Return for Ramen at Kazoku Restaurant

My oh my how fast a year goes by! During the recent transition of Urbanspoon to Zomato, I had to perform some housekeeping to ensure all aspects of my blog survived the transition over; and doing so allowed me to re-read and reminisce on some of my favourite (or not so favourite) restaurants in town. One of them was Kazoku, which I revisited with a fellow resident a few weeks into our senior residency rotation.

Located in the southside of Winnipeg on Pembina Highway, Kazoku is a modern establishment focused on Japanese and some Korean cuisine whose draw to fame are large steaming bowls of ramen (which go on special every Tuesday) at reasonable prices. The nice colourful banner adorns the outside of the restaurant, smartly so considering the litany of dining options in the immediate vicinity of Kazoku. Once you find yourself inside, a modern and sleek interior greets you featuring nice wooden tables, a large sushi bar and tasteful but colorful traditional decor.

The menu is decidedly Japanese with some Korean influences. The usual sushi and sashimi are available here as well as some of the more popular Korean dishes. But the real draw are their ramen, bowls of steaming noodle soups filled with vegetables and meat that are increasingly popular in Japan.

Having to try a ramen, I went with the Miso Ramen this particular day. The large bowl of soup consists of a miso broth and egg noodles adorned with two slices of pork belly, a half boiled egg and vegetables. The broth was unfortunately simply average here with a nice but mono-toned miso flavour; missing was any depth or richness of the soup. And while the noodles were nice and tender and the pieces of pork belly fatty and flavourful, I could not help but be underwhelmed by the mediocre broth.

Similarly mediocre was the Caterpillar Roll. Internally, a california roll is topped with avocado, eel and finished with a soy based sauce. The fish here was the main disappointment with small slices of eel which were fatty, greasy and devoid of much flavour. And while the entire dish was pleasantly decorated and plated, the overall taste and flavours here were underwhelming.

Kazoku remains a popular spot for ramen and while the value is apparent, the flavours were disappointing and culmination of underwhelming broth with mediocre toppings make this a decidedly average bowl of ramen.