Jinya Ramen Bar

Jinya Ramen Bar

3210 Esperanza Crossing #130, Austin, TX, 78758

    Another Ramen House?  Yeah, I know they seem to be popping up everywhere in Austin now-a-days.  First there was Ramen Tatsuya (which is still probably my favorite), then came Kome, Michi, more recently Daruma and Kanji, and now there is Jinya.  Though Jinya is a bit late to the Ramen arena in Austin, this chain is well equipped to do battle.  I apologize now for the length of this blog, it's gonna be a bit long.

    My sister and I were fortunate enough to crash the invitation only soft opening of Jinya and I was even more fortunate to be able to partake in its grand opening lunch service.  I usually don't go to the same restaurant in one week, let alone the same one two days later, unless the food is outstanding.  And that is exactly what it is... outstanding!

     So for the appetizers, the Tapas (from both days) I had the Jinya No.1: the Jinya Bun, Jinya No.2: the Brussels Sprouts Tempura, Jinya No.3: Caramelized Cauliflower, Jinya No.4: Pig Ear Chicharron, and Jinya. No.5: Spicy Creamy Shrimp Tempura.

Jinya No1. :Jinya Bun

Top: Jinya No.2: Brussels Sprouts Tempura
Bottom: Jinya No.3: Carmalized Cauliflower

       The Jinya No.1: Jinya Bun: "Thick braised pork with vegetables wrapped in a fluffy white bun."  Basically this was a braised pork belly sandwich that had arugula, cucumber and mayo surrounded by a white bun transport vessel.  The pork itself was very savory and salty enough for the bun not mellow out the pork's flavor. The cucumber and the arugula gave the dish a nice brightness and slight crunch to a potentially really heavy dish.
     The Jinya No.2: Brussels Sprouts Tempura with truffle oil.  I couldn't really taste the truffle oil, which isn't entirely a bad thing, truffle oil can over power a delicate dish.  The tempura coating was just enough to coat the Brussels and allowed for the natural sweetness of the vegetable to be fully actualized upon contact with your taste buds.
    Jinya No.3: "Caramelized Cauliflower with pine nuts, crispy mint and lime ponzu."  This was roasted cauliflower that had a been dressed in lime ponzu.  The ponzu itself I couldn't really isolate, but it did enhance the essence of the cauliflower.  Though I don't believe that the pine nuts added much to the dish in way of flavor, the nuts themselves added a crunch that the soft cauliflower lacked.

Jinya No.4: Pig Ear Chicharron

Jinya No.5: Spicy Creamy Shrimp Tempura
(What was left of them after digging in)

                           Jinya No.4: "Pig Ear Chicharron with harissa sauce, crispy kale, with an onsen tamago (poached egg)."  This dish is for the more adventurous.  These are, Julienne cut, boiled, pig ears that have been battered and deep fried and set atop a bed of slightly fried kale with a creamy spicy chili and pepper sauce, the harissa sauce, and a poached egg in the middle.  The intended way to tackle this dish, is dump the poached egg into the center of the chicharrons, after removing the ramekin that the egg is presented in and mix the egg yoke with the rest of the ingredients on the plate.  My sister and I had no problems with dealing with this dish and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was salty, crunchy, a bit chewy, was spicy and rich all at the same time.  I do think that a non-fried component was needed to balance the denseness of dish, but it was good.  Don't be afraid of it, just try it. :-)
     Jinya No.5: "Spicy Creamy Shrimp Tempura."  The picture above doesn't show the generous amount of shrimp that comprises this appetizer, I forgot to take the picture before my chop sticks did their thing.  Anyway, the creamy spicy sauce that dressed the tempura battered and fried shrimp, seemed like an emulsion of Sriracha and mayo (which I always think is delicious on just about anything).  The shrimp themselves were served atop a bed of arugula.  A very well composed dish that anyone would be happy to order...I would presume even kids.

Jinya's Tonkotsu Black

     Now for the Ramen!!! To be fair to all the other ramen houses that are in Austin, between my sister and I, Jinya's signature Tonkotsu broth ramen, Jinya Tonkotsu Black, was ordered to be able to compare apples to apples, ramen-broth to ramen-broth in the case.  We also ordered the Tonkotsu Spicy, because well, I like spicy foods and I wanted to see what they considered Spicy (their medium spice level).  I have to say that the broth is as delicious as Tatsuya's but just slightly thinner in consistency.  Another slight difference between Tatsuya and Jinya is that Jinya isn't as heavy handed with their toppings. But the broth is nothing sort of stellar and I can see why it has won so many awards (check their website for their accolades).

Tonkotsu Spicy

    The Tonkotsu Spicy is basically the Tonkotsu Black except with Jinya's spicy sauce/paste added and blended into the broth.  The manager/owner actually told me that in order to increase the spiciness of the dish all I'd have to do is add the spicy sauce that was already provided on the table.  He further added that the chefs do the same in the kitchen to amplify the heat.  So I added about another 2 teaspoons of the sauce and I obtained my desired level.  So for those of you who like a little bit of spice, I suggest just getting the Black and adding the spice in yourself so to not ruin the broth.  If you like a lot of spice, then go right on ahead and try the "HOT" and add more spicy sauce to your hearts content.  

Panna Cotta

    During the soft opening, my sister and I tried the panna cotta (one of my favorite all time desserts).  "A homemade panna cotta with caramel cream sauce, graham cracker, and vanilla ice cream."  Now what they failed to say is that the caramel cream sauce had a heavy infusion of essence of coffee.  I'm not really big into coffee so that threw me off a bit.  I could tell that the panna cotta itself (at least the samples that were given to us) had been sitting in refrigerator a bit long because it had already started to form a skin, a thick top layer.  Unfortunately because we ordered the dessert during the soft opening we didn't actually get the complete dessert, the portion size was tiny, and there wasn't any ice cream or graham cracker, so I guess I'll have to get it during my third go round with this restaurant (since I didn't want to wait for dessert during lunch).
     
     Jinya Ramen Bar is a must visit if you're 1) enjoy really exceptional ramen 2) live up north near the Domain or 3) like trying out new places that you can put in your restaurant Rolodex for when people can't decide on places to eat.  I'm sure that they have a decent sake selection, but since I only occasionally partake in libations, I'll leave that for someone else to discuss and write about.

So until next time, I bid y'all happy eating!
-Henry

Kanji Ramen

        It's been a long 3 years since the last our post and much has occurred since; GM filed for bankruptcy and was bailed out, The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl, Eyjafjallojokull, the Iceland Volcano, erupted causing major travel headaches, the world population reached 7 billion people, and the Space Shuttle Discovery made its final launch...among other notable events. But this blog isn't about national or world events its about FOOD and places to get said food.  And on that note...here we go.

      Kanji Ramen  (http://www.kanjiramen.com/) is located on the first floor nestled in the next building adjacent to BB Rovers Cafe and Pub.  Don't blink or you'll miss it and end up circling the parking lot and running into Pizza Hut. This humble little north Austin ramen shop, as small as it may be, delivers some pretty decent ramen.  Kanji doesn't have a huge menu, but then again what true ramen house does?

      To the left, your small plate / appetizer / shareable starters menu.  And to the right, 8 different varieties of ramen to quell your craving for noodles in rich Japanese broths.

 

     Let's start with the Crispy Tofu: "Fried starch tossed tofu with house made vinegar soy sauce."  The tofu was served on top the house made vinegar soy sauce topped with fried Julian cut sea weed and dried shaved fish flakes. The tofu itself was lightly seasoned and prepared beautifully with a slightly salted, crispy, fried outer skin with a moist spongy, silky interior.  The house vinegar soy sauce can be described as bold, but mostly sour.  At first the sauce complimented the tofu quite well, but as the tofu sat and absorbed the sauce, the sourness overpowered the subtle flavoring of the tofu. The fried fish flakes, I believe, in my honest opinion, was completely unnecessary.  The overall "aroma" of the flakes did nothing to compliment the tofu and actually made it difficult to stomach, especially after the tofu had been soaking in the house sauce. I think this plate would have been more palatable if the sauce would have been placed on the side and the fish flakes completely left off.  The fried sea weed strips added a contrast of color to the dish, but the sauce and the flakes masked any flavor contribution that the strips might have added.

   Second small plate, the Shabu-Shabu Wrap: "Paper sliced boiled round bee and veggies, wrap with rice paper deep in the peanut butter sauce."  I was really wanting to like these wraps and I was imagining something similar to a Vietnamese spring roll, but I was disappointed.  The boiled round beef tasted bland and needed salt and or some sort of seasoning.  The veggies, were underwhelming, so much so that my sister and I can't even remember which exact vegetables were used...Romaine lettuce (for sure), maybe cucumber, maybe a carrot stick or two, there could have been a bit of green onion....and to be perfectly honest, I'm probably not going remember.  The only flavor that was to be gleaned from this dish came from the peanut butter sauce.

The sauce tasted of creamy peanut butter and soy sauce and though I can't confirm the ingredient composition of the sauce, I can say that it was the overall best part of the Shabu-shabu.  And who knows, maybe the chef wanted the wraps bland so that the peanut sauce would stand out more, I'm not a mind reader (Though I think that would be pretty cool at times).




   And now, the items that you've all been waiting for (maybe)... the Broth and Ramen !!!  My sister and I decided to go with the Tonkotsu Ramen and in order to compare Kanji's Tonkotsu to that of other Tonkotsu's at other Ramen Houses.
I must apologize for the low quality of the photos in this blog, I'l try to do better next time.  But what this fuzzy picture, with the not so great color depth, is trying to show is Kanji's Tonkotsu Ramen: A Creamy Pork Bone Soup with Salt Based Seasoning (2 Chashu, Ajitama Egg, Wood Ear Mushroom, Nori, Fred Garlic and Green Onion."  Let's break down this dish by its four main components.
    Chashu by definition, is braised pork belly that originated as a Chinese dish but was eventually modified with Japanese flavorings.  The Chashu had just enough fat and enough umami taste to complement the savory and saltiness of the pork itself.  Though I would have liked the chashu to have been cut into thicker slices, the chashu will surely not disappoint.
   An Ajitama egg is a specially prepared soft boiled egg that has been boiled in a solution of soy sauce, some sort of water soluble sweatener and various types of rice wine or sake.  The egg yolk is slightly gelatinous with a somewhat sweet flavor while the egg white tastes lightly of soy sauce with a firm texture.  (As an aside, I love Ajitama eggs and I'm not even sure I could write anything negative about them if I wanted.)
   The noodles were an egg noodle and I'm not quite sure if they were hand made, but they tasted like they were.  The starchiness of the noodles were able to hold onto the broth, much like the bark of a tree and its inner cambium.  (I apologize for that analogy, I obviously have been in school way too long).  The only suggestion that I would make to the chef (not that I expect them to ever read this) would be to warm the noodles prior to placing them into the bowl and pouring the broth over.  The reasoning, the broth cools down slightly as it contacts the cold noodles and I know that the noodles were cool, because they were stuck together like left out spaghetti noodles. I will say, that once the broth warmed and had a chance to permeate through the bundle of noodles, the combination was most satisfying.
   Now for the broth ...How does one describe something as all encompassing in flavor?  Do you say that the pork broth has so much infused flavoring (from the fat extraction of pork bones) that if you had your blood drawn after its consumption, the lipid panel results would show that you should've died five times over of atherosclerosis...but with a smile on your face?  Or would it be more appropriate to describe a broth that was ALMOST good enough to have it substitute champagne during a commemoration toast.  I'm not actually sure, so I guess I'll just describe it as ...being adequate as far as Tonkotsu broth goes.  I'm not saying that there aren't better (which there are...), what I'm saying is that if you want to have decent ramen in the north Austin area, you should probably check out Kanji Ramen.
    If you're still reading this...thank you, I know its been a long blog.  In closing I'd give Kanji a 3.5 to 4 out of 5.  It's good, but not without its flaws.  So until next time...I bid y'all happy eating.

-Henry