This Aurora restaurant is brimming with creative ramen bowls

Metro Morning's food guide, Suresh Doss, joins us every week to discuss one of the many great GTA eateries he's discovered.

This week, he talked about a ramen spot that's a great alternative for anyone looking for something other than pork.  

Suresh Doss: We live in a city with no shortage of fantastic ramen places. But one of the questions I get regularly asked is, "If you don't consume pork but still want to try excellent ramen, what are your options?"

Enter Ramen Yutaka.

Ismaila Alfa: So they're using a different protein?

Suresh Doss: Luis Leong, the owner, is focused on this incredibly refined, clear broth-based ramen made using chicken bones.
Ismaila Alfa: And what's so special about this chicken ramen? Aurora is quite the commute for most of us.

Suresh Doss: So Luis and his partner Eunice are from Hong Kong. When they first moved to Canada, they set roots in Aurora, which is why this small restaurant, which you will easily miss, is there. Luis then moved to Tokyo to train with ramen masters for a while. Then he opened Ramen Yutaka in 2019 where his focus was on this style of ramen using chicken as a base to create a very clear, clean tasting broth.

Ismaila Alfa: Tell me more about that.

Suresh Doss:: So, Luis makes all the accoutrements for his ramen in house. The broth is made in house, but he also makes the sauces, the flavouring oils, even the noodles. For one of the signature ramens; the Shio chintan ramen, he starts by flavouring an empty bowl with this salt base then he ladles from this large pot where he's cooked stock at a high temperature to emulsify the oils.

It's very clear, translucent. He then will top the bowl with some boiled noodles that he's made specifically for this bowl, which is aged for a few days. And then he adds a few accoutrements, some wakame seed, bamboo shoots and he'll finish it with a flavouring oil. You can choose from a garlic oil or black sesame oil. 

And it's this combination of determination to control the flavour profile and all the subtle accents in the ramen that makes each bowl special. Typically, when you have ramen, you're in a hurry. Here, I have to say, you're seduced to savouring each spoonful.
 
Ismaila Alfa - So how many different styles of ramen are there?

Suresh Doss::There are nearly a dozen. So one of my favourites is the tori paitan ramen, where the broth is a little cloudier but incredibly delicate, but robust at the same time. And you can choose the one that is flavoured with black oil - garlic or red oil, which is a sesame chili oil. 

There is the Tan Tan Men, which I also like. It's got a very nutty aroma and taste to it. There are also two vegetarian ramen options on the menu and both are excellent. Can I recommend a couple of sides to go with your ramen?

Ismaila Alfa: Go ahead. 

Suresh Doss: The appetizer menu is great here, lots of interesting things to pair with your noodle soup. I would recommend the karaage, so Japanese-style fried chicken. But Luis uses low protein flour as his batter, so it's almost tempura like. You have to eat it as soon as it lands on the table. 

And then there is the unagi appetizer. So he coats lobes of marinated eel in the same flour, fries it, tops it with some paprika and kewpie mayo and serves with crisp seaweed wrappers, so you can wrap it. 

Its probably the most popular appetizer on the menu; crunchy on the outside with a really juicy centre, with a slight sweet taste.