Out & About #92 | Toronto Things: Soban Cafe + Hakata Shoryuken Ramen

Yonge and Finch is an area heavily populated with cafes and small businesses, making it easy to miss signs if not intentionally searching.

I've passed by Soban a number of times before when finding my way to CoCo's, but it wasn't until a thorough Instagram search on the bingsoo hashtag was conducted that I discovered the small Korean cafe.

The cafe was located on the second floor of the building; it had a rather clean design, with several large windows to let in natural light. The sofas, stained in excess by past customers, were comfortable despite their unclean state. With free Wi-Fi access, the premises was ideal for post-school/-work lounging and socializing among young adults. The only downside was that there was an awkward distance between the sofa and the table, which could probably be mediated by making minor adjustments to the seating arrangement.

A clear view of the bus terminal and busy intersection below could be easily also seen from the tables.

The makeshift menu, comprised of a few laminated sheets bounded hole-punched and bounded together, was simple in form but effective in outlining the selection of food items available. There was one strange point though: I had originally wanted to order a limited time flavour of bingsoo by the name of Red Bean Korean Rice Cake, but was informed by the waitress that it wasn't available yet, in contempt of the fact that it was already May.

A Fruits Bingsoo was ordered instead.

To our relief, this one was much much better than our previous experience at cafe bene. There were two sizes (large and small); we ordered the smaller size to be safe and it turned out to be the perfect amount for sharing as a pre-dinner sweet snack.

We later headed to Hakata Shoryuken Ramen for dinner.

The ramen house, like many other restaurants in North York, was considerably small bur rather cozy. We arrived a little after 6 pm, but the tables had already filled up.
After being greeted warmly at the door, we were offered bar seats, to which I sat down at with much pleasure - not only was there a decent amount of lighting, but we also got a great view of the food preparation process.

A Black Tonkotsu Ramen and a plate of Gyoza were ordered after much indecisiveness.

A large number of restaurants prepare gyoza by pan-frying, or, if you're really unlucky, by defrosting frozen store-bought ones. It was because of this that I had contemplated ordering Sui Gyoza (steamed gyoza) instead. The chef preparing food behind the counter overheard us and responded, "We actually don't have that (yet). Sorry!". So we just stuck with the regular Gyoza.
This proved to be the correct choice, as the housemade gyoza were cooked using a interesting steaming-frying technique that resulted in a somewhat crisp exterior that still maintained soft, chewy interior.
(Shoutout to the super-nice chef for lifting the lid so I could capture this shot!)

The full album can be viewed HERE!

The Black Tonkotsu Ramen did not disappoint either. An exclusive at their shop, it was made using a soup base containing black garlic oil that retained a great deal of flavour without being overly salty. The chashu, also known as fatty pork slices, was incredibly tender, with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency that was completely unheard of at other ramen houses that I've tried.

As the Gyoza had been amazing, we decided to order another two plates - one for dining here and one for takeout. It had become rather busy at this point, making it difficult to gather the attention of either of the two waitresses. Once again, the chef showed his attentiveness towards us by peeking over the counter to ask if he could help with anything. I told him that I wanted to place two more orders of Gyoza, to which he responded by calling one of the waitresses over to take my order immediately. This happened again when we asked for the bill. I honestly couldn't have wished for better service.

I don't consider myself a big fan of ramen, but Hakata Shoryuken's Black Tonkotsu Ramen definitely left an impression on me. If given the chance, I'd love to have a taste of their Gyoza again as well!

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