Restaurant Review: Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi

 Seeing how warm it was on Saturday, it was hard to believe that we would literally get a dumped of snow overnight. Honestly, I think the storm moved in and the snow piled up in under an hour! All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and watch movies all day, maybe read a book or two. Nothing was going to make me leave the house…except for a nice hot bowl of steaming noodles in a well seasoned broth. Nothing brings comfort on a cold day more than a nice noodle soup and when I’m craving noodles, I like to hit up Shikiji.

Atmosphere: A charming petite Japanese styled restaurant that usually boasts an impressive line up and a boisterous atmosphere. I suggest going early.

Price Range: Mid $10s

Food: Although Shikiji serves an array of items on their menu. I’m usually visiting for their famous ramen noodle bowls. Ramen are traditional egg noodles made by combining flour, salt, water and egg together, which gives it its distinct yellow color. There are traditionally several different flavours of broth which the ramen is served in. At Shikiji you can find both traditional broths such as Soy, Shio (salt soup base) and Miso or the house specials of BBQ Pork (soy soup base) and Chili Goma (sesame base).

My favourite go to is the Chili Goma Ramen noodle bowl. It’s not extremely spicy. Instead there’s only a hint of spice used to add flavour as opposed to the usual burning sensation unlike other cuisines. I’m sure they can make it spicier if you request them to, but I prefer it this way as not to over power the rest of the broth, which is nicely flavoured with sesame goodness. The chewy noodles are topped with a salted ground pork, green onions, shitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots. It’s hearty and my type of comfort food especially when you add the garlic chips provided on the side. They’re crispy and garlicky, the perfect addition to any noodle bowl.

I’ve also had the chance to sample their Miso Ramen bowl which is served with flavourful BBQ pork, corn, bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, ginger and topped with lots of green onions. Before the noodles are brought to the table they bring out a little saucer of sesame seed where you can grind them up to your own satisfaction. The broth is lighter than the Chili Goma bowl due to its soy base and I enjoy all the vegetables mixed with the noodles as well. Although I do find that sometimes I get overwhelmed by bean sprouts, but just make sure to ask the server to give you less if you’re in the same boat.

If you’re not in the mood for ramen, try other items on their menu soon like their sushi rolls, udon and soba noodle bowls, which are fresh and tasty as well but it’s hard to beat the craving for ramen noodles!

My Pick: Chili Goma Ramen

Overall: A big hot bowl of noodle soup really does warm you up and I’d have to say that I actually think the broth at Shikiji is even better than the ramen noodles houses I visited while I was in Vancouver. Seeing how much the Vancouvrites love their ramen (to the point where they wait upwards of 1 hour in the rain), I might potentially be waging a ramen noodle war and not even know it yet.

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi

1608 Centre St NE

Calgary, AB
(403) 520-0093
Website: www.shikiji.ca