Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

If you're a local Vancouverite, then this probably won't come as news to you. It turns out that the West End (by Robson St and Denman St) of the city is ramen central! There are about 4 to 5 different ramen joints within a very short walking distance (some even directly across the street from each other).

For those of you who are not familiar with Santouka -- the restaurant first originated in Hokkaido, Japan, and has since expanded to various locations around the world. The momentum behind its quick expansion was largely a result of the popularity of their Shio Ramen (which was actually the only item on their menu) when they first opened for business. I've been to the Santouka in Toronto (one of my favourite ramen places), but I wanted to try this one out to test their consistency in quality. For me, consistency in quality plays a big role in how I rate a chain restaurant.

When we first got there, it seemed like there was going to be quite a bit of a wait. Lucky for us, they have a very efficient system going on. The waiters take your order before you are even seated! I can see how this might rub some people the wrong way. But, for me - I don't go to eat ramen for the ambiance, so this was A-OK with me. Two thumbs up for efficiency! The restaurant isn't too spacious and most of the tables are meant for shared seating. I don't mind getting cozy. 

I ordered their specialty; white tonkotsu soup ramen - the Shio Ramen. Sameer decided to go with the Spicy Miso Ramen

Shio Ramen

Spicy Miso Ramen

We each ordered a Hanjuku tamago (seasoned soft-boiled egg) to have with our ramen. (Almost) everything tastes better with an egg. 

So, let me start off by saying that this Santouka was just as good as the one I've tried in Toronto. Everything from the soup base, to the meat, to the noodles ... and even the egg tasted great! The soup (especially the Shio one) was very creamy, flavourful, and aromatic ... but, not too salty. I loved the texture of the ramen noodles - they were chewy, without being too tough or hard. The pork slices were soft, with a relatively thin lining of fat. I don't like it when there is too much fat or if there is no fat at all. I would've liked it if the slices were a little bit thicker and if there was a bit more meat in the bowl. THE EGG! On their website, they describe the texture of the egg to be "viscous". I would say that they were pretty accurate in their word choice. I find that the best way to enjoy the egg is to first immerse it into the soup. Since the egg yolk isn't too runny, the yolk is able to stay in place while soaking up the soup. 

Cynthia Approved Ramen Rating (CARR*)

*Percentage weight of each factor in calculating the total CARR: Toppings - 10%; Meat - 15%; Broth - 20%; Noodles - 20%; Presentation - 5%; and Overall Taste - 30%. 

Toppings - 4/5

Meat - 3.5/5 
Broth - 5/5
Noodles - 5/5 
Presentation - 3.5/5 
Overall taste - 4.5/5

X(perience) Factor** - 2/2

**Click for explanation (scroll to the bottom of post)

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka gets a CARR of 91.0%