On Sunday April 7th, I took the luxury to visit Ajisen Ramen, a popular ramen shop in Markham near Pacific Mall. Ajisen Ramen is always a treat and maintains it’s spot as the highlight of my day everytime I go. To celebrate the arrival of spring, I decided to drive down with my family to revisit the ramen place for my regular monthly visit. Ajisen Ramen promises a authentic, clean, and enjoyable ramen experience. As highlighted in my previous blog post, Ajisen has it’s roots as a small ramen shop in Japan. It strives to bring the genuine Japanese ramen eating experience to Canada.

Ajisen is like any other sit down restaurant; They sit you down in accordance to the size of your party and you order from a waiting staff who take your order and send it to the kitchen to be prepared.

The Menu

The Menu is split into 4 pages, Appetizers, Rice, Ramen, and Spicy Ramen.

The first page of the menu starts with the appetizers. Each appetizer are bite sized portions of famous Japanese-style dishes. There are a variety of appetizers ranging from Fried Chicken to Takoyaki (Fried Octopus). Two items on the menu (A14 and A20) seemed particularly popular since they were sold out. Sadly, I couldn’t get their names as the sold out sign covered them. My father decided to buy the Japanese Deep Fried Tofu to “be healthy” which is ironic because it’s also deep fried. Each appetizer is priced fairly at a 3-8$ price range depending on the quality of the appetizer.

The rice section of the menu includes various meat/seafood dishes over rice. Additionally, you could get rice by it’s self for 11$. The Grilled Sanma Rice Set seemed popular as it is also sold out. There are a wide variety of meat combinations but not too much seafood options. The prices of the meals seem fair for the size of the portions and are within the 10-14$ range.

The Ramen page is the highlight of the menu. The page is structured differently, with the most famous types of ramen ranked at the top of the page. The rest (but still tasty) options are displayed below them. Interestingly, the most popular ramens seem to be all related to pork. This makes sense due to the fact that Ajisen is famous for their Pork Ramen and pork broth. Their pork ramen is what’s made them create a name for themselves and allowed Johnny Luk (the owner of Ajisen) to gain the popularity that would allow him to spread his restaurant to the world. There is a variety of options for ramen, with each being in the 11-13$ range. The price is very fair for it the portion sizes as they are pretty big. Our family ordered 2 Tender Pork Ramen’s and 2 Beef Shank Ramen’s.

The last page of the menu contains the spicy ramen. Personally, I have a high spice tolerance but I wasen’t feeling it that day. Similar to the regular ramen page, the top 3 most popular ramen dishes are highlighted at the top of the page with the rest displayed under. The main difference of this page is the color scheme changes from it’s regular orange to red to really solidify the fact that these noodles are hot. I mean there’s an entire dish called Volcano Ramen so I’d be careful. The price ranges’s are similar to the regular ramen and the same could be said about the portion sizes.

Overall, the menu is well constructed. Each image really helps to highlight how appetizing the dishes look. The menu is easy to follow, and follow a structure that makes sense; with Appetizers in the front and main dishes at the back. The color scheme of orange is appealing to the eye and the switch up to the red color scheme for the spicy ramen is a clever decision. The font for the dishes and headers of each page is simple yet appealing. Additionally, the Japanese letters really add to the aesthetic of the menu and gives a more traditional, genuine, Japanese experience. Everything you need to know is there and the most popular types of ramen are highlighted so it makes the decision on what to order easier for the customer. The price ranges are all fair for the portion sizes and the variety of ramen is vast. The menu serves as a good introduction to the Ajisen experience.

There is also vegetarian options available!

The Food

The first item we ordered was the Japanese Deep Fried Tofu. The smell of soy sauce and the various spices was prominent. I don’t usually smell my food because I look weird but in this instance, there were a vast combination of spices that it was hard to pinpoint a specific one. Visually, the scallions contrast the brownness of the dish which makes it feel like what you’re eating sliiightly healthy despite being deep fried. The taste was a great experience as the crunchiness of the deep fried crust juxtaposes the soft tofu inside while the sauce with the several spices explode in your mouth after being trapped by the tofu.

My mother and sister ordered the beef shank ramen. It came with an boiled egg, scallions, seaweed, beef shank and Ajisen’s famous white broth. The meal comes hot, and is eaten sitting down. The portion is big enough to be shared with someone else! The meal is eaten slow and steady as you want to savor the broth and the noodles. The noodles are soft and so was the meat on my initial bites. The smell of the beef and white broth were the most prominent smells coming from the dish. Overall, the flavors all worked together to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of authentic Japanense ramen.

Finally, the main star of the show is the Tender Pork Ramen. This is the most popular dish and rightfully so. Served hot, the ramen comes with scallions seaweed, noodles, pork, and white broth. There is no egg this time around, but the dish is already so perfect that anymore addition would make it too overwhelming and take away from the main star of the dish – the pork. The noodles are incredibly soft and carry a lot of the broth with it. The pork is incredibly soft and barley any force is required to chew the pork. The secret behind the tastiness of the pork is to marinate it using a secret sauce which is indescribably savory. The broth is created from slow cooking the pork, which is also why the pork is remarkably soft. Finally, the vegetables and noodles complete the satisfying, and fulfilling soup. I would defiantly recommend this dish to anyone and when I bring my friends, I force them to try this.

The Atmosphere

One of the main aspects that I enjoy about when I visit the restaurant each month is the atmosphere. The customers usually come from Asian-Canadian backgrounds. This is in part to the large Asian demographic present within Markham. Specifically, Pacific Mall – an Asian based mall is only a 2 minute drive from the restaurant. Traditional Japanese Music plays from the speakers and allows for a more cozy and authentic Japanese eating experience. Somehow, the soft Japanese music enriches the flavor of the food and allows for a deeper experience and immerses you in the authentic Japanese experience. Discussion and the sounds of plates being changed fill the room and only adds to the immersion and hospitality of the restaurant.

Japanese murals of sumo wrestlers take up the entire left side wall. The murals are drawn in a traditional Japanese style. The painting is the focal point of the store and stands out from everything else. The painting gives the restaurant more personality and continues to add on to the Japanese authenticity of the ramen shop. This is a little biased since I tend to enjoy traditional Japanese art, but I think this one of the best uses of art in a restaurant I’ve seen so far. The mural could also be seen as a call back to the stores Japanese roots, and further push Ajisen’s narrative of bringing authentic Japanese cuisine to Canada.

The rightmost wall is filled with a display of bowls. Each bowl is a ramen bowl from different centuries. It is very inserting to see how the ramen bowl evolved throughout the years. It went through many styles, from a classic all white porcelain bowl to a sleek black, to intricate designs and then to modern bowl we have to day. Once again, this display is a nod to Ajisen’s Japanese roots and serves as a reminder of where they came from – a tiny ramen shop in Japan many years ago.

Conclusion

Ajisen never fails to impress. Every time I go, it’s always a treat. The quality is consistent, and it’s a good way to reward yourself after a long week. The slow cooked pork is something that I’ve genuinely never experienced before. The portions are filling and I always feel sleepy after finishing a bowl. The prices are fair, especially for the quality and size of the ramen. I personally believe that Ajisen stays true to it’s Japanese roots and fulfills its promise to create an authentic Japanese experience. This experience is truly one of a kind and I recommend anyone to go!