Ramen Jinya 陣家, Yaletown: Authentic Ramen

First night of Celebration of Lights! Excited, I headed downtown for lunch with RetroGirl and RL. I wanted ramen, and RetroGirl suggested a few places, Ramen Jinya caught my eye because it's not located where near the blob of ramen shops on Robson, instead, it's at the Yaletown end =O

Restaurant: Ramen Jinya 陣家 (visit their website here)

Location: 270 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Noodle Shop
Price range: about $10




Date of visit: July 27, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Upon entrance, I notice it's more brightly lit and urban than the other ramen shops, looked cleaner. Was a bit iffy about being seated right near the door, but glad we did, since it started getting warm and the cool breeze from outside was wonderful. RL tried their Tonkotsu Ramen Black ($11.25) before, so he ordered it again. Quite interesting, it was made with black seasame oil, hence the "black". Seems to be a popular item to be ordered.

I couldn't decide between two ramens, but since RetroGirl ordered their Original Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen ($9.75), I ordered the other. Hers looked quite fatty, but she said it was deliciously fatty =) Also ordered a soft-boiled egg ($1.00) on the side, which arrived separately from the ramen-- interesting. Do you see the giant ladle-spoon? It made eating a bit difficult haha but quite cool.

Finally, mines! I ordered a Tonkotsu Shio Ramen ($9.75) and remembered I like Shio much more than Shoyu miso, so I  was happy =D It's interesting here, they use authentic ramen (according to RetroGirl who has been in Japan for a while before). It's thinner than the other ramen I've had before, and it was really good. The broth was to die for. It was so rich and the flavors burst in my mouth. Almost had a foodgasm (please excuse the language). The Char Siu was also tender and not very fat, I liked it a lot. The broth ended up being a bit fattier than I'd expected, but everything comes for a price =P

Very memorable indeed, so if I'm in the area I will be sure to come again! Having learnt thin ramen is what one would expect in Japan is very intriguing for me, what of the other ramen places then? Are they FAKES D= They gave us a cute fan for the fireworks though ^-^

Anywho, very nice servers and spacious little store with delicious food? I'll be BACK.

Chicco Cafe, Downtown Vancouver: Most cereal I've had in a while!

Courtesy of Charles Yu Photography

Walked by here a lot of times and always curious to try it, so finally, given the chance that our movie plan was foiled, I suggested to my fellow foodies to walk allll the way down Robson to here! =D








Restaurant: Chicco Cafe (visit their website here)

Location: 1504 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Dessert
Price range: <$10




Date of visit: July 16, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Courtesy of Charles Yu Photography

Chicco offers parfaits and a variety of other desserts, but the main thing is the parfaits that drew me in. Mind you, they're CASH ONLY.

Of course, I ordered their Tiramisu Parfait... but forgot the price, it was around $9. The little square of tiramisu on top was rather delicious, but the macaron... was lacking. It was way too hard and  dense. The whipped cream in the middle didn't really help the whole thing, but the ice cream was great. Nothing exceptional, but I liked it. There was a lot of corn flakes in the middle! Surprised by the cake bits on the bottom, which were quite filling. I was so full after this! xD

Here's what the ingredients should be like, which was in the ones we got, so no surprises there =) I may come back to try others, but somewhere up the street are cheaper parfaits to try first! =D

AZ and WY both got a Mango Parfait, which looked amazing too, there was a ball of raspberry ice cream near the bottom, which seemed interesting. They both enjoyed it, so I assume it was good! Such a small store, it's quite homey.

Bon Crepe, Downtown Vancouver: Amazing Matcha soft serve!

Strollin' around downtown with AY and we decided upon ICE CREAM. Was aiming for another place but saw this first. Matchaaaaa and crepes! =D Japan market~

Restaurant: Bon Crepe (visit their website here)

Location: 1238 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Dessert, Japanese
Price range: approx. $5




Date of visit: July 16, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Decided since it was an hour before our foodies event, just to get something small so we don't miss out on the main event! =P Saw crepes, but MATCHA SOFTSERVE ($2.95 with taxes). YES PLEASE.

The person manning this was so nice and friendly, he was so thoughtful and helped me hold onto my cone when I was trying to put things back into my bag hehe, I would've otherwise dropped my delicious ice cream >w< It was a very creamy and smooth texture, you could definitely taste the matcha. None of that weird gritty rough feel in my mouth after it either, which was great.

Not a bad deal for $2.95, it's located right at the Japan Market =)