VanFoodies.com

The wait is over. One of the highly anticipated restaurants to open in Vancouver – Afuri ramen + dumpling – has officially opened its doors. The Afuri brand was established in 2001. This is the fourth ramen + dumpling location outside of Japan, first in Canada. Last year we went to Portland and checked out the ramen + izakaya and I was quite excited about the arrival of ramen + dumpling here in Vancouver. Technically the restaurant is in Richmond. It’s where Dazzling Cafe used to be (remember Dazzling Cafe?). I was invited to its media night and previewed some of its menu items.

Afuri ramen + dumpling uses a kiosk system. Meaning, you go up to one of the three kiosks at the restaurant, place your order, grab a number then head back to your table. At the media preview, to my surprise food arrived very quickly so I don’t think it would be a long wait at the table for your food.

Food

Afuri’s signature broth is chicken based. We saw this giant stock pot (apparently there’s only 3 of these pots in Vancouver and here’s one) that holds enough broth to serve 450-500 bowls of ramen. It takes 300lbs of chicken (meat and bones), 3 types of dried fish, konbu seaweed, and fresh vegetables, on a simmer at 90 degrees for 3 hours. They never bring this broth to a boil, to ensure a clear broth in your bowl. It also helps skimming the fat easier. They then add yuzu, a small citrus fruit native to Asia, to give this broth a refreshing taste.

As for noodles, they make them fresh, in house, daily. If you visit them at lunch, you will likely see the machines going, mixing and rolling the dough and cutting the dough into noodles. Will they run out? I was told they would make enough servings everyday and if need be, they can jump in and make some more to meet the demand.

Now let’s get to the actual food. I ordered the Yuzu Shio Ramen. It was light, refreshing, exactly how I remembered it from my first taste in Portland. It’s not rich and creamy like the typical Tonkotsu (pork broth) that would be perfect for winter but too heavy for the summer. It’s also lighter than the chicken broth at Marutama, and doesn’t have the milky look. The yuzu broth makes a great option if you crave ramen on a hot summer day. I also tried the Yuzu Shoyu broth and it’s heavier on seasoning than the Shio version, and would be a good middle ground if you found the Shio too light and Tonkotsu too heavy.

Having said that, the Tonkotsu Shio was also lighter than most other Tonkotsu I’ve had in Vancouver. It has a nice creamy colour with shimmery oil on top, but overall it’s not that rich and heavy.

In addition to ramen, you will also find gohan on menu, aka rice bowls. Their Kakuni Pork Gohan was quite good. The pork pieces had good flavours and the meat was tender. The Tantanmen Gohan used pork crumbles (ground pork), and this mixed in better with the rice. Both gohan was topped with a slow cooked egg, so the runny egg yolk added moisture and creaminess to the rice bowl as well. The gohans are smaller in size but it’s quite filling. It’s only about half the price of ramen yet you could basically make it into a meal.

For the table there were also a few appetizers to share. Dumplings are their other specialty so I was happy to see Buta Gyoza. The way they pan-fry the dumplings adds a thin, crispy web between each dumpling, giving it more texture. The pork and cabbage filling was flavourful.

Karaage is a staple item at all Japanese restaurants so naturally it’s on the menu here. The dipping sauce was quite interesting – a yuzu kosho egg salad. Warning: the fried shishito pepper is spicy.

They have some cute bao buns with an Afuri stamp. The Kakuni Pork Bun has a sweet chili soy sauce glaze with pickled ginger. The Soft Shell Crab Bun includes spicy mayo and kimchi and it has a nice kick to it.

We also sampled two cocktails on the menu. The Endomame was very interesting, using house made snap pea infused vodka. It’s fresh, had a hint of green, grassy taste from the snap pea, yet it’s fragrant thanks to the use of mint. Hanami was also tasty. Despite the use of aperol and bitters, I could still taste the sweetness from the honey and acidity from the lemon. With the use of both tequila and cognac, Hanami also tastes stronger.

Final Thoughts

Looking at the menu, a bowl of ramen costs $16-17 here at Afuri ramen + dumpling. You could order extra of any of the toppings for $1-2 each. One may say the broths here are a bit bland. On their website as well as brochure, they do specify that their ramen is “lighter, refreshing—even a little delicate.” I guess it all depends on personal preference whether Afuri is worth the money. I imagine there will be a line up at the door for the next little while.

Afuri ramen + dumpling
140 – 7971 Alderbridge Way, Richmond
604-306-3063
www.afuriramen.com