Umami Ramen & Cafe

I think opening a ramen joint next to a sky train station, is a stroke of business genius. Umami Ramen and Cafe, adjacent to Surrey Central is sufficiently large enough to cash in on the transit using clientele. During our visit at mid-afternoon on Sunday, the kitchen was kept hopping by a pretty steady flow of customers so it reflects some good judgment to not open as a half dozen table type of place.
I'm not sure what is going on with the name of this place. Early photos that I have seen showed Umami Ramen and Grill (as does the upper sign if you look closely). Skip The Dishes lists, Umami Ramen & Umami Asian Fusion (as one place). The current sign is clearly overlaid with the word Cafe. Didn't ask; don't care.
We ordered 2 combos with ramen, reasonably priced at under $15 per combo. One included a Chicken Chashu Rice Bown which was really very good. The chicken was very tender and with a decent amount considering that the adder to make it a combo was only $2.99. Topped with green onion, seaweed, and a couple of sauces (mayo and hoisin?), it was a tasty dish.
The other combo included Chicken Karaage. This arrived way too quickly upon ordering which set off some alarm bells. Sure enough, it was not hot out of the fryer. It was not exactly cold and certainly, it was tender and tasty enough but we knew that it had been waiting for a while as maybe an unwanted order or too much was cooked or whatever. I certainly am not on board with wasting food any more than we have to and it wasn't a horrifying experience, but it was a bit of a slip.
We tried the Shia Tonkatsu Black as we often do. This was garlicky and rich with wood ear mushrooms, roasted garlic, bamboo, and half a soy sauce egg. High marks for this. We noticed that they offer ramen with truffle among the many choices. I like truffle and was tempted to try it but we have seen a bit of a truffle overload in recent years. Someone else can try it and let us know.
Also on the extensive menu, is a number of Thai, Malaysian and other southeast Asian type dishes and we decided to try their Singaporean Laksa Ramen. This was another hit. Slightly spicy coconutty broth with all the trimmings including a little dollop of shrimp paste to be mixed in. The prawns were added recently and still had some bite to them. I'm taking it to mean that there is some capability in the kitchen to handle the varied menu. It means that its more difficult to decide but at least everyone should find something that suits them.
It's a decent-sized place as I mentioned at the outset. The decor is sharp and comfortable enough. Our service was very friendly and efficient to start but as the placed got busier, became a little distracted. Presumably, for the dinner hour, they would be better staffed. If you are connecting at Surrey Central give this place a try.
For what its worth, we give Umami Ramen and Cafe (or grill, or fusion or whatever) 3 1/2 out of 5.

Umami Ramen & Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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