PANDEMIC PLATES - DINING OUT (BUT IN!): NOMIYA

RAMEN ENTRY 2: NOMIYA

Welcome to our newest series: Pandemic Plates! Since dining out is no longer an option in YEG due to a certain Miss ‘Rona, we’re on a mission to find the best dining in experience that our city has to offer. Our high-stakes investigation will focus on DIY meal kits from local restaurants that we can whip up at home! Why? For starters, take-out and delivery doesn’t always travel well - plus, it can be pretty fun to get a little hands-on with your food, while supporting a local business in these crazy times!

Each post in this series will feature a review from one of us about our experience with a take-home DIY meal kit. Given the chilly weather, we thought - what better way to kick off the New Year than with some delicious ramen? Originally called shina soba (“Chinese soba”), this staple of Japanese cuisine has a surprisingly complex history with Chinese origins. Ramen noodles are distinguished by its kansui (a “mixture of baking soda and water” responsible for ramen’s chewy texture and distinct colour) and are typically served in a savoury broth with a variety of toppings. At least 22 styles of ramen exist, and fun fact - ramen has even been touted as a new “prison currency of choice”!

Our second ramen entry is all about Nomiya, reviewed by C!

Locations: Nomiya Restaurant, multiple locations:

Ellerslie - 11160 Ellerslie Rd SW, Edmonton, AB T6W 1A2 (this is the location that the ramen kits for this review were from!)

Calgary Trail - Unit 646, 3803 Calgary Trail, Edmonton, AB, T6J 5M8

Noodle Bar by Nomiya - 11238 104 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, T5K 2X4 (at the time of writing this, this location is currently closed until further notice, according to Nomiya’s website: nomiyarestaurant.com)

Items on the menu: Ramen kit containing 1 shoyu (soy) ramen and and 1 miso (fermented soybean paste) ramen - note that each ramen kit contains 2 orders of ramen. You can mix and match from the following flavors: shio (salt), shoyu, and miso. There are also combination sets available where you can order a ramen kit that comes with 2 beverages, including Okinawa beer, Hitachino beer, Ramune, or melon soda pop.

Tell me more:

Nomiya first opened in Edmonton in 2011 under the ownership of the Chan family. They then expanded to 3 locations total in Edmonton, with 2 locations in the South side serving Japanese cuisine (along with delicious ramen!) and 1 central location in Oliver Square serving noodles, rice bowls and shareable plates (aka, everything but sushi)! The Chan family takes their ramen very seriously, travelling to Japan regularly to learn new recipes and techniques! All the toppings and sauces are freshly made in-house to provide their customers with the most authentic ramen experience.

Nomiya’s ramen kits can be ordered online from both of their South side locations in advance for the week. You can choose a pickup time for when you want to retrieve your order, and they also have delivery options available for an extra charge - however, there is a minimum order of $35 required for delivery and they only deliver within 5 km.

I ordered for same day pickup, and I received a confirmation email immediately after placing my order. I also received a phone call from Nomiya, as they wanted to confirm what time I would pick up as they were closed for a few hours during the afternoon. Make sure you check out their hours on their website first! When I arrived at the restaurant, I was able to enter the restaurant to pick up my order, and one of the employees brought my order to me right away - it was smooth sailing!

So, how was the ramen? I also have to preface my review with a disclaimer! When I opened up the ramen kit at home, there were no instructions provided. So I decided to just do my own thing… which unfortunately, was probably not the best idea! I apologize to Nomiya in advance - my ancestors are definitely disappointed in my lack of culinary skills. I did find instructions on Nomiya’s website under the “Nomiya at Home” heading when I was writing this review, so if you order these ramen kits, they actually have an instructional video that explains how to best cook your ramen!

My second disclaimer is that the Nomiya at Home website mentions that the ramen kits need to be refrigerated immediately and be enjoyed within 2 days of purchasing. I am a solo diner (just like G!), and for my second ramen, I did not consume it until 3 days after purchasing. Again, this would have been helpful for Nomiya to provide written instructions or mention it at time of pickup, but this is also my own fault for not noticing the section of their website that mentions all these details! As such, I have adjusted my ratings accordingly for my review to factor these details in.

For our rankings, we’ll be looking at a few categories: preparation, taste, presentation, and value!

PREPARATION:

4/5 : I will outline the steps that you are SUPPOSED to take according to the instructional video, and then compare and contrast it with the steps that I did take. So, you are supposed to pour the sauce into a bowl and set it aside. You do need two pots - one is to boil the broth, and the other is to boil water for cooking the noodles. In the video, there are insider tips mentioned for cooking the noodles: separate the noodles to avoid clumps, then add the noodles to approximately 1 litre of boiling water, and continue stirring the noodles until the water gets to boiling again. Note: you do NOT want the noodles to be fully cooked, but about 70% cooked and al dente consistency. Drain the water.

Once the broth boils, pour this into the bowl with the sauce, and mix! Add the noodles into the broth. Then, you have the option of warming up the chashu for 15 seconds in the microwave, and add the rest of the ingredients to the broth! There are even instructions on how to plate the ramen so that everything looks restaurant quality!

So what did C, the second frazzled crab, do? I definitely did not separate the noodles to avoid the clumping, so that probably explains why my noodles look.. clumpy. The first time I made the ramen noodles, I just heated everything up all together - and then for the second time, I realized that it would be better if I separated the broth in one pot, and the ramen noodles and everything else in the other! So the second time, it definitely tasted much better. However, I do realize now that I did not follow all the instructions as outlined in the video above (sorry, Nomiya!). But if you were doing it correctly, then preparation should be pretty easy.

TASTE:

3.75/5 - The 2 ramens were similar in taste, with the only difference being the sauces provided! I was provided with side containers of homemade miso paste and soy sauce for each respective flavour of ramen. Their made-from-scratch tonkotsu broth was tasty (although a bit on the saltier side), and the noodles had a nice bite and quality to them! The video on their website mentions that they boil their broth for 8 hours, and there are no preservatives or MSG in their ingredients! Again, just to reiterate my disclaimer, if I had known about the instructions in the video, then this rating would probably have been 4/5! I will know for the future now….

PRESENTATION:

4/5 - The presentation was quite cute! The ramen came in a bento box, with 2 servings of the ramen noodles, eggs, meat (chashu - pork belly), naruto (cured fish paste), corn, bamboo shoots, and green onions. The soup broth came in separate containers. Overall, the presentation was well done and the ramen kit was easy to transport home.

VALUE:

4.5/5 - The ramen kit was $25 (so $12.50/ramen), which I found to be quite affordable considering the cost of ramen when eating out! There was quite a bit of meat and broth provided, so I would consider this good value.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you get these kits again?

I would! It was super fun to be able to cook the ramen at home, and enjoy a steaming hot bowl of ramen in under 10 minutes! I would prefer it if there were more flavors offered - their website indicates that for ramen takeout, there’s also Tan Tan, spicy miso, seafood, and vegetarian options, but these are not available for the take-home ramen kits. With that being said, I would still come back for more ramen! Ramen makes miso happy… (get it?)

As a side note, they also have katsu don kits for at home too - pork or salmon cutlets with katsu don sauce & rice. This could be a potential Gracilianca blog review in the future...

Disclaimer: This review is not affiliated with or sponsored by Nomiya - views expressed are solely our opinions!