Ramen Quest: Kinton Ramen

Over the past year - Ramen has been the hottest new food craze in Toronto.  Food questers are the distinct beneficiaries.

Last week I went to a noodle bar located in Baldwin Village called Kinton Ramen - highly recommended by my food friend Victor.  Vic specifically complimented Kinton's soup broth and the tasty pork.

Kinton Ramen on Baldwin Street.

What I didn't know - Kinton has the same owners as another popular Japanese restaurant in Toronto called "Guu Izakaya", and maintains some very "Guu" sensibilities.  Particularly the crazy long lines and greetings in Japanese upon your arrival.

Noodle Bar view from Entrance 

Noodle Bar view from inside

The menu had about 5 different types of Ramen, and a variety of appetizers.  One of the toughest parts of going to a popular restaurant is walking by other people - and feeling food envy.

Tofu Nuggets

For appetizers - we went with Tofu nuggets.  The nuggets were battered with a bread coating very similar to McDonalds chicken nuggets.  In fact - the tofu was also at a consistency very similar to chicken.  They were quite tasty - like chicken nuggets in a sweet-mustardy sauce.  Unfortunately the portions were a bit small for sharing - my feel is that the right number of appetizers is 3 for a four person group.

Spicy Garlic Ramen & Miso Ramen

For the main dish - I settled on the Spicy Garlic Ramen.  When they take your order you're given the choice of soup broth (ranging from light to rich) and pork meat (either shoulder or belly).   The picture you see above is with regular spicy soup, pork belly, with a nice pile of garlic on top.  Soup broth was sharp tasting - and brought the meal together.  Pork was browned with a mini-torch, and was very fatty/most.  Noodles were perfect - not over done and maintained the right amount of softness.

If I were to rate - I'd say 4.5 / 5 because between the fun atmosphere, beautiful decor, and delicious food, it sets the standard for Toronto Ramen shops.

Letter to CBC - The Real Problem with Cellphone Contracts

SIR - You ran a fascinating article on the Competition Bureau's comments on the Canadian wireless code of conduct.

The Bureau states the Canadian Wireless conduct code would benefit from a maximum 2-year wireless contract (standard in the US) - "Discouraging the creation of switching costs that tend to reduced customer mobility" ("Cellphone contract crackdown", February 7th).  Curious is the omission of "increased" customer mobility statistics in the US measured by 'churn' the percentage customer base that takes their business to another provider.

Recent statistics from leading wireless providers in both countries imply shorter contracts do not correlate to increased customer mobility:

• AT&T Wireless Churn [US - 2 Year Contract] - 1.19%
• Verizon Wireless Churn [US - 2 Year Contract] - 0.95%
• Bell Wireless Churn [Canada - 3 Year Contract] - 1.7%
• Rogers Postpaid Wireless Churn [Canada - 3 Year Contract] - 1.34%
• TELUS Wireless Churn [Canada - 3 Year Contract] - 1.44%

Long wireless contracts frustrate Canadians because the length of most contracts extend past the useful life of their cellphones.  Carriers are equally flustered because contract subsidies devalue technological innovations and distort the cost of phones - a major reason many Canadians don't realize the actual cost of the phones they buy.

T-Mobile's CMO Cole Brodman against phone subsidies that accompany long contracts

Wireless contracts are a pain point but do not let the Competition Bureau's comments mislead readers - Canadians are less trapped, due to lack of industry competition, than the Bureau would suggest.

Matthew Tham
Toronto, Ontario

BlackBerry 10 Toronto Launch Party

Had the pleasure of attending the BlackBerry 10 launch party here in Toronto.  As a Canadian technology enthusiast and as a Waterloo Alum - I'm an unapologetic BlackBerry fan.  Been a little while since I've used a BB - last one was the Curve back in 2011.  The experience BB10 experience so far is definitely enough to make me consider it when I pick up a new phone this fall in Durham.

Full sized BB10 Poster

They also had a DJ.  She's Asian and quite pretty

While a lot of the event focused on the new Z10 launching this upcoming Tuesday (along with many of the launch apps), I was looking forward to the other BlackBerry device on display.  The Q10 features the full QWERTY keyboard experience BlackBerry has become best known for.  I strongly suspect the Q10 will be the flagship business device this year - mostly on account of BlackBerry's native enterprise applications.

FloRida was also in attendance