Ajisen Ramen, Markham

AJISEN RAMEN

Unit 23, 7010 Warden Avenue

Markham, Ontario

L3R 0L9, Canada

Japanese – Ramen

My first memories of the franchise, Ajisen Ramen, was in Sydney. It was the Spring of 2009, and like every other youngen’ my age at the time, I would make a 40-minute train ride out to the city to celebrate any occasion. This was the beginning of time when I was just starting to emerge myself into new flavours of the world – ‘world’, meaning, anything that wasn’t Vietnamese or Laos food. I didn’t know many places in the city. I only knew how to get from A to B – Central Station to Capitol (Capitol is a building, on the upper floor, it’s filled with rows of Claw/Skill-tester Machines, Gapachons and is an absolute Sticker Machine Heaven). Before rampaging Capitol, we needed a place to eat! Walking through the busy streets by Haymarket on a Saturday afternoon, myself and my boyfriend and the time found Ajisen Ramen. The Pucca-lookalike character drew me closer, but the ‘Snow Ice’ Dessert seated me in the restaurant. It was here, at Ajisen Ramen, that I had my first few bites of Ramen.

Ajisen Ramen in Markham was the second Ajisen Ramen I have come across in Canada, and with each sight of the Happy character, I would get the same warm, fuzzy, carefree-2009-Alice feeling that I had when I initially walked into their doors in Sydney. But, this time it was different.

We walked in at 10:00PM, giving us an hour before closing time. There was only one table here besides us, who finished up and left as soon as we finished ordering. The prices for a bowl of Ramen are about $6~10. The walls had lights upon vibrantly schemed murals of Sumo-wrestlers on one side, and rows of a neat collection of bowls on the other.

1. BBQ Pork Ramen ($7.99)

A sufficient amount of BBQ Pork, it was a lot better than my bowl of Ramen at Santouka, but still, not something I’d wake up and crave for. Not the bouncy, chewy Ramen that I’d expect. It didn’t make me feel groggy, but sure had me feeling thirsty.

2. BBQ Chicken (with Ramen $7.95)

3. Seaweed Salad

4. Beef Teppanyaki (with Ramen $7.95)

5. BBQ Pork Ramen with Corn ($7.95)

6. Shoyu BBQ Chicken Ramen ($7.95)

A good ol’ average from me. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect Ramen to win my heart. Points for the comfy booth, wonderful decor and the patience of the server. We were out by 11:15PM.