The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at Tokyo-Ya in Portland

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at Tokyo-Ya in Portland

The Impatient Chef Noodling About

    Having watched food shows over the last ten years like Chef’s Table, Ugly Delicious (with David Chang), and anything starring Anthony Bourdain, The Impatient Chef has become infatuated with the idea of ramen. In the hinter years before ramen culture swept the US, it consisted of dried noodles and a flavor packet in a plastic wrapper.  Realizing that there was more to the oodley noodles than previously suspected, The impatient Chef thereby endeavored to make a higher form of ramen, starting with homemade dashi, various veggies, a hard-boiled egg or two, and very thin noodles.  Oddly enough, a breakfast tradition was born from these fishy beginnings.  Even more recently, The Impatient Chef decided to try some ramen restaurants. Tokyo-Ya was the second one: A fact that will come into play later.   
    The Impatient Chef and wife stopped for lunch at Tokyo-Ya on SE 82nd Ave in Portland on a fine (for ducks), drizzly afternoon in the wee hours of March, 2024.  The atmosphere inside, and out of the rain, is strip mall, but not of the squalid sort.  It was, frankly, fitting. The aforementioned ramen culture in Japan relies heavily on smallish slot spaces like the one this one occupies.  There is plenty of wood, hanging lights, and Japanese stylings.  An odd, Asian-inspired version of The Mamas and the papas' song “California Dreamin’” played on the sound system. It was not unpleasant. The follow up song was “San Francisco”, originally by Scott McKenzie, done in the same style by the same artist as the previous song. It was not not unpleasant (double negative intended). The drum beat was exactly the same for both songs.
    Enough about the music.
    My wife ordered gyoza appetizer, and a side salad.  The Impatient Chef ordered the Miso Ramen. We asked for all of it to arrive at the same time. The gyoza arrived a full ten minutes before the ramen. 

The Gyoza

The Salad

    The pork and chicken gyoza arrived browned on one side, oozed umami, and came with a teriyaki-like sauce on the side.  

    The beautifully arranged salad adorned a triangular plate, and was swaddled in a flavorful, but slightly sweet, dressing.
    Then the ramen arrived amid high expectations, unfortunately after my wife had mostly finished her meal.  
    The first ramen restaurant we visited was Kenji’s Ramen and Grill in Vancouver, Washington. The Impatient Chef mentions this because it set the bar very high. Their ramen came with marinated eggs, spicy kimchi, and some spectacular pork belly.  The flavors were bold and extroverted.  There may have been angels singing in the distance.  The rating system for ramen will be known as the "Kenji Scale", as they are a ten.

The Ramen

    The expectations did not survive the comparison with Kenji’s. Don’t get me wrong:  The Ramen was good. It was not, however, sublime. According to the menu, the broth is cooked for 12 hours - it has lots of umami, a little taste of sesame oil, and good miso flavor without being too sweet. The pork belly was sliced like bacon, and it tasted good, but it lacked a unique spin that a more adventurous establishment would deliver.  If the eggs were marinated, it was not for very long.  
    The portion was big enough for two people, so part of it went home.  
    Overall, it was a good meal. The Impatient Chef rates it a 7 on the Kenji scale.  You can certainly do worse. You can, however, do better.  

    Thanks for reading!

    The Impatient Chef