Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba is a popular noodle chain in Vancouver and they recently underwent a menu revamp. They kept most of their signature mazesoba dishes, but updated the flavour profiles with a beef stock base. They removed most of their ramen menu (very sad about this!) and instead brought in Ichiran style ramen. For all dine in customers, you can order a free upsize (up to 2XL!) free of charge. Check out my full review of the new menu at Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba below!
What is Mazesoba?
Mazesoba is a brothless Japanese noodle dish. It features springy wheat noodles that is generously coated in a savoury, umami packed sauce. Mazesoba relies on the rich and flavour intense sauce that clings to each strand that creates such a unique tasting experience. The bowl is presented with a variety of beautiful ingredients and almost always includes a raw egg yolk on top. Before enjoying, you need to mix your bowl of noodles vigariously so that each strand is evenly coated.
Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba – New Menu, Prices and Free Upsize
I am a huge fan of Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba and have always enjoyed all of their dishes. This is the biggest refresh to their menu since their opening. One of the newest menu items is the Carbonara Mazesoba ($16.95). This brand new dish features slow braised pork chasu, runny egg yolk, spinach, onion, Japanese Carbonara cream sauce, black pepper, sesame, parmesan cheese and house made multigrain noodles. I really like the East meets West fusion of this dish. You can really taste the carbonara flavours and they work so well with the thick and bouncy noodles.
In addition to the new Carbonara Mazesoba we tried the following:
- Salmon Mazesoba ($19.95)
- Vegan Ramen ($16.45)
- Tamago Ramen ($15.99)
The Salmon Mazesoba is a refresh of their original Salmon and Avocado Mazesoba. This is always a table favourite so we got this in XXL size and they are not joking with the size! This was a hefty bowl and for $19.95 it can generously feed two people.
The new bowl features seasoned salmon sashimi, bamboo shoot, green onion, seaweed flakes, spinach, ground saba fish, minced garlic, sesame, egg yolk and house made multigrain noodles.
The Vegan Ramen features tofu, cherry tomato, mixed vegetables, corn, soybean tomato soup and thin ramen noodles. For the ramen you can order up to 3X noodle portion. This soup was rich and creamy with a nice acidic flavour from the tomato.
The Tamago Ramen is a must get dish for me if you’re an Ichiran ramen lover. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s pretty darn close. This dish feature pork bone broth, slow braised pork chashu, soft boiled egg, green onion and thin ramen noodle. You can also choose your spiciness level. The egg was absolutely perfect and this bowl was so comforting and delicious. It definitely reminds me of Japan.
The noodles are a bit on the softer side, so I would ask them to cook it harder next time.
Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba – Side Dishes
In addition to the noodles, we also got a few side dishes to try:
- Chicken Karaage (Large Size – $14.95)
- Ebi Mayo ($14.45)
- Ninja Gyoza ($14.25)
The Chicken Karaage features juicy fried chicken with a fresh green salad. It comes with a spicy mayo or honey mayo. The chicken is super hot from the fryer and very juicy! It goes well with both sauces but I prefer the spicy mayo.
The Ebi Mayo is always a solid pick. It features deep fried crispy shrimp tempura with a Japanese honey mayo sauce. The shrimps are super crispy (so much so that the tails are totally edible!)
The Ninja Gyoza features crispy gyoza topped with their signature minced meat sauce. The gyoza is deep fried so it’s crunchy on the outside with a juicy filling. It’s a little bit spicy but it doesn’t overwhelm the dish.
Worth a Try?
Yes! Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba is always worth a visit for a solid bowl of noodles. They have so many locations across the Lower Mainland and the service and dishes are always top notch. With their new slightly lower menu prices and generous upsizing I will definitely be back for more visits!
Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba – Metrotown
Address: 6049 Silver Dr, Burnaby, BC V5H 4L6
Website: http://www.menyakokoro.com/