With just four items on its opening menu, newcomer Ramen Kounotori is keeping it all about the noodles and its creamy chicken-based broths.
The restaurant has just opened for business at 3950 Main St, taking over the bright and modern space that had previously been Old Bird.
Kounotori is an independent Vancouver venture (though a ramen brand of the same name exists in Japan) and the specialty is "tori" - chicken - which serves as the base of its four broths. Two are chicken based, the "creamy" original (tori paitan) and a spicy option (kara tori paitan), while two use chicken and seafood as the base, with either salt (tori shio) or soy sauce (tori shoyu).
All of the ramen bowls, priced at $18-19 each, come standard with a whole ramen egg, green onions, a thick slice of melty chashu pork and generous slices of sous-vide cooked chicken breast meat, which means you won't need to seek out the add-ons - which are available - unless you want extra of component.
I tried the basic and the spicy, both of which landed at the table with the broth appearing creamy and frothy, before the first pull revealed a generous tangle of thin ramen noodles amidst the equally generous components in the bowl. The broths were packed with flavour and the heat on the spicy broth was just perfect for my liking, leaving a gentle tingle but not a scorching burn.
Ramen Kounotori has had a busy opening week and is continuing to perfect a balance between customer demand and kitchen output. The restaurant's standard opening hours are Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9:30 p.m. with a break daily between 3:30 and 5 p.m. You can follow @kounotori_main on Instagram for more updates and information.
Watch: Trying out the newest ramen restaurant in Vancouver
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