Of Japan’s main islands, Kyushu is the most southwesterly.
It contains the city of Nagasaki, which most of us will know as the site of the horrific nuclear attack of 1945. Perhaps a more immediate, and certainly incalculably less sinister, connection to the island for Westerners is a culinary contribution that has found favour the world over and shows no signs of waning popularity: tonkotsu ramen.
There are many regional variations of ramen (which, incidentally, is of Chinese origins, though the dish today is synonymous with Japan) but it is tonkotsu – based on a deeply concentrated broth of roasted pork bones – that most of us have in mind when we think of the noodles-in-broth casual dining staple. The style originated in Fukuoka, a city on the northern coast of Kyushu, and was originally favoured as a fast and affordable hearty meal for fishermen of the region.
The North Shore has, until very recently, been inexplicably devoid of tonkotsu ramen. The excellent Workshop Café on Pemberton Avenue has been holding its own with house-made vegetarian ramen dishes, and a few months back Red Tori opened in Edgemont Village, though I would argue this latter venue does a better job of its fried chicken specialties than its noodles.
The new Hachiro Ramen Bar, located in a great looking, newly renovated space on West 16th Street near Chesterfield, is a most welcome addition to the North Shore and is, in my estimation, poised for fanatical dining allegiance by Central Lonsdale-ites. The room is stunning, all clean lines and wooden finishes, moody lighting, and high bar-style seating with tables around the perimeter. The assembly portion of the kitchen, finished in pristine, modern stainless steel, is front-of-house, affording diners a bit of a show as they sip on cocktails, sake and craft beers. Place settings are pre-set at each seat and include a unique rock upon which chopsticks are balanced.
Hachiro is the brainchild of sister and brother ownership duo Brooke and Stephen Naito, with Stephen behind the kitchen line as executive chef. Brooke was working the front of house on my visit, sharing some anecdotes about what it took to transform the space into the contemporary, stylish venue it is today.
The siblings hail from the neighbourhood and have done a good job of supporting local businesses from the choice of local brews on tap to regional suppliers for their menu ingredients. On the evening of my visit, a baking hot June weekday that would intuitively feel anathema to a meal of hot soup, Hachiro was surprisingly busy. The air conditioning was blasting and, with the low light, the room felt like a cool oasis in the middle of the sweltering urban landscape beyond the doors.
I visited Hachiro with The Boy, who, despite having eaten dinner at home earlier, was keen to try out a couple of smaller plates from the menu. As I sipped a spicy, aromatic saison beer from Four Winds Brewing (served on tap here) the two of us reviewed the menu and decided on an order of Chicken Kaarage to start. The chicken thighs, very generously portioned, arrived piping hot from the fryer in a mountain piled in the middle of a stylish black plate. The breaded, golden morsels were topped with ribbons of bright green scallion and the edges of the plate were swirled with a subtle yuzu mayonnaise, the citrus adding just a hint of acidity to the creamy garnish, in which one is intended to dip the crispy chicken. A reserved hint of spicy sweetness was imparted by a drizzle of Red Chili Honey. The appetizer was a great start to the meal and one that I would recommend to the beer drinkers out there as a perfect brew accompaniment.
Next up was an appetizer of a different ilk entirely. Three meaty medallions of lobster tail, gently poached, were set in the centre of a shallow pool of bright orange miso butter with chili oil and crispy slivers of deeply caramelized garlic. The buttery miso sauce was a great accompaniment to the ultra-fresh, simply prepared lobster tail, but I regret not having a little something with which to mop up the sauce once the lobster was finished; much sauce remained untouched. Strands of pickled daikon offered a nice textural counterpoint to the silken sauce and paired nicely with the delicate meat of the lobster.
I pursued a main course on my own, opting for one of the evening’s specials, a spicy version of the Shoyu ramen on the menu. I added a soft boiled egg to my order, which to me is a non-negotiable ramen topping. The ramen arrived in an elegant bowl and the first thing I noticed was that the broth, typically cloudy in a Shoyu style ramen, was very clear, almost like a consommé. The scent of the dish was glorious, with a faintly smoky character yielding to a complex, meaty earthiness, perhaps from the black cloud ear mushroom strands. Two pieces of grilled pork proved impossibly tender, each with a generous flesh-to-fat ratio that left the meat succulent and moist under the grill marks. The ramen noodles, which were perfectly straight and thin in shape, remained perfectly al dente.
Brooke Naito shared with me that while the noodles are indeed locally handmade, they are bought from a third party supplier friend and not created in house. Whomever creates those noodles should be commended for the elegance, uniformity, and delicate flavour of this central ingredient. The Shoyu broth was delicious, translating the smokiness from the nose to the palate, and offering a touch of sweetness to balance the characteristic saltiness. I made short work of the dish, with a tiny bit of help from The Boy, and look forward to trying the other ramen options available on the Hachiro menu, including a spicy vegetarian miso iteration.
I paired the ramen with a glass of chilled Junmai sake, available here on tap (the first time this reviewer has encountered this offering) and sourced from a producer in Richmond. The fragrant, slightly tropical and yeasty rice wine married well with the diverse flavours of the ramen.
Our meal of two appetizers (including a $20 lobster dish), ramen, sake, beer, and a soft drink was $78 before gratuity.
Hachiro Ramen Bar, 104 16th Street West, North Vancouver. Hachiroramen.com. 604-988-7561.
