DINNER AT UMAMI NOODLE BAR - Central 16th Ave N

Umami is translated as a 'pleasant savory taste' and is one of the five basic taste. The name seems appropriate for this new ramen restaurant. This was an impromptu stop on my way home. I wanted to try this place even before it opened having driven past it a few times. Now, I finally get to try this place after two months since opening. I stopped by Umami after 6pm on Saturday, and the place was not busy at all - not like the place next door. They apparently have parking behind the building but I parked across the street by the school since it looks like there are no restrictions after 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Upon coming through the door, I was greeted in the typical Japanese fashion and shown quickly to my seat. I was very hungry, and everything on their one page menu looked tempting. The restaurant is clean, modern, and well-lighted. Few tables were occupied, and all the servers seemed very nice and attentive. Again, since I was starving, I over-ordered.

Chashu Bun (2 pcs) $6.50

These buns are delicious. This dish is a combination of pillowly soft buns, chashu, crunchy cucumbers, thinly-sliced red onions, green onions, Japanese mayo, and Japanese seven spice. I left to eat one at the end, and the bun wasn't soggy at all. It held its structure very well. I can eat these forever. It is a good texture dish.

Tonkotsu Miso with side of Curry Don $12 + $3.50 (for curry don)

I wanted to try their Chashu Don since it looked so good from the pictures on Zomato, but they have a new rice bowl that they haven't add to their menu yet, curry. I decided to get the curry don since I was eating way too much chashu. But after some thought, you can never eat too much chashu. The curry don was sweet with a little bit of heat. It is the typical Japanese curry which I love. It didn't look like they added any veggies in it, but they did have very tiny chunks of beef. Overall, the curry don was very good.
The miso ramen, on the other hand, was ok. The miso (paitan) broth was very salty, and the noodles was a bit chewy, like al dente. I tend to cook and like my noodles more soft. I didn't order an egg with my ramen since I felt like a glutton. I got pork belly, choice of lean or belly meat, and the soup came with two nice size pieces. The ramen also had seaweed, corn, thinly-sliced cabbage?, a slice of fish cake, and bamboo slices. They also have this nice sauce in it, and it didn't taste like soy sauce. As you can see, I was hungry and didn't really pay attention to the garnishes.

Overall, I will probably come back here, since I promise my friend I was going to take her. I will probably get a clear soup ramen, with an egg, as I hope it won't be as salty as the miso and maybe try their chashu don. The service here is top notch. While I was paying, they were actually trying to give me dessert after all that food! Currently, they take debit and cash, and like most Chinese places I find, they close on Tuesdays.

Umami Noodle Bar
305 16 Avenue N.W
403-454-8383