Kazoku Ramen

Went here again last night with a friend of ours. He never tried this place before. This time I ordered the miso ramen and it was very good.
On my first review of the place I mentioned their beef tataki was very yummy. But this time the beef tataki was not good at all. The meat was too thick and it tasted very different from the first time. It was chewy and the meat tasted different. I’m not sure if they use a different kind of meat but even from the first time picture and the picture I took this time, it looks different. But overall, I enjoyed my meal and of course will come back again.

Great place. Been craving ramen since we moved to Edmonton from Toronto and this place easily stands up to anything you can get in TO. The Tonkatsu ramen broth was super flavourful and delicious. Slices of pork belly were tender and prepared well so that it had a perfect ratio of fat to meat. Noodles were chewy but never tough. Also like that the menu also gives you classic options like Shoyu, Miso, and Shio.
The chicken karage was also great. Don’t normally see pieces as big as the ones you get here, but the coating was crispy and the meat succulent and juicy underneath.
I’ve had ramen many times in Japan and this place, while not 100% authentic, was one of the closest I’ve found to what you might find in Tokyo.

I would give this restaurant 6 stars if I could! I’m so excited about this place, I actually find the low-​star reviews personally offensive. This is some of the best ramen I’ve had! My husband and I came here when we were in Edmonton visiting family for the the holidays. From the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look like much, but inside it’s spacious and beautifully decorated. Staff is very friendly and welcoming, and seated and served us quickly. I ordered the miso ramen and it was amazing. They served it in a beautiful big stone bowl, and gave you sesame seeds on the side. It’s a big portion, so make sure you come with an appetite! The chopsticks they give you are so pretty I wanted to keep them for myself, too (I didn’t!). Our food was delicious and a great price. I am sure I will come back here every time I’m in Edmonton from now on!

First time visit. Quant little spot with a cute mural of a dragon or maybe Godzilla at one end. Reasonably priced; $ 72 for 3 people. I had the Tonkotsu ramen and it was very good. The sauce was really good but had too many noodles for my liking. My friends had the katsu rice bowls and said they were good. The sauce that come with is very tasty. We also had the chicken karaage and it was amazing. Would definitely recommend. The sauce wasn’t too spice and I don’t like spicy so try it

My wife decided we needed to try this out. We had the Chicken Karaage as an appetizer (delicious). We both had ramen noodles. Staff were very attentive and kind. We will be returning!

First time here. It was OK. Food taste is a bit bland. The Spicy Miso ramen could be a bit spicier however the owner told us next time we can ask for more spice. The Katsu dish again bland. The breaded fried pork is plain but they do provide a sauce to give it a sweet taste. A little more veggies would be nice in the dish itself as there is a good amount of rice. The Spicy Chicken Akaage appetizer dish, I was hoping for it to be in the breading of the chicken but it’s in again the dipping sauce. We’d try it again but it’s tough to find one like the one in Vancouver.

Tried this place from a friend who said we should try it. I was disappointed with their size of tea pot for my green tea. I felt like I was taking shots of tea or little sips. I like my liquids so this tiny tea pot idea of theirs seemed like a joke to me. Their menu isn’t much on variety so I still prefer going to Nomiya. The workers were okay. Didn’t seem too attentive. I understand this place is still new but I felt like everything was cheap looking and the ramen wasn’t that good anyway. Definitely won’t be coming back unless their menu expands and they learn how to make more than one broth for ramen. I ordered the Kazoku. Boyfriend had the Tonkotsu. I tasted both broths and they tasted the same. Gotta expand your horizons on the flavors guys, Nomiya has you beat!
Okay I found a worse ramen place. At least you have Prairie Noodle Shop beat! I couldn’t finish their bowl at all.

I wasn’t impressed with my first visit to Kazoku but it was decent enough to give it another shot sometime in the future when I’m on the west side if town.
I’m pretty sure the oil in the deep fryer needed to be changed or cleaned. I find this is an easy fix and one that owners don’t do often enough. The chicken karage also had the old oil taste but that wasn’t the only problem with the chicken. It wasn’t flavorful, the batter was lacking, and the sauce wasn’t at all spicy. I know they may be catering to a western palate but don’t call it spicy then.
The ramen was okay. I don’t like that they only make one pork bone broth that they use in all of the soups. Each broth should be unique in my opinion. The char sui was large pork belly rolled in a porchetta style, cooked, then sliced thin. It was probably the best part of the soup but even that was lacking as the skin was kept on and made it challenging to cut with plastic chopsticks and a ramen spoon. Even if the skin is supposed to be on they should cook it better so it can be broken up into bite sized pieces.
I’ll be back and I hope that they have improved a few things to allow me to put them into my regular rotation of restaurants.

The service was friendly, quick and good. The restaurant was clean, decorations tasteful and seating generous. The serving dishes and plates were beautiful and even the food was attractively plated. Unfortunately, although I found some tiny glimmers of yumminess during my meal, I generally found the food to be lackluster in taste. There were no involuntary sounds of «mmmmm» or «sooo good» coming for me here.
To start, my boyfriend and I ordered the spicy chicken karaage. The chicken pieces were quite large and the meat was tender and juicy. But, in my opinion, the chicken flavor lacked any spunk. I don’t know if it was the oil they fried the chicken in or maybe a lack of seasoning on the batter or maybe a combination of both. Something seemed a bit off. The majority of the spicy seasoning seems to have been at the bottom of the dipping sauce (served on the side). I did not enjoy this dish. We ended up bringing home two pieces.
Next, we had the vegetable tempura — staple for most Japanese restaurants. The slices of zucchini, yam, onions, and eggplant were about average in size. I appreciated how the batter stuck to the vegetables. The vegetables were soft, moist and easy to eat. In the past (in other restaurants) I notice sometimes the batter and vegetables separate once you bite into the tempura. I would say this dish was just okay in terms of taste.
Last but not least, since this is a ramen place, we tried the miso ramen. Right away I literally smelled something fishy about this soup. This was odd because there was no seafood in this dish. My boyfriend suggested that the nori strips may have contributed to this smell. There were also pieces of pork and bamboo shoots in this dish. I appreciated the flavor of the meat and thought the thin slices were tender and quite easy to eat. Now I don’t usually add extra seasoning to my meals for taste, but in this case, I added more salt, pepper, soy and the special mixed seasoning provided on the table. Again, I found this dish was also okay.
This was my first time eating here. These are just my raw first impressions. Maybe over time things will change and improve as this restaurant gets more established. But for now, I will say this food here is average and just okay.

Kazoku is the latest ramen joint to crop up on the Edmonton scene. I always crave a bowl of noodle soup any time of the year, so we decided to scope things out. When Andrew and I stepped in the door we were greeted almost immediately by the owner, after which we were lucky enough to get seated right away on a Friday evening.
This place is packed. We waited about 30 – 35 minutes for our meal. I played with the mortar and pestle that held sesame seeds (which I think the server told us was for flavor enhancement — it was so loud I barely heard her). By the time our orders came out (the Kazoku ramen and the Tonkatsu ramen) and numerous apologies from the staff, I was so focused on getting that jelly in my belly, I’m sure anything would have made me feel satisfied.
Unfortunately, Kazoku really fell short of my expectations. I’m not a ramen expert, but the noodles had the texture of having been soaked in broth for too long (you know when it starts losing its chewiness and you still have ¾ of the bowl to finish) and the seaweed emerged a green soggy ball after not even a minute into my ramen.
Kazoku means family in Japanese — family clan. I felt that the food lacked the warmth and flavor that comes from gramma’s cooking. I hope Kazoku can continue to grow and improve — I’m still a firm believer in a better bowl of ramen!

The tonkotsu ramen was decent. Not mind blowing, but I’ve had some really great ramen in Toronto.
I’m glad I had my phone though. Since somehow I got seated without a menu. I used my phone to look at the menu on Unilocal.When she came to bring me water I said I was ready and that I had looked on my phone. she was pretty surprised. But I had been there for 10 mins sitting by myself.

So, my girlfriend and I decided to check out the newest ramen place in town on a Friday afternoon. We met at 12:30 and about ¾ of the tables were full. The restaurant itself isn’t very large to begin with.
Our server (s) were pleasant enough, answering questions and checking on us while we ate.
To start, we shared the bbq duck for $ 10. The server said it’s bbq’d in house and had just come out of the oven at 12:30. Excited, to try, we were left disappointed. The flavor was there, but the duck skin was NOT crispy and the duck itself was so skinny there was barely any meat to eat.
As for the ramen, I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen while my friend ordered the spicy ramen on special. She enjoyed the flavor of her broth moreso than I enjoyed mine. I found mine lacking depth, that umami, and welll-​rounded broth that I find in other larger cities. The half egg that accompanied the bowl came with the runny yolk, but it was not marinated and therefore found it tasteless. The three pieces of «char siu» that came with the bowl were quite fatty and also flavourless that I ended up discarding most of the pieces. So in the end, I was left with a soggy piece of seaweed and some corn to accompany the noodles. (I declined bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and the funny white & pink floaty things). I found the noodles themselves cooked well to the point of chewiness.
Overall, another disappointing ramen place in YEG. I’m tired of getting my hopes up for a place that would rival even Vancouver or LA. *sigh*

I was very excited to learn that there was new ramen place in town and invited the bestie to come try with me. I was pleased to see that there was ample parking. We ordered the bbq duck as a starter as we were enticed by our server that they literally just finished roasting the duck 30 mins ago from when we got there. It wasn’t even a second thought that we had to try it. The duck arrived and we a little disappointed that the skin was less than crispy. The meat was quite tender and moist but lacked flavor.
I ordered the spicy miso ramen loaded with all the fixins. This is not a normal menu item by the way and I believe it was their feature of the week. The soup broth had a nice flavor and I enjoyed the little spice kick that I got from it. The ramen had char​siu, half soft-​boiled egg, shredded nori, bamboo shoots, corn, toasted sesame, green onion, and naruto. The char siu was had a strange texture to it (can’t put a finger on it) and flavor tasted just ok. I did enjoy the noodles and the mixed balance of all the toppings.
Not the best ramen I have had but might come back and try their other menu items before I give up.

Come hungry! The portions here are huuugggeee! A good indicator of good bowl of noddles is a dry bowl and world renowned ramen shops like Santouka and Ippudo nailed the art of ramen. We had the tonkotsu ramen and having attempted making ramen at home, it is very difficult to achieve that creaminess that tonkotsu requires. I give credit to Kazuko for the effort, the amount of ingredients were perfect, good balance between meat, noodles and vegetables. Being a new-​ish place I think they will only get better and hopefully find a way to craft that beautifully complex flavour of tonkotsu. I have faith :)

I had the opportunity to attend Kazoku’s soft opening last week to get a sneak preview of the new restaurant space. The menu at Kazoku is fairly focused, offering a couple appetizer plates and a variety of ramen and rice bowls.
Our table started out with a couple appetizers, trying three of the six available plates. The BBQ duck ($ 10) is roasted Chinese style in house daily and served with a side of plum sauce. The marinade for the duck was fairly typical of the ones you can pick up from any Chinese BBQ shop, but I found the meat to be quite moist and flavourful.
Next we had the pork Gyoza ($ 7) served as a set of 6. The dumplings were pan fried to a lightly golden crisp, keeping the meat inside juicy and flavourful. While these gyoza were pretty standard, I quite enjoyed the ponzu style dipping sauce as it was both sweet and savoury with a kick of heat.
Last but not least we had to try the Beef Tataki ($ 11). Kazoku’s version had beautifully marbled striploin that was tender and sweet, dressed with onions, scallions, and a light but flavourful ponzu sauce. The slices were a fair thickness, and the portion size quite reasonable for the price.
Next came the part we had all been waiting for: hot, steaming bowls of ramen. The menu offers five different options, which include the Kazoku ramen, tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, shoyu ramen, and shio ramen. The toppings in each bowl are quite similar, so the bowls mostly differ in their soup bases. The first bowl to arrive was the Tonkotsu ramen ($ 14) topped with slices of char siu, a half soft-​boiled egg, nori, bamboo shoots, corn, bean sprouts, toasted sesame, green onion, and narutomaki. The soup was slightly thick and creamy, the way most tonkotsu broths should be. I felt the broth could have used a tiny bit more seasoning, but otherwise it was tasty.
While the broth is made in-​house, the wavy noodles are flown in from a manufacturer in Vancouver. The noodles aren’t too thick or thin, and once cooked have a dense, slightly chewy texture. While they hold their shape well while you enjoy the bowl, they don’t quite have the elastic bite that I prefer.
We also got an order of the Miso ramen ($ 13), which featured the same toppings as the tonkotsu, except with shredded nori. The miso ramen featured the most flavourful broth of all the bowls at our table that evening, and you could taste the subtle nutty flavours in the broth. The char siu in these ramen bowls is equal parts lean and fatty, lending extra flavour to the noodles. The soft boiled eggs are cooked to the perfect consistency with a slight oozing yolk, but they would be made even better with a marinade.
For myself I had to order the Kazoku ramen ($ 15), which features char siu, a full soft-​boiled egg, nori, bamboo shoots, corn, wood-​ear fungus, bean sprouts, toasted sesame, green onion, and narutomaki. Basically, all the toppings that Kazoku uses in their ramen bowls. This ramen sets itself apart from the rest by its clear pork and chicken based broth. It’s the lightest broth the restaurant makes, and it has very subtle flavour to it. I wasn’t expecting this upon ordering, and initially found the broth to be quite bland and underseasoned. If you’re looking for a broth that isn’t too heavy, this may be for you, but I like my noodle soups to be packed with umami, and this bowl unfortunately didn’t do it for me.
Since Kazoku also offers rice bowls, we needed to try one out for ourselves. Bowls can be topped with BBQ pork, BBQ duck, imperial chicken, or soya chicken, but we chose to get a combination of the BBQ pork and imperial chicken with the ‘pick two’ option ($ 14). The large bowl of rice came to the table with a generous portion of pork and chicken, and sides of a soft omelette, broccoli, and bok choy. The rice bowl came as described, but it was quite boring compared to a big bowl of ramen with a variety of toppings. As rice bowls are fairly easy to put together, I would recommend skipping them all together and ordering a bowl of ramen instead.
To finish off the meal that evening I chose to try the Purin ($ 4.50), which is the Japanese version of a crème caramel or flan. I’m a sucker for custards, and this one didn’t disappoint with it’s smooth, creamy texture. The purin wasn’t overly heavy or sweet, making it a perfect end to the meal for me.
The ramen scene in Edmonton is continuing to grow and it’s great to finally have an option in the west side of the city for a bowl of this Japanese comfort food. While the noodles at Kazoku aren’t what I prefer, the tonkotsu and miso ramen broths lack some depth but have good flavour, making them on par with other bowls in the city. As mentioned above, Kazoku will be featuring a Godzilla ramen bowl, where you can have it for free if you finish it! And to show off your amazing eating capabilities, you get a t-​shirt featuring Kazoku’s Godzilla on it too. The prices are affordable and on par with other Japanese restaurants, so stop by if you’re nearby.

Kazoku Ramen had their grand opening this past Thursday, a welcome addition to the Edmonton ramen scene and fulfilling a particularly large food hole in the west end. The #yegramen culture really has grown in the last couple of years, something that I’m truly excited for.
‘Kazoku’ is the Japanese word for family, a concept that guarantees that whatever you eat at the small family-​run shop, would only be served to their own family. Owner Jackson Leung grew to love ramen after trying bowls around the world. He also grew up around food and in the kitchens, his mom managing restaurants and the family opening up a storefront in Saskatchewan. It’s no surprise then that at both the soft opening and tonight’s visit, both were at the restaurant manning the back and front of house. Throw in Jackson’s fiancé, Kim, who was expediting in the kitchens and serving up bowls, and you’ve got a true family affair.
Taking over the space on 100 Avenue and 165 Street, and home to the now closed Chinese restaurant Hot Wok, Kazoku seats easily over 40 diners and features a cute Godzilla munching on a naruto fishcake on the far wall. Hand drawn by Kim, who jokingly asked if she could draw on the wall, the mural is fun, playful and definitely more memorable that the spelling of the restaurant’s name. I predict that the use of «Ramen with the Godzilla” — or «Cute Monster Ramen”-place will be used to describe the west-​end eatery.
On soft opening night last Thursday, Diane and I ordered the spicy chicken karaage to start. The dark chicken meat that night was moist, and the batter fried to a nice crisp. It was (extremely) well-​seasoned with soy sauce, and came with a mildly spicy dipping sauce. Diane noticed a few pieces had burnt bits, indicating that the marinade would have had a higher sugar content that easily caused the blacked parts. Other than the odd one or two bites with burnt flavour, I thought the chicken was well cooked. Here’s to hoping Kazoku can adjust the marinade or frying temperature to avoid burning!
I tried the Kazoku Ramen. The menu didn’t describe it as a light broth, a descriptor that would surely have helped. The taré (think seasoning packet) of the Kazoku bowl is light shio (salt) based which mixed well with the pork flavour. Jackson later told me the the broth was made with a mix of pork and chicken and was designed to be a little different from what people normally would expect from a ramen bowl. Although my bowl was well seasoned, the bowl was lacking depth or complexity of other flavours. I would have liked a bit more umami, perhaps more from mushrooms or bonito flakes. The noodles are imported from Vancouver, a wavy variety. I thought the noodles were a bit firm although they softened by the end of my bowl to a good consistency. They have a good bite to them, but lacked elasticity. I thought the amount of toppings in my bowl was sufficient although with so many different kinds of toppings, I thought it would benefit Kazoku to cut back on the different kinds and just have more of the one. Extra slices of tender char siu or a full soft-​boiled egg, both done well would be better appreciated than throwing in a mix of bean sprouts, corn, wood-​ear fungi, and naruto!
Diane ordered the Miso Ramen. I thought her bowl had a better flavour profile than mine, although it became quite salty near the end. To note: some bowls (not sure which, Kazoku and Miso for sure!) come with toasted sesame seeds that you can grind up to add more flavour to your broth.
Our night ended with a Waffle-​Yaki, the word ‘yaki’ meaning ‘grilled’ or ‘cooked’. Well named and well done. I can’t really complain about cooked waffles sandwiching sweet red bean (azuki) paste, topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. I mean, really. Our only suggestion for improvement was how it was served, the board cute but quite impractical as it slid around the table as you tried to cut into the waffle or grab a bite.
The soft opening night was complimentary, something I’m always a bit apprehensive about writing about. I returned tonight with Joe. He ordered the Tonkotsu, a richer and creamier pork-​bone broth. The kotteri-​style broth was drastically different from the Kazoku or Miso ramen of last week and is my favourite thus far. I ordered the Shoyu this time. Both bowls were appropriately seasoned although still missing that depth of flavour that I was looking for. Toppings, especially the char siu, was noticeably larger in portions and an improvement on their part. Our eggs were on the runnier side than previous, something I don’t mind at all, but all of the eggs I’ve tried are consistently under-​marinated.
So what’s the verdict? Would definitely return to try more bowls. Improvements in the last week suggests that they’re open to critique and strive to do well! I’m hoping consistency will be their focus and service to be better organized. Yay for another ramen shop in Edmonton!

Oh man, I clearly never learn my lesson. Opening day of a new place in town and what do I do (after explicitly telling another friend that we should play the wait and see game)? We go and check out the latest ramen join in town. Kazoku Ramen, which I’ve heard rumblings about for the past few months, finally opened it’s doors. Weirdly, it’s name reminds me of one of my favourite restaurants in Montréal, Kazu. So similar in name or maybe just everything in Japanese sounds the same.
Located right across from the Edmonton Police station, you can’t miss it with it’s bright red awning beckoning you in. It’s also in the same complex as Bucas & Pastas if that’s more helpful. Bbop and I arrived around 12:30pm on opening day. The word must not be out yet because there were only two other tables occupied. Obviously, they were Asian — if you don’t have any Asian friends, you should re-​consider the poor choices you’ve made in life because they know all the latest/​greatest/​hip places to check out.
The inside is pretty spacious with the counter right in the middle splitting the dining area into two main groups. A huge Godzilla mural covers one of Kazoku’s walls. Two thumbs up for the cool art décor.
— Tonkotsu ramen ($ 14.00) — char siu, half soft-​boiled egg, nori, bamboo shoots, corn, bean sprouts, toasted sesame, green onion and naruto. The egg was lacking a bit in the soft oozy yolk compartment and only giving half an egg seems pretty cheap when you’re paying $ 14.00. The broth had a nice creamy flavour and I thought the noodles had a decent spring/​elasticity to them. Definitely the better of the two ramens that we tried today. The bamboo shoots were interesting — much better crunch and flavour than the crappy cheap ones that you normally get.
— Kazoku ramen ($ 15.00) — the Kazoku comes with pretty much the same toppings as the tonkatsu except you get a full soft-​boiled egg and wood-​ear fungus. I had a taste of Bbop’s broth and you could tell right away that the broth was made from chicken. I believe that it’s a mix of chicken and pork. Interesting. We both thought it lacked a bit of flavour (Bbop had to ad some salt to his bowl) but he mentioned that the broth grew on him after mixing all the ingredients together. Flavours are definitely on the subtle side. We were both pretty stuffed after eating our bowls.
It’s nice to see a bunch of new restaurants opening in the west end! Especially Asian ones in the area (hello Cô Dô Hue and Malaysian Delights: Island Café & Bistro). Is it better than Yuzen? Tough to say based on a first visit but one thing is certain — eating ramen is sure going to be a lot easier! With long hours of 11am-​10pm (closed Tuesday) and 11−12am (midnight) on Friday/​Saturday, you can grab a bowl for some late night eats. Yaaaaaaaaaas.

I think I found my new favourite soup joint! My group of 3 shared the chicken karaage which was nice and crispy on the outside (without being greasy) and juicy on the inside. The special dipping sauce definitely takes this appy to a whole new level. I chose the Tonkotsu ramen as my main course and was not let down by the creamy flavourful broth. After mixing all the ingredients together the broth became better and better with every spoonful. I’m glad we all saved room for dessert becaused the waffleyaki along with a scoop of icecream was a nice way to finish the meal off. I will be coming back here time and again. The only thing I regret was forgetting to take a selfie with the impressive Godzilla mural!