Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

On the day we tried out Marutama, the choice was actually between there or Santouka! What I really like about Santouka are the plastic displays at the front of the restaurant. The plastic displays of pretty much every item on the menu, includes the price along with a description. In addition, what you see is what you get, honestly.

As usual like at many ramen restaurants, the staff was cheerful, welcoming and friendly when we walked in. In addition, the seating arrangements are tight as expected. However, Santouka has one of the most comfortable seating arrangements out of many ramen joints, especially for those who sit at the half booth seats. Furthermore, the front of the restaurant has communal tables for larger parties or to share, and bar seats are available as well.

MISO CHA-SHU RAMEN, PORK BROTH SEASONED WITH MISO AND SERVED WITH A DOUBLE PORTION OF SLOW SIMMERED PORK CHA-SHU ($11.80), AGI TAMA ($1.60) AND SWEET CORN ($2.20).

The soup base has a mild miso taste along with a rich fattiness. The broth tastes really good and is better than Taishoken's. However, I do prefer Kintaro's more because of their fattier options. As for the cha-shu pork, the meat tastes very tender including the lean portion, and has that nice seared flavour. Perfectly done. What else is perfectly done are the noodles which have a nice pleasant chewiness and do not taste rubbery.

SHOYU RAMEN, PORK BROTH SEASONED WITH SOY SAUCE ($9.95) + AJI TAMA ($1.60).

As for the shoyu ramen, the soup base has a light soy taste along with a rich pork broth. There is a good amount of soy sauce and the broth does not taste too heavy one bit, or salty. Furthermore, the broth is pretty rich and has a mild fattiness compared to the miso ramen, where a fattier taste was more noticeable. As for the aji tama, the egg is perfectly done and does not taste too salty (like Martuama's). In addition, the bamboo shoots provide a nice crunch in the ramen.

TOTAL: $ 28.50 + TIP $3.50 = $32.00.

Santouka serves good ramen but there is something missing that I cannot think of. That one small thing is what makes the ramen only 3/5 instead of 3.5/5. However, overall, the ramen is one of the better ones in Vancouver and the broth tastes more rich compared to Taishoken's. Furthermore, the cha-shu is better here as well. As for the service, despite the friendly staff, it was very hard to get someones' attention and we rushed to eat so we could grab some drinks elsewhere because we were so thirsty. All in all, we would come back and obviously go for the miso or shio cha-shu ramen, as well as the fatty pork rice dishes! Might as well get a combo.

POSITIVES

- Friendly and welcoming staff 

- Properly done ramen, ingredients and broth wise

NEGATIVES

- Tables are sticky (which can be prevented by proper sanitizing)

- Seating arrangements are tight (but better than many ramen joints)

LITTLE THINGS

- Specialty drinks and ice cream are available too

Food: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5