Best chicken ramen in Toronto, beating most pork ramen
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Ikkousha (一幸舎) may be a global chain but its ramen are among the best in Toronto. The original store near Hakata train station in Fukuoka, Japan, is famous for its tonkotsu ramen and its rendition in Toronto is just as good. It’s a close second after Santouka (山頭火), another Japanese chain.
While the first Canadian outlet sticks closely to the formula from the original Japanese location, Ikkousha recently opened a restaurant two doors away that focuses solely on chicken. Even the side dishes like gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) are based on chicken. This is the first Ikkousha restaurant in the world that specializes in chicken ramen. And it is out-of-this-world good.
Ok, technically, this isn’t the first Ikkousha restaurant that serves chicken exclusively. Some branches in Indonesia only have chicken ramen to appeal to Muslim diners. However, the menu here is completely different and this Toronto restaurant is the first to be branded as “Ikkousha Chicken”. If you are wondering, there is no halal or kosher certification.
Ramenology primer
There are many ways to classify ramen. Broth seasoning, broth base, and noodle type are the most common. For this review, you just have to know the difference between broth bases. Ikkousha has long been associated with tonkotsu (豚骨), a whitish concoction from boiling pork bones and cartilage for hours. Their second restaurant in Toronto focuses on chicken broth bases. The two types are tori paitan (鶏白湯; literally chicken white soup) and tori chintan (鶏清湯; literally chicken clear soup). Like tonkotsu, tori paitan is made by boiling chicken bones and cartilaginous parts like chicken feet until all the fat and connective tissue melds into the broth. The result is a creamy, umami-rich, high cholesterol chicken soup.