Having successfully opened branches of its authentic Japanese noodle restaurant across London, Kanada-Ya has now come to Ealing, or to be more precise has come to be one of the flagship eateries located within the Filmworks leisure development.
While residents across Ealing wait for the much anticipated Picturehouse cinema to open at Filmworks, Kanada-Ya itself is a destination in its own right to enjoy an evening out and to feast of tonkotsu ramen.
While the broth on tonkotsu ramen has traditionally been based on pork bones, Kanada-Ya also provides a chicken broth only as well as vegetarian versions so people with dietary requirements can still get the full Kanada-Ya experience.
While on first glance the menu may look limiting to those with dietary requirements, speaking to the knowledgeable staff helps to overcome any issues.
Authenticity is key to Kanada-Ya. From its branding both inside and outside the restaurant, you get the feeling of being transported to Japan. It’s clean and modern looking. Japanese music plays in the background. You could easily imagine your are in Japan.
Kanada-Ya was founded in 2009 in Japan by Kanada Kazuhiro and arrived in the UK in 2014 with its first branch opening in Covent Garden and since then other London branches have opened in Angel, Piccadilly and off Carnaby Street.
Kanada-Ya is all about a premium product – it’s all freshly made to order and that includes the ramen (noodles), which also come in a choice of firmness including extra hard, hard, regular or soft.
My dining and I choose regular which worked very well.
Throughout the evening we were guided by very knowledgeable staff who knew inside out everything about the Kanada-Ya including dietary needs. Our waitress, Dionne, educated us in how to choose from the menu.
Drinks started with traditional Japanese green tea of sencha and genmaicha. Both are £3.50 and is offered with unlimited refills. Genmaicha makes a change from traditional green tea with its slightly popcorn-ish taste though it is made with green tea and toasted popped brown rice.
I also went for a Mio. This is a sparkling sake light drink which served as the perfect aperitif to begin the meal.
While I enjoy nori (seaweed), my companion doesn’t and Kanada-Ya was able to avoid this on one of the starters we chose – onigiri. This is a triangle shaped rice with filling inside and outside warped in nori. We went for an original (1 piece £2.50) with nori of just being salted as well as ume (1 piece £3.50) without nori and is made with sour Japanese plum.
We both agreed this was a nice way to start the meal.
Our main noodle was then presented.
My companion went for chicken paitan (£13.10) with only chicken broth. They commented on how plentiful and tasty the soup was which is based on a broth including leek, spring opinons and wood ear fungus (posh mushrooms!) and how freshly made are so much nicer than dried ones.
I went for the vegetarian option (£12.50) which also contained wood ear fungus along with shiitake mushrooms, asparagus and spring onion. The soup of this was very wholesome and had a very hearty mushroom flavour. Like my companion, having fresh noodles for the first time was an real eye opener and tasted so much nicer than regular dried noodles.
To finish our meal, we both went for dessert which consisted of a strawberry mille crepe (£6.00) and a matcha mille crepe (£6.00). This authentic Japanese style dessert consists of a number of crepes with either strawberry or matcha as the main ingredient. It was a delightful treat and the perfect way to end the meal.
Kanada-Ya is a great experience for anyone looking for an authentic Japanese noodle experience.
Kanada-Ya overall rating: 8 out of 10
Kanada-Ya is located at:
Unit 3B, Filmworks Walk, 56-61 New Broadway, London, W5 5FA
Tel: 020 3375 2340
Web: www.kanada-ya.com/ealing/
