DINNER AT MARUJU SUSHI - Centre Street N

Continuing on the ramen quest, the next place to try was Maruju. This place has been here for a long time. I remember when it first open back when I was in high school, but I have never tried this place. I didn't like sushi until I went to Japan and ate it there. My two friends have decided to join me this time. We decided to go very early, 5 pm, once the place opened for dinner. Since it was Saturday, I didn't know how busy it would get so the earlier the better. We all arrived early and separately. I think we all wanted to play Pokemon Go in Crescent Heights.

Maruju is a small cute restaurant located in same building as Starbucks before going down the hill into Chinatown on Centre Street North. I heard some good things about their sushi, but we were there for the ramen. My friend is pregnant so out of respect we didn't order any sushi. She is counting down the days until she can eat sushi again, and we are all going out for all-you-can-eat. I was the first one in the restaurant as they open a little before 5pm. After that, a few people came in for take out and a couple more for dining in. It wasn't really busy as I expected but then again it was hailing and pouring out.

Large Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

My friend decided to order this so I have no idea how much it is. You get 7 or 8 pieces of tempura shrimp and a variety of veggies - broccoli, yam, pumpkin, etc. I didn't really get a good look and only ate a couple of pieces since I wasn't that hungry. I was saving room for my ramen. The tempura was nice and light and not too overly oily. It is just the average tempura dish.

Tonkotsu Ramen with Chashu and Egg $9.95 + $1.50 + 0.75

The ramen menu is one page and seemed a little confusing at first. The main price is on the protein with additional pricing on some of the soup bases. The egg and wonton options are extra add-on as well. There are a variety of proteins to choose from - pork, seafood, deep-fried cutlet, and tempura. They also have different soup bases as well from tomato, miso, spicy miso, tom yum, shoyu, and tonkotsu. I chose tonkotsu, and it had a wonderful flavour. The soup was milky and wasn't salty at all; however, the pork flavour was a little faint. The chashu is one of the best I had so far. You get three pieces and each piece was lean with a little fat on one part of the edge. The pieces were a little charred to bring out another texture and more flavour. The egg was perfectly cook - soft enough and not runny. This ramen is one of my top favourites so far. This dish is really simple in that you only get noodles, green onions, whatever protein or extras you selected and a piece of seaweed.

Overall, this is a quaint little restaurant. I can't wait to come back here for the sushi. The servers here are nice and attentive. The food coming out of the kitchen was a bit slow but understandable since we were the first to order ramen during dinner, and we all ordered different soup bases as well. My friends ordered spicy miso and tom yum. The restaurant is open everyday but they close for a few hours between lunch and dinner.

Maruju Sushi
919 Centre St. N
403-276-8008