ZUBU Ramen - Metrotown — Restaurant in Burnaby

Located right outside of Metrotown Mall, Jinya Ramen is an easy spot to stumble into, It’s inviting, classy, well decorated, and always a pleasant experience. We’ve been once before and were thoroughly impressed by what we got. This time, grabbing dinner with some work buddies after a long day, we knew Jinya would make everyone happy.

Getting there it was a bit of a wait (expected for a Friday evening), but the hostess underestimated the wait time which was a pain. Once seated on the patio (thankfully it was getting late so it wasn’t too hot) we dug into the menu. It’s worth noting this is one of the pricier ramen joints in town, so bring your going out wallet. The specials are all really good and if you know how to plan it, you can probably get your favourite thing for a little cheaper.

One place Jinya stands out is the drink menu. Around our table we got some wonderful pear sake, a pint of very good local beer, a watermelon flavoured drink that just tasted like eating fresh watermelon, and a spectacular sangria. It was perfectly sweet, really smooth, made with great Japanese wine, with big chunks of lychee, cherry, and lemon. Also worth noting, last time we came we got the mimosa’s which were so good we deconstructed and stole the mix (a splash of pineapple juice!).

Mads: Yo! So, as per usual, got the Tonkatsu Pork which is just a good way of consistently comparing different places. In any event, the soup was pretty good overall. The broth has more of an oil base to it rather than a smooth creaminess with other tonkotsu I’ve enjoyed. The benefit to a broth like this is that it’s far more filling with less. As for the noodles, they were the thicker style (Kitakata) which did a fairly remarkable job of holding in that heavy soup base; not overly oily either compared to other kitakata ramen noodles I’ve tried. And finally, the toppings were good, though nothing that overly stood out. The chashu did offer a nice compliment to the soup, however the pieces were mostly fat. The egg (which I ordered separately) had a nice seasoning to it, but failed to have a flavour that blended in nicely with the rest of the bowl. Overall, a good bowl of ramen, but nothing remarkable that makes me look back on it with a desire to go back as soon as possible.

Rhi: I got the Spicy Creamy Vegan ramen. I always appreciate a vegan option, so I’ve got this both times I’ve been here. I was surprised by how good it was last time I came, and the creaminess of the broth is by far the stand out part of the dish. It rounds out the spice of the soup really well, and is thick with garlic and sesame. The onions are great, especially the little crispy onion bits which really add to the texture. The thicker noodles were cooked a little al dente, which I don’t usually opt for but worked perfectly in this ramen.

Unfortunately, the rest of the ingredients are a little meh. There is a lot of soft tofu, but it’s not fried or marinated and kind of washes out the overall flavour. It sucks up the broth a little bit but it’s far from special. The spinach is mostly good, and I like spinach, but something about it didn’t blend with the dish overall.

Our compadres got wonton chicken and spicy chicken soups, both of which the loved quite a bit. They also got some tempura brussel sprouts which were super tasty (Rhi liked them and she isn’t crazy about tempura so that tells you that).

Overall, Jinya is undeniably high quality, and has some great creative takes on Ramen. The drink menu is spectacular too, and we absolutely need to go back to try a sake flight. Also much love for having vegan options. That said, compared to some of the best ramen joints in the city it can be a bit underwhelming. On top of that, the price really sneaks up on you, and can just remind you of better, cheaper places. We’d recommend it as a good date night or work outing, where you’re prepared to splurge on drinks and appetizers and everybody wants something...

Abbreviated Review: Ramen broth was quite good, but had pockets with excessive salt and flavouring resulting in an inconsistent eating experience. Noodles were good, though probably from a menya. Service staff were nice, but overall staff was disorganized and too slow for a ramen store.

Atmosphere: In a word, the place is fusion ramen with a very large menu. Greeted by Anglo-Japanese greetings welcoming and thanking you which does not improve the experienc; instead, makes for a cringey first impresion. 2/5

Soup Broth: Tasteful broth, but marred by inconsistent pockets of salt affecting ramen. Impression: Poor attention to detail led to poorly mixed broth. 3/5

Noodles: Excellent noodles, most likely from a menya though. 5/5

Toppings: Chasu had poor marbling with overly thick layers of fat, which took away from the ramen. Would have preferred lean or at least consistently marbled pork to be used with the ramen. This is a personal preference though. 2/5

Appetizer: Good karaage cooked with the proper japanese double fry technique. Batter was light and seasoned. Dish was paired, in my opinion poorly, with an in-house ponzu sauce. For a cleaner taste, I would recommend koscher salt tossed in with the freshly fried karaage with 1-2 lemon wedges on the side to and on top. 4/5

Service: Staff was friendly; however, they were also slow, inattentive, and disorganized. There were approximately 3 wait staff, one bartender/managing rep in plain clothes, and 3-4 staff in the kitchen. Despite this, they struggled to push service to approximately 10 tables with 20 people. Approximate time for service: 10 minutes for one bao, 15 minutes for a karaage, and 16-17 minutes for a ramen. 1/5

Critique: Large menu and disorganized staff contributed to slow service. Inconsistencies in ramen with respect to flavour could be associated with poor attention to detail, which was consistent with observations inside the kitchen.

Suggestions: Address disorganization of staff in the way the communicate and work together. Kitchen staff appeared disinterested and annoyed with work, which influenced impression...

Decided to come here, as I wanted to know what the hype was all about. The decoration at this place was great, it resembles some hip restaurants with its brick wall design and large window lighting.

The staff here was very friendly and greeted us with a smile. (I think this can also be because the sun is finally out during the week of heavy rain)

So lets get onto the food itself. What I have ordered was the gyoza, chicken carrage, chicken ramen and the deepfried Brussels (I didnt include this picture as it didnt look appealing)

Here is a breakdown of what I felt with each of the dishes,

Chicken Carrage - wow, this was awesome, Its a must order if you are there the juiciness of the chicken was overflowing upon first bite. and its crispy. The flavor of the marination reminded exactly how it was like in Kyoto, Japan.

Gyoza - thin skin and full of flavor, the pork juices alone will make your mouth water. the slight browning of the crust give it a nice crunchy texture when bite into.

fried brussel sprout - first glance, looks like charred balls, at first I didnt know what it was until I picked it up to realize it was Brussel sprouts. Didnt really enjoy this, it was just seasoned with a bunch of salt, when the server asked me how it was, I said it was okay, because I assumed this is how it was suppose to taste. But personally, its not my thing found it way too salty and way too burnt.

Chicken carrage Ramen - Broth was rich and creamy..... But! way too salty, im not sure if they forgot to put clear broth or what? It kind of reminds my of Kyoto, Japan's tsukemen (dipped ramen) as it was extremely salty. The noodles itself however was good, they use what i believe is handmade noodles (when it bounces off the teeth, this is generally handmade hand stretched) This I liked alot. The chicken carrage? In the soup it removed its crunchy feel, but still tasted good.

All in all, I would give it a 3.5/5 simply because the brussel sprout and broth style. Im used to a lighter type broth like the hakata style ramen. Jinya tasted closer to...