Kanada-Ya (Covent Garden)

Bowls of Soup in the autumn and winter months are a must. Kanada-Ya has been around in London for well over a year now and the queues formed daily are a sign of its quality.

Usually I copy and paste the restaurants 'about' section here, but Kanada-Ya have been much more inventive and have a story board feature on their site: ​ www.kanada-ya.com/story

Green tea to warm us up on a winters day

We waited in the queue for 25 minutes. It felt like a long wait as we could see seats going. The staff were friendly-ish; they maintained their focus on the customers inside rather than those waiting (in the cold) outside.
Once in, browsing the menu we went on a colleagues recommendation. I knew that I wanted to try their fried chicken out to share as a starter and from here, it was about which ramen I wanted.

TONKOTSU X
Pork and corn fed chicken bone broth, chashu pork belly, wood ear fungus, seaweed, spring onion, exclusive to London

KARAAGE 
Japanese fried chicken and yuzu mayo 

TRUFFLE EDAMAME 
​Black truffle salt

Fried Chicken

Verdict: Well worth the wait!

Even after the twenty five minute wait outside and the slightly slower service, the food was why we were there and why I will go back. The broth was deep and thick and I gulped it down, spoonful after spoonful.

Trying to style out the meal, I did my best to avoid slurping the noodles and make a big mess. The pork was a bonus and the broth itself is worth the wait and entrance.

The fried chicken we treated as our starter and were a much classier and tastier version of a fast food chains popcorn chicken. This juicy chicken dipped in yuzu mayo was a delight. The truffle Edamame at the end was a struggle, purely due to the richness and filling nature of the Ramen. Next time, I will ask if they can bring this and the chicken as the starter and then go from there.

TONKOTSU X exclusive to London

GOOD TIMES: special edition ramen to London, go for it

WATCH OUT: be ready to queue, you will need to be patient
​
OMG: that broth yo, Oh My!