The $52 Bowl of Ramyun Experience
First off, it's ramyun, not ramen. :D
But to be fair, ramyun is the closest equivalent of the Koreans to the Japaneses' ramen. It is a comfort dish enjoyed by all social class and ages in Korea.
Head chef Douglas Kim together with the restaurant's staff earned Jeju Noodle Bar its first Michelin star in 2019.
The name "Jeju" comes from an island located off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula. The island is known for its farmed pork and fresh seafood.
Small and cozy, we sat down at Jeju after 20 minutes waiting. Tina and I ordered the Toro Ssam Bap to share. The dish's hero was the fatty tuna but to me 2 things that brought it to another level were the scrambled eggs and the pear cubes.
Served with toasted seaweed, diners are expected to wrap the tuna themselves for the best experience. The layer of scrambled eggs below the tuna worked so well in bringing out its best flavour and texture. It's like, as if your soft down fur coat has a layer of cashmere on top. Sensational!
Yogi ordered the Jeju Chicken Wings as the chicken queen himself. I didn't get to try them but his comment was "they're good!", followed by a light nod and smile on the face. He's a really picky eater so I'll say with confident that the wings were good! Haha!
We got Tuna Kimbap as the next appertizer. Jeju's Tuna Mille-feuille was perfect to every bite! The homage to Korean's classic kimbap was filled with tender, juicy, and aromatic tuna meat. Their elegant touch of radish and perilla elevated all of my taste buds!
We didn't order any truffle dish but this was an in-the-moment capture when my neighbours were getting their fair share of truffle. That truffle box reminded me a lot about the royalties from Korean dynasties.
Finally to the dish we have been waiting for! The famous, limited-time Wagyu Ramyun. The raw Miyazaki wagyu brisket was beautifully placed on top of the fresh ramyun, topped with kikurage, enoki, chives, white kimchi, charred scallion oil, sesame oil, sesame and of course I added a soy marinated soft boiled egg.
The verdict was sadly not outstanding. (I know! I'm sad to say this too!) The wagyu was undeniably delicious as well as their ramyun. However, the broth was the biggest challenge for me. The rich veal broth created a very neutral taste where I didn't get a chance to taste all of the other ingredients in my slurp. I would prefer the broth to be a bit more flavourful so they can all work together! The touch of the white kimchi was, however, extremely brilliant!
Since we're on the low notes, Tina and I came all the way from Toronto to try one thing from the restaurant: uni; but unfortunately they did not have uni that day. :(
I guess that gives me a reason to definitely come back and try the uni + other noodle bowls. Don't get me wrong, Jeju's appetizers brought down the house that night. Well-done!
Thanks for reading!
A note from Jeju: "At our restaurant we do not have servers, instead our cooks service your table with food knowledge and passion for the dishes being made." All photos are taken by Huy Tran. More info at http://jejunoodlebar.com.
