Kenzo Japanese Noodle House

I’ve often seen Kenzo Japanese Noodle House as I drive past it on Kingsway but from the reviews, I couldn’t really tell if this was a Japanese or Korean place… not that it really matters.

The interior of this restaurant appears a bit on the small side but that might be due to the wooden partitions that they have set up for the privacy of their patrons.

On my first visit here, I ordered the King of the Kings Ramen ($11.45).  Purported to come served with 5 toppings on hot netsu ramen noodles, you can choose your level of spiciness from 0 to 3.  Never one to shy away from a bit of heat, I went all out with a level 3 amount of kick and wasn’t disappointed… the broth was indeed quite spicy.

The toppings include green onion, seaweed, chashu, bamboo shoots, and egg.  The chashu had some fatty parts in it but I liked the texture.  It wasn’t really like the kind of bbq pork that you get at a Chinese butcher shop… this was sliced thinner.  It wasn’t mentioned in the menu, but they also had slices of shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, veggies, and ground meat in the bowl.

This was a very large bowl and I almost didn’t finish it all.  If you have a cold, this would be a great dish to clear out your sinuses.

I came back to Kenzo for lunch so I could try out the Korean side of their menu.  Specifically, the Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap ($11.95) which came served in a large stone bowl.  It also came with a bowl of Miso Soup, a side of Kimchi, and a bottle of gochujang spicy hot sauce.

It was a nice touch to have the hot stone bowl served in a wooden box.  Is there anything more beautiful than a raw egg served on top of a bowl of bibimbap?  It literally burst open and coated the contents of the bowl when I poked it.  Speaking of the ingredients, the toppings included beef, sliced mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers and veggies.  After I let the rice build up a nice crispy texture from the hot stone bowl, I mixed everything up and it was delish.

The Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap is definitely a Korean dish.  On the other side of the spectrum, my favourite Japanese rice dish is the Oyako Don so I ordered that on a subsequent visit.  For $8.95, you get a pretty good rendition with plentiful chunks of chicken mixed with onions, egg, and garnished with some seaweed.  You also get a bowl of miso soup along with your meal.  The best part is when you mix up the contents of the bowl and get a little bit of everything in each spoonful (although I thought the egg was slightly overcooked for my liking).

The tea they serve here is some type of hot roasted barley tea typical of Korean restaurants.  So, is this place Japanese or Korean?  Does it matter?  It is cash or debit only so make sure you bring along some greenbacks.

6907 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

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