Kyu Bistro, Average Japanese

In medicine we are asked to be objective when treating our patients and to avoid any areas of bias. Inevitably there creeps in times of subjectivity and our inherent values and emotions become involved. I take a similar viewpoint on food and worry that sometimes my initial views of a restaurant might be clouded or not representative. And as such I have tried as much as possible to retry restaurants and one of them came up to be Kyu Bistro.

A small stripmall on Isabel Street houses Kyu Bistro (and one of my favourites, Kimbaek). Promising izakaiya style food, Kyu Bistro was one of the first restaurants in Winnipeg to focus on small Japanese finger food and ramen. Over the last year not much has changed of the decor with the same modern signage overlooking the oft-crowded parking lot and a sleek interiors filled with colorful and tasteful Japanese art. The menu as well has not changed with the same focus on small Japanese appetizers, ramen and rice bowls. I have to commend Kyu for being unique and offering diners something other than sushi and sashimi and from that an opportunity to explore and appreciate the vast variety of Japanese cuisine.

Ordering from all the sections we started with an Ponzu Beef appetizer. Named after the tart and citrus-y sauce surrounding it, the beef is thinly sliced and flash boiled so to seal in the flavour while not overcooking the meat. And really the interplay is between the fatty slices of beef interjected by the sweet and sour sauce made of rice vinegar, soy and mirin. Sesame seeds make up a nice finishing touch for the dish. Tasty.

Being known for their ramen, we had to try one and so the Shio Ramen was our pick. Japanese ramen is typically known for its four broths: shio (salt), tonkotsu (pork bone), shoyu (soy sauce) and miso; which all form the basis upon which noodles and meats are added. The version here was similar to previous ... an average example of ramen. My biggest complaint is again in the soup broth which was missing the usual richness and depth of flavour but instead tasted thin and oily. And while true to its name, the ramen was salty but there was not any counteracting flavours to balance out the salt. Credit goes to the noodles, tender and eggy, and the large piece of fatty and tender pork belly but these were all overshadowed by the poor broth.

This Curry Rice Chicken was slightly better. I always find Japanese curries milder than other Asian curries and allow the other ingredients a chance to showcase their flavour and that applies here well. The predominant sweetness of the large mushy carrots were bursts of tastiness that contrasted the spicy and aromatic curry. Slices of chicken meat, well cooked and tender, added necessary protein to the dish.

The Okonomiyaki was slightly disappointing at Kyu. The dish is the Japanese version of a savoury crepe or pancake. Usually filled with either vegetables, meat and/or seafood, Kyu's was a smorgasbord of chicken slices, shrimp, octopus and shrimp all mixed in with cabbage. And while the litany of ingredients sounds great, the balance of flavours was simply not there and each were unflatteringly bland. Further adding to the problems is the slightly raw and runny dough, the result of an overly thick pancake. Topping the dish is a special blend of thickened soy sauce, honey mustard and bonito flakes.

Kyu Bistro still retains the same problems as my previous visit. While unique and worthy of commendation for offering Japanese izakaiya items, the flavour of each dish ultimately was not up to par. While certainly worthwhile to fulfill a craving, Kyu is simply an average Japanese restaurant.