Kintaro - Round 2

Hi everyone,

Round 2 continues at Kintaro... Although it's been a while since I've updated my blog, as promised, here's my take on the Spicy Miso Ramen and the non-spicy Forest Fire specials.

The extremely elusive spicy miso ramen was a 3/4 month special offered at Kintaro during the winter months, while the forest-fire ramen, the perennial Saturday night special, was always a popular choice among Kintaro diners. Unfortunately, they are usually sold out by the time we arrive for the dinner hour at 7 o'clock.

With this visit however, we were in luck. The spicy miso ramen arrives in a steaming bowl with the usual adornments such as bamboo shoots, pork (your choice of lean or fat), corn, and bean sprouts, but the soup is the genuine piece de la resistance for those who like it hot. At first, the soup starts up light and unassuming, extremely smooth on your senses like the miso ramen.

But it is the after taste that takes your breath away as the combination of spices starts to shoot through the roof of your mouth. The fireworks produced by this soup is balanced by noodles and adornments. Then, a final tinge of miso lingers on your taste buds as you begin on your next bite.

As for the forest fire ramen, it's a bit of a hit and miss. What's impressive are the things the noodle includes, with chicken, spinach, egg, bamboo shoots, sesame. This makes the forest fire the most value priced menu item in the whole restaurant especially when adding an egg or having extra meat will cost you $1.00 more per item. However, we all found the dish a bit small and light in contrast to the very heavy, full-flavoured miso ramen, and, at a higher price point, it simply didn't satisfy our large appetites and small wallets.