@movernie
This is my 1st time trying Zubu Ramen since I live in Toronto and travelling to Vancouver on a Business Trip, hence I decided to give Zubu Ramen a try since the downtown location only opens a few days ago and it is located super close to my hotel.
I am super delighted that I got to try its food at this brand new downtown location before I head back to Toronto.
From the looks of it, this downtown location has a patio. And as I walked through the entrance, the inside is spacious with high ceiling and with natural sunlight penetrating inside. It looks like there is a bar section where high stools are located for patrons to sit and interact with the bartenders. There was also a big section on the right side with tables overlooking the streets. There were also 2 tables with gazebo circular decor above the seats. I decided to sit at one of these tables as I thought it was cute and interesting. On the left side of the entrance, there were more tables along the space and there was a neon light signage that was perfect for peeps to take Instagrammable pics.
My server was courteous and provided excellent service. I ordered the Ramen Flight at $21 CDN. Reason I ordered the Ramen Flight was two folds. One, I have never tried Zubu Ramen before so I don’t know exactly which bowl of ramen I should order that meets my taste buds. Since there was an Ramen Flight option, I jumped on the opportunity to try the 4 mini bowls. Besides, there aren’t any ramen shops in Toronto that I know that offer Ramen Flights, thus, this was a special opportunity for me to try ramen in a flight format.
Ramen Flight:
- Mazesoba – brothless ramen + thick noodles + pork chashu
- Tonkotsu AKA – pork broth + thick noodles + pork chashu
- Chicken Ramen – chicken broth + thick noodles + chicken chashu
- Classic Shio – clear chicken broth + thick noodles
The Ramen Flight came with 4 mini containers. From light to more dense broth, with one of them don’t have broth at all. I was impressed with how pipping hot these 4 Ramen Flight options were. I like my ramen in hot temperature so this was superb! Ramen Noodles were in good al dente texture and were never soggy, just the way I like my ramen. I am extra impressed coz the chef had to prepare 4 different types of flavour of ramen into the mini containers yet all 4 ramen are hot in temperature.
I would recommend this Ramen Flight for everyone to try especially if they can’t make up their minds or they were also like me, where they have never tried Zubu Ramen before. However, if you had Zubu Ramen before and you know exactly which exact broth, flavour or signature items you want to order, then I suggest you order one particular ramen and not the ramen flights. That’s coz the regular ramen is bigger in size and it comes with more ingredients and toppings that may not fit in the mini containers in the ramen flight format.
MoVernie TIP: So…which bowl of ramen to start to indulge from the ramen flight? Good question! Well….the friendly server recommended me to start with the lightest ramen first, which is the Classic Shio, which is the clear chicken broth with thick noodle. And slowly work your way down with the pork belly with no broth as the most heavy. Although that’s the most logical way to try the ramen flight, you can do whatever you want and be free!
MoVernie Way of Ramen Flight: Personally, I didn’t follow along the order either. I did start off with the Classic Shio to start with the lightest broth to cleansing my palate. After that, I tried the Mazesoba, the one with no broth but heavy pork belly and noodles. Coz I prefer noods with broth so I prefer to finish this one first so I can have broth to wash it down the rest of the way. For my 3rd bowl, I tried the Tonkotsu AKA which consists of pork broth, thick noodle and pork chashu. Lastly, I saved the best for last for me, which was the Chicken Ramen which consisted of chicken broth, thick noodles, chicken chashu. I really like the creamy broth and flavour with this one as I also like this Chicken Ramen to be a little bit on the lighter side to finish it off.
I also ordered a baby scallop hand roll. I was impressed with the setup as they have a dry towel for me to dip into the hot water to clean my hands before I put in ginger and wasabi and roll up the handroll to indulge. Baby scallop was fresh and tasty.
I would definitely come back to Zubu Ramen the next time I visit Vancouver once again! And I will order more food next time. I would like to try the beef tongue next time and probably some cocktails.
FYI – I noticed Zubu Ramen was offering a special lunch combo for $22.95 CDN + tax where you can choose a beverage, an appetizer, a ramen and a dessert, that’s not bad at all!
They also have Happy Hour specials and some special deals for their Grand Opening celebration.
Once again, congrats on the grand opening at the new downtown location! All da best!
Zubu Ramen Downtown – Vancouver, BC, Canada
Website
Address: 869 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1T9
Phone: (604) 423-5699
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/KoLioLXTvF1SiFyr5
