with no condiments. Raw garlic should be the bare minimum for tonkotsu and iekei styles of ramen.

I also tried two sides, the kaarage and the okonomi gyoza. The kaarage was cooked excellently, and the sauce paired well with the crisp outside.

The gyoza was unfortunately outstandingly bad, and I do not say this lightly. The gyoza seemed steamed which is not typical and had the flavor of frozen gyoza. The dish was topped with bonito, green onion, kewpie mayo, and okonomiyaki sauce. Unfortunately, the okonomiyaki style topping and the flavor of the gyoza clashed so poorly that I lost my appetite.

Finally the water we were served was warm. Upon observation of the restaurant it seemed the water was kept in the vicinity of the kitchen where it could stay nice and warm. Ice cold water is a necessity in almost any ramen restaurant you'd find in japan, having this lacking was really a downer. It seems nothing has changed from another review mentioning this about a month ago.

Unfortunately I will look elsewhere...

Edit (October 8, 2022):

I came back because I was SO hopeful that it would be back to the way it was and I am happy to say that ITS BACK! It’s back the way it used and the soup is good again and the numbing is back to the way it used to be. I am so happy. Thank youuuuuu! Can’t wait for more!! :)

Edit (Mid September 2022):

I AM SO SAD. This was my favourite Ramen Shop (scorpion ramen to be specific)- I used to literally come here almost once a week or if not then order from Door Dash— but I don’t know what happened because I came 3 weeks ago and the soup was MAJORLY different. And I tested this because I came in three times in that one week to make sure my first and second time was a missed (because I REFUSED TO BELIEVE THE CHANGE) but after the third time, I knew that it was different. The soup tasted sour and not spicy at all. It no longer has that umami! And it was more watery than it used to be and they don’t serve enough anymore to get second noodles. The spicy was weird and the numbing was watery and no longer numbing— it was just oil. I don’t know what happened, if they changed chef or owner, but its no longer the place I knew it used to be a year ago. And I am heart broken because the Scorpion Ramen is my go-to comfort food to have when I’m feeling down and happy or feeling like celebrating! Please bring it back! 😭

Original review (one year ago): My favourite Ramen place to serve my cravings! The Scorpian ramen is so good! The flavour is overwhelmingly perfect! I love how the first noodle refill is free— it’s a great incentive and it makes me want more! I’ve been here often and the servers are...