Most of the time, I am the one that finds new places for us to try out because I am more connected with food bloggers/influencers! However, occasionally, the boyfriend will come across places he wants to try. Gojiro Ramen was one of these places!
Once he saw the chicken karaage ramen on Facebook, he was sold. On top of that, it has a Godzilla theme! After a couple months, we found ourselves conveniently close to Gojiro Ramen and decided to try it.
Although we came on a Thursday evening around 8 pm, the place was still full! Luckily, we were the first in line so the wait was less than 10 minutes.
One thing I liked about Gojiro was how spacious it was, compared to other ramen joints. Although the ramen is amazing at Santouka and Kintaro, we all know how cramped the seating is. Gojiro is bigger, and not as cramped.
I also really liked the interior design, it was very simplistic, clean, and modern with some Godzilla-themed decor here and there.
Gojiro focuses on jiro-style ramen, which is ramen that features a mountain of toppings.
Basic bakamori w/ karaage,$13.55: DAMN. LOOK AT IT! There was a generous amount of chicken karaage, loaded with a mountain of cooked beansprouts.
All the Yelp reviews previously mentioned how delicious the karaage was, so I was really looking forward to trying it for myself. AND MAN, WAS IT DELICIOUS. The chicken was crispy, juicy, and super flavourful. 10/10 would recommend!
I wish I ordered the karaage as well, but the boyfriend was generous enough to give me a couple pieces. =D I have digestive issues anyways so I shouldn’t be eating all that fried food myself, unless I want to get sick.
Basic w/ chashu, $9.95: My bowl does not look as impressive as the boyfriend’s, but it was still really delicious. We both requested the thick broth because why eat ramen otherwise?
Due to my dairy restriction, I asked if the broth contained any butter/dairy products/etc and I was happy to hear it didn’t! Even without dairy, the broth was thick, creamy, and fatty. Definitely not something you should eat everyday.
As for the chashu, it was no where as good as the karaage. The chashu was dry and bland. Definitely stick to the karaage, or soak the chashu in the fatty broth and eat it last.
The noodles were cooked perfectly, with a nice bounce to it. They were a bit thicker than I was used to, but still super delicious nonetheless.
I also like how the restaurant is located in the downtown core, and not all the way at the end of Robson Street like the other ramen joints. It is definitely more convenient for me to come here!
In conclusion, we left Gojiro with extremely happy and satisfied tummies. The chicken karaage is a must order, and their broths are amazing as well! I will definitely be coming back.
Yay!
Osprey Village is a new development in Pitt Meadows right by the river. It reminded me of a quaint little seaside village, similar to Steveston but a lot more quieter, community focused, and no salt water smell.
If you didn’t already guess by the name, Jia Plus serves Asian style beverage and snacks. All the syrups are made daily by Vicky, and the teas are brewed fresh! The price is really reasonable as well.
The cafe has five tables inside and does not feel cramped at all. There are also a couple of patio seats, which are perfect for the summer! The high ceilings and warm lights makes it feel very comfortable.
Passion fruit green tea w/ pearls: It had all the qualities that I looked for in a bubble tea, and more. The jasmine green tea and a really fragrant and floral flavour, which is my absolute favourite when it comes to green tea. I am very picky about my jasmine green tea and this one tasted absolutely perfect. In addition, the pearls had the perfect chewy consistency and tasted fresh.
Ramen: Apart from the drinks, Jia Plus also has some food items as well! The majority of us ordered the ramen. Vicky cooks the broth from scratch, and you can really taste the quality in it. The ramen also comes with a slice of tender pork, egg, and bamboo shoots. It was very comforting and filling, perfect for the cloudy day when we visited.
BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl: I know, it doesn’t look like a rice bowl right? The rice was actually underneath the greens! Sadly, I didn’t get to try this because the dressing had dairy in it. However, my friends are also all foodies and I trust their opinion when they said it was really good!
Jia Plus also offers cute little macaroons!
Takoyaki, $3.75: Since it was our first time here and wanted to try more of the menu, the four of us decided to split a couple of appetizers. We ordered the four piece takoyaki and this was simply delicious! It was drenched in delicious sauce and the takoyaki were a pretty decent size.
Potato fries ($4.50): These fries were amazing! They were incredibly crispy and seasoned with such a delicious combination of herbs. We ended up ordering another plate because we all couldn’t stop eating this. In retrospect, that was a bad idea because we didn’t end up finishing the second order of fries and ended up packing it home. But seriously, this is a must try here!
Shio ramen ($8.95): Shio broth is made with chicken broth, and is my go to flavour for ramen! Macaroni and I both ordered the shio ramen. The shio ramen definitely did NOT disappoint. This was amazing. The broth was so well rounded – incredibly flavourful and thick. Meanwhile, the meat was melt in your mouth soft.
Tan tan men ($10.25): The boyfriend ordered this because he loves spicy peanut sauce. Again, the broth here was rich and thick, and full of spicy peanut flavour. Although I don’t love spicy peanut sauce as much as he does, I found this to be delicious as well!
Shoyu ramen ($8.95): Cheese ordered the shoyu ramen. Again, this was just as delicious as the rest of our meal. Rich, flavourful, and a very generous quality. No complaints.
I love Japanese culture because of how efficient everything is. While we were waiting, one of the workers went around and we all placed our order in line. As you can see, the restaurant is really crowded and small. We shared a four person table with two other customers against the wall, and there was no room for us to really move around.
Chicken paitan, $10: Totto Ramen’s original straight noodles in a rich and creamy chicken broth. This was immensely delicious, and super warm and comforting. It was raining in New York that night, so it was the perfect bowl to have. The pulled pork was also really delicious and really tender.
Miso Paitan, $12: The miso paitan has the same chicken base as mine, but with miso added to it. Again, this bowl was very delicious and flavourful. The pork was very tender and melted in my mouth, I wish we had also ordered pork on the other bowl as well!
Here’s a closeup of the ramen noodles in the chicken paitan. They were cooked perfectly and were slightly chewy. This was my first time trying the thin ramen noodles and I really liked it!
The noodles in the miso paitan were a bit different, and were more like the ramen noodles I was used to eating back in Vancouver. Again, these were cooked perfectly and had a lovely bounce to it.
