kanada-ya ramen bar
As I mentioned in my Japanese Journey post, it was a blessing in disguise that due to the long queue, we didn't manage to go to Kanada-Ya that day. There is no way we could have managed a whole portion of ramen amongst everything else!
Luckily, they kindly allowed me to use my passport to claim my bowl of noodles a couple of days later. E and I were meaning to try this place together anyway, so we went for an early dinner (although we got there at 5pm and still had to queue for about 20 minutes!).
It's a tiny place with probably not many more than 20 seats available, and nearly everyone working there is Japanese. It's what most ramen bars are like in Japan - nothing fancy, counter seats, and nothing but ramen on the menu.
To my delight, the taste also reflected the authenticity of it all - they know what they're doing. It's like going to an Italian restaurant and getting a margherita pizza that is spot on - a real treat.
Mine was the original, and E had the Chashu Men with lots of pork. We also chose to have our noodles cooked hard (they give you options of how cooked you want your noodles to be), which for me is just right.
I can't fault this place, but of course, it's not always practical to have to queue (20 minutes is probably the shortest time you would spend waiting there - the manager told us it's often over an hour's wait). Shoryu still has my heart when it comes to the best all rounder, but Kanada-Ya is battling them to the top!
I never thought that I would be struggling to decide the number 1 spot between such amazing ramen places in London. It's a serious luxury, and I definitely can't complain!
