Shibayan
437 Sunnyside Ave., 613-421-5888,
shibayan.ca
Open:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 10 .p.m., closed Tuesday
Prices:
appetizers $4 to $10, soups and mains $11 to $15
Access:
steps to front door
Yuzumi
83 Holland Ave., 613-422-8301,
yuzumi.ca
Open:
Monday to Saturday noon to 7 p.m., closed Sunday
Prices:
sushi tacos $3.50 and $4, sushi rolls $11.99 to $13.99, bao buns $10.99 to $12.99
Access:
steps to front door
Nearly two years ago, I assigned myself the enjoyable, but gut-stretching task of ranking Ottawa’s ramen .
Back then, in that dimly recalled, pre-pandemic past, I catalogued 13 eateries that doled out piping hot and frequently porky bowls of Japanese soup, noodles and garnishes. Three of them — Sansotei, J:unique Kijtchen and Koichi Ramen — made top-tier stuff. But even medium-tier ramen could make my day.
With that much research under my belt, I’ve remained keen to try ramen restaurants as they pop up in Ottawa, wanting to see where they would fit on my list. As far as I can tell, the latest arrival on Ottawa’s ramen scene, and the only newcomer since my early 2019 ranking of ramen, is Shibayan on Sunnyside Avenue.
The tiny and almost two-month-old eatery, one big block east of Carleton University, serves mid-tier ramen that would certainly cross my mind if I were hungry and driving through its neighbourhood.
In line with pandemic living, Shibayan, which used to be home to a burrito joint, is a takeout-only business. So, we’ve sped home with our ramen separated, its broth in one plastic tub and its solids in a sturdy recyclable bowl.
By and large, we liked the ramen that we assembled at our dining table. For me, ramen is about broth, noodles and then everything else, in that order, and I think Shibayan gets its broths right. (It might have helped that Shibayan’s co-owner, Eric Carbonneau, worked for a year at Sansotei.) Its noodles are more pedestrian, and garnishes can be great or just so-so.
Of its seven types of ramen, ranging in price from $12 to $15, I was most satisfied by the tantanmen, which had a rich, spicy broth, seasoned ground pork, a good soy-marinated egg and corn going for it. I was less keen on Shibayan’s tonkotsu and black garlic ramen — arguably Ottawa’s default settings for ramen — but only because their slices of pork belly were dry.
Vegetarian ramen from Shibayan, with a tomato-based broth and braised and tasty oyster and shiitake mushrooms, also appealed.
I can also recommend the juicy karage (nuggets of fried chicken, $7) and vegetarian dumplings ($8) as starters, as well as the tempura shrimp ($10), which did lose its sogginess after a bit of oven time once they were unpacked at home. Slices of mango and matcha cheesecake ($4.50) were cheap, sweet finishers. I was less keen on the only rice-bowl dish that I tried because its admittedly generous portion of chicken cutlet and Japanese curry on rice had been squashed to its detriment in its container. Still, I would not be put off from trying Shibayans’ broiled eel or chicken and egg on rice at a later date.
Also offering Japanese takeout, but specializing in new-generation sushi and fusion fare, rather than ramen, is the modest eatery Yuzumi, located on Holland Avenue north of Wellington Street West.
Yuzumi also makes bao buns ($10.99 to $12.99 for two), but they were not of a calibre that should worry Gongfu Bao and its artisanal buns in Centretown. Given its punchy flavours, the Cajun shrimp bun was my pick over the more traditional, but mediocre pork belly bun.
Yuzumi also serves poke bowls, rice bowls and some fancy sushi rolls. On the one fancy sushi roll that I tried, the salmon was lacking in flavour, sufficiently so to make me propose that items with tuna and Cajun or tempura shrimp could be the best choices here.
Overall, the sushi tacos here were tops. If I were ever to compile a ranking of Ottawa’s sushi tacos, I would expect Yuzumi’s entries to do well.