Ramen Aji Kura - Ordinary Ramen

There are lots to enjoy about winter, especially in Winnipeg. Living in Canada, one has to brave the forces of nature and endure the long and, usually, cold winters no matter where you are. Winnipeg winters are a new kind of cold, a macabre bone chilling sensation that would send the most strong-willed of hearts home. The citizens have adapted finely though, with thick warm parkas, balmy conditioned interiors and, most importantly of all, warm winter food solutions. Such was Ramen Aji Kura. I had noticed it during my many trips down Corydon Avenue and always made a mental note to try it, specifically on a cold wintry day. The perfect opportunity arrived when, after finishing my mountain of paperwork, I made the trip to Corydon for some ramen.

Ramen Aji Kura is on Corydon Avenue closer to the Eastern gates. It is a brightly lit, attractive structure akin to old school Japanese noodle houses. The huge sign in front beckons you forward as you approach the neon signage on top of the actual building. The interior are functional and modestly decorated and tread a nice balance between gawdy and classy. The lone waitstaff at the front of house welcomes everyone enthusiastically with a huge smile and promises of delightful food.

The menu is rather sparse. Harking to their namesake, Aji Kura focuses on their ramen and offers a good range from the typical tonkotsu pork broth to the shoyu (soy) and miso ramen. On top of their noodle offerings, Aji Kura features a number of meal sets centering around a decent variety of rice bowls. A functional menu and one geared towards what they do well.

Tonkotsu Ramen is the standard upon which all ramen restaurants should be judged upon. The base is a creamy pork broth and should be filled with tender crunchy ramen noodles, pork and vegetables. Unfortunately the broth here is lacking and missing a richness and depth in flavour one would expect, rather it tastes thin and dull with a hint of MSG. The noodles were nice and crunchy and one cannot fault them for the good array of toppings.

Oyako-Don meal set is Aji Kura's take on a traditional Japanese rice bowl featuring simmered chicken and egg on top of sushi rice. The dish was handsomely decorated and presented with the feature in the middle surrounded by few sides.

The Oyako-Don itself was nicely presented and had a wonderful aroma that wafted throughout the restaurant. The key ingredient is the egg which envelops the chicken and adds a luxurious smooth component to the dish. The chicken itself was simply ordinary with a slight crisp crunch to the outside with a tender interior while fried onions add much needed sweetness and a textural balance to the dish. Overall tasty but the ratio of rice to topping was overwhelmingly rice.

Miso Soup was delivered with the main dish. Nothing too exciting and tasting as you would expect with a strong miso flavour and filled with silken tofu and seaweed.

Chawanmushi was the other side given with the meal set. Nicely presented in a teacup, the egg custard had a nice smoothness to it, but overall lacked any flavour. I would have appreciated a salty or savoury component to the custard to counteract the dull flavour profile of the egg custard.

Ramen Aji Kura was simply ordinary. From the decor to the food there was nothing exciting about the restaurant. Certainly not the worst in the city but there are better alternative ramen places in the city. Nevertheless, if one is found stuck on Corydon with a craving for ramen, its relatively inexpensive decent cuisine are an attractive option.