Review: Nomiya Japanese (Ramen)

Last weekend Mike and I went with our friends Fred and Catherine to try the ramen at Nomiya Japanese Restaurant on Calgary Trail.

Since we got back from our trip to Japan in October, Mike and I have been craving ramen much more than we had pre-trip.

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

Nomiya at 3803 Calgary Trail.

While the opening of the Prairie Noodle Shop was a very welcome addition to the ramen options in Edmonton, it didn’t quite satisfy the more traditional Japanese ramen cravings we were having (Prairie Noodle is very much ramen with an Alberta twist – read my review here).

I continue to maintain that we are not ramen experts, but we now have a pretty good idea of how we want ramen bowls to taste so we definitely go into ramen meals with some clear wants in mind.

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

Inside Nomiya

Sushi Sugoi in the south side has also recently rebranded to Kobe Sushi Ramen (a sister location to the west Edmonton Kobe Bistro) which had our social media feeds buzzing with more talk of ramen in Edmonton.

Really, ramen has just been on the mind a lot more lately in Edmonton.

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

The ramen menu at Nomiya!

For the longest time, Nomiya has been recommended as the place to go for ramen in the city but I had never actually tried their ramen before.

Hoping to kick an incoming cold, we ventured south (3803 Calgary Trail) to Nomiya to warm up with their ramen. (They also have an Ellerslie location!)

Nomiya has quite a few options for ramen – along with other Japanese menu items you’d expect including various rolls, sashimi, and hot starters like gyoza.

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

The creamy tonkotsu ramen (hearty, milky smooth – with lean pork) – $12.50 – at Nomiya!

Nomiya’s offers 10 types of ramen:

  • Buta Kakuni – miso soup-based ramen topped with marinated Japanese braised pork belly, corn, green onions, kukurage mushroom, bamboo shoots, naruto and nori.
  • Curry – creamy blend of spicy Japanese curry and tonkotsu soup.
  • Tan Tan – flavoured with homemade peanut paste and spicy sesame, served with spicy ground pork, peanuts, green onions and nori.
  • Miso – mixture of tonkotsu soup base and homemade miso paste.
  • Tonkotsu – the heart of Nomiya’s ramen! Many hours of simmering make this ramen hearty and milky smooth. It comes with lean pork.
  • Spicy Miso – the mixture of different spices adds a savoury kick to the traditional miso paste and tonkotsu broth.
  • Seafood – a Shio-based soup, the seafood ramen is paired with wakame, shrimp, mussels, ika, and sweet corn.
  • Shio – the tonkotsu-based broth is seasoned with homemade shio (sea salt) – giving this ramen a well-balanced flavour of pork and a light creamy broth.
  • Shoyu – a soya-flavoured ramen that is Nomiya’s lightest soup. Complete with marinated egg, this ramen is tangy, salty, and savoury.
  • Vegetarian – vegetarian-based broth served with corn, bamboo, kikurage, fungus, and other seasonal vegetables.

(View their full ramen menu here)

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

The Shio ramen (a tonkotsu-based ramen seasoned with shio sea salt) – $11.50 – at Nomiya!

Ramen bowl prices range between $11 up to $14.50 (the seafood ramen is their most expensive bowl at $14.50, which is very reasonable compared to other ramen shops).

You can also get additional toppings like corn, onions, egg, kim chi, nori, minced pork (or lean pork or pork belly), etc., which range between $1 to $3.95

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

Another view of the creamy Tonkotsu ramen at Nomiya!

Mike ordered the Tonkotsu ramen ($12.50), a rich and creamy broth ramen with lean pork (he also had an extra helping of the lean pork!)

I got the Shio ramen ($11.50), a tonkotsu-based ramen seasoned with shio sea salt – (plus a side of pork belly).

And Catherine got the spicy Tan Tan ramen ($12), a ramen flavoured with homemade peanut paste and spicy sesame, served with spicy ground pork, peanuts, green onions and nori (seaweed).

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

The Tan Tan ramen (flavoured with homemade peanut paste and spicy sesame, served with spicy ground pork, peanuts, green onions and nori) – $12 – at Nomiya!

We were all so pleased with our ramen bowls!

Mike and I both agreed that this was the closest to the kind of ramen we had in Japan and also best value (quantity and quality) for your dollar!

Keeping in mind we haven’t yet tried the new Kobe Ramen Sushi, or the ramen at Yuzen in St. Albert. We have tried the ramen from Ninja Club on Whyte Avenue as well as Kazoku Ramen on the west end and much preferred Nomiya’s bowls to the ones from Ninja Club. (Though we are planning a return trip to Kazoku this month to give them another try since when we went they had only just opened).

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

More of the ramen menu at Nomiya!

We thought the broth at Nomiya was creamy and flavourful, portions were great and the noodles had a wonderful hand-rolled quality to them.

We appreciated how hot the bowls came out, how quickly they all came out, and the proportion between noodles, broth, and toppings. We also appreciated the price!

All ramen soup (except the vegetarian ramen) is made with Nomiya’s special pork bone recipe and simmered for over eight hours.

Nomiya’s ramen can only be eaten in the restaurant (no ramen take-out!) and you’re also discouraged from packing home leftover ramen (as flavours and textures will change over time – they are serious about their ramen!)

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

Sashimi salad at Nomiya ($13.95)

Fred had eaten beforehand so he only ordered the Chicken Karaage ($7.95). I also tried the Sashimi Salad ($13.95). Mike got the Crispy Spicy Tuna Rolls ($12.50) and Gyoza ($6.95) as well – but we could barely finish – the ramen bowls really filled us!

We also weren’t overly impressed with any of the non-ramen dishes we tried.

Nomiya Edmonton - Ramen - Sushi

Inside Nomiya

Nomiya wouldn’t be our top choice for rolls or sashimi, but for the most authentic, tastiest (most traditional) ramen we’ve had so far in Edmonton, we would absolutely recommend Nomiya!

We also had fantastic service! Our server was funny and quick, and while there was a short wait at the door to get a table, staff checked in on us regularly, giving us updates on how many more minutes we’d need to wait for a seat.

If you are a ramen fan (or just a noodle soup fan), you must try Nomiya’s! With their expansive (and inexpensive) ramen menu, I am eager to make many more return trips to eat my way through them all!

So have you been to Nomiya?! Tried their ramen? Let me know what you think!

Linda

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