KYU BISTRO

Kyu Bistro is, to the best of my knowledge, the first and only ramen/izakaya restaurant to have sprung up in Winnipeg.  That's not to say that some of what they offer couldn't be found before, but it did take a bit of searching in order to find it.  The restaurant is tucked into a strip mall close to the Salter Street bridge and, were you not looking for it, you'd probably miss it.  That might be the reason why it was empty when we arrived at around 6:00 PM on a Sunday.

The menu is filled with pictures, which made ordering decisions difficult.  We started with chashu pork ($7) to start our unplanned hog themed meal.  The meat was juicy and tender but could have been a bit more aggressively seasoned as the bites without the spicy mustard accompaniment were a little lacking.  Our very favourite pieces were the ones with a crispy edge.  We only wished that these sought after bits were a little more prevalent.

My dinner date, A.,  ordered the shio ramen ($9).  The light broth tasted a little too much like kombu and not quite enough like pork for her tastes.  Her bowl was loaded with goodies - roast pork, egg, bamboo shoots, cabbage, corn, nori, fish cake and of course noodles.  The noodles were rightfully the star of the show - perfectly chewy and slurpable.  Even if we couldn't finish everything in our bowls, we made sure not to leave any of them uneaten.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from A.'s soup, I had the spicy miso ramen( $10).  The cloudy broth was sufficiently porky and rich, though not as spicy as I'd expected.  My bowl had fewer additions but I couldn't complain, as the pork in my ramen was both of our favourites of the entire meal.  Slightly sweet and just as fall apart tender as the chashu appetizer, I almost wished that we could have began our meal with this incarnation of pork instead.

Despite a few minor criticisms here and there, Kyu Bistro's extensive menu has me excited to go back and try more dishes that can't be found anywhere else in this city.  

185 Isabel Street

YUJIRO JAPANESE RESTAURANT - Lunch

Over the past few months Yujiro has become not only my favourite sushi restaurant in Winnipeg, but my favourite lunch spot as well.  They're now open week round and their bento boxes are cheaper at lunch (albeit sans ice cream).  But best of all, they've begun to feature ramen, udon, and a daily special which usually consists of a variation on one of the two during lunch hours only.  

On my most recent visit the special was tanuki udon, a half order of chirashi, and salad ($13).  While I'm more partial to ramen noodles than udon noodles, I was sold on the clean simplicity of the soup which aside from the noodles had a decent helping of tempura crumbs and a few chopped scallions.  It paired nicely with the assortment of fish atop sushi rice.  The chirashi consisted of tuna, salmon, octopus, shrimp, tamago, and hamachi (my personal favourite).  Yujiro's fish has always been the most flavourful and freshest that I've tasted in the city.  Unlike many restaurants, if you close your eyes you're still able to differentiate the salmon from the tuna.  And, though hamachi has long been my favourite, the salmon that they've been using recently is some of the best I've tasted and worth going out of your way to try.

Clearly I have nothing but praise to give Yujiro.  Having frequented the restaurant for years, it is exciting to see them continue to expand and improve.  Hopefully the next step they take is to offer more varieties of ramen, or maybe open a second spot that serves non-sushi Japanese dishes as that is something that Winnipeg sorely needs.

1822 Grant Ave.
(204) 489-9254

TOKYO RABBIT - Food Truck Tour Stop #1

Within just the past two years the local street food scene has begun to explode.  The presence of so many food trucks jockeying for space on Broadway and all over downtown is something I'm sure many Winnipeggers (including myself) thought would never happen.  

Tokyo Rabbit is one such newcomer that offers Japanese sweets such as crepes and tarts. Though the crepes make up the majority of their menu and look delicious, I haven't been able to venture past the one savoury item on offer, the katsu sando ($5) or pork cutlet sandwich.  It consists of a tender, lightly breaded pork cutlet topped with shredded cabbage, Tonkatsu and Karashi sauce.  Basically it's a Japanese variation on a pulled pork sandwich and is every bit as messy, simple, and addicting.  I really like how nicely the sweetness of the Tonkatsu and the nasally spiciness of the Karashi compliments the simplicity of the pork and cabbage.  An iced green tea came with the sandwich  and was so refreshing that I almost felt sorry for the droves of business workers flocking to the big name coffee joint down the street for something less satisfying and more expensive. I don't know if they sell tea by itself but they should consider it.

Because Tokyo Rabbit's specialty are sweets, I had to indulge in one of their custard tarts ($2.50).  At half the price of the sandwich and tea I figured that such a seemingly steep price for the tart evens things out a little but these are definitely worth every penny.  The crust is just the right amount of buttery and flakey and pairs perfectly with the creamy and subtle vanilla custard.  Thinking about it again makes me consider how reasonable ordering a dozen may be.

Though I've yet to try them all, Tokyo Rabbit seems a prime example of why the surge of new food trucks is something to get excited about.  Hopefully a review of their crepes will come sometime in the future.

Broadway Avenue & Donald Street
Every Wednesday from 11:00AM to 2:00PM
www.tokyorabbit.com for other times