Ramen Santouka

We’ve been meaning to hit up a ramen place while in town but haven’t had a chance until now. We decided to try a new place called Ramen Santouka. We got there a bit later, around 1pm, and there still was a line up to get in.

Luckily the turnaround was quick so we were seated within a few minutes. It wasn’t the best seats as they were by the entrance but good enough since we had limited time. We at this odd shaped table that was basically like sitting at a bar. I had people lined up standing behind me.

The kitchen was working furiously pumping out the bowls of ramen. We noticed it was all women doing the work.

The menu had all sorts of ramen choices but Anna and I both saw the words pork jowls staring at us under the heading “Toroniku Ramen” which made it easy for us to order. We ordered two toroniku ramen – Anna’s was spicy (can’t recall the name) and I got miso. We both ordered a soft-boiled egg. I added seaweed as well. We decided to start with an order of gyoza.

The food came out pretty quickly. We got the gyoza condiments first – soy sauce, chili oil, and vinegar. And then the plate of gyoza. Nice thin skin and crispy on the bottom. Taste wise? It was delicious!

Our bowls of ramen came out next. There is a side plate with fungus (I think), green onion circles, fish cake, bamboo shoots, and the pork jowls. Anna also included some thinly sliced chili (something that was hot!). They mixed up our orders a bit giving Anna the seaweed but no biggie. Here’s the miso ramen.

The spicy ramen. We both liked the the broths. Towards the end, mine started tasting a bit salty but Anna didn’t think it was at all. I drank all mine up so obviously not a big deal for me.

The pork jowl melted like butter in the mouth!

The egg was done just how I like it.

The service was quick and friendly. When we left an hour later, the place was even more busy than when we got there. We had to squeeze through everyone to get to the door.

Overall this restaurant was a winner in my books. I liked it more than Benkei and as for Kintaro, will have to reserve judgement until I get a chance to go there again.

Ramen Santouka

1690 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Ajisen Ramen

A new ramen place opened up in Westfield mall in between a Panda Express and (yet to be opened? Looked closed.) Rubio’s. I was by myself with the two girls but Lilly was asleep so I took a deep breath and prayed she wouldn’t wake up during lunch. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work because the seating was kind of tight.

All the waiters and waitresses were very nice and went out of their way to make it as easy as possible for me. They helped me park the stroller in this one open spot in the restaurant. We sat at a table which had enough room for all of us including the infant car seat which had the sleeping baby. I had her by my feet to start but then they offered a chair to put the car seat on.

I didn’t get a chance to study the menu but the tender pork rib ramen caught my eye since I’ve never seen that on the menu at other ramen places.

Noticed these special drinks while waiting for a seat. Will have to try next time.

The service was quick – the ramen came within 5 minutes – just in time to feed a hungry toddler. Decent sized bowl (especially when compared to a place like Hapa Ramen) of ramen which consisted of broth, noodles, two pieces of pork ribs, green onion, seaweed, and shredded cabbage.

The things I noticed were the straight noodles and the pork ribs included all the cartilage and tendon which I ate along with the meat!

I think she is thinking, “Here we go again…Can you hurry up already and take your pics Dad? I’m hungry!”

Ajisen ramen

Westfield San Francisco Center, #C-12
865 Market Street
San Francisco, CA

Saiwaii Ramen

After Emma’s weekly swim class I decided to hit up a new restaurant on Irving for lunch. The only problem was I didn’t have a place in mind!

After driving slowly from 19th Ave all the way to 25th Ave along Irving, I spotted Saiwaii Ramen in the old So location. There were only two other tables occupied in the place and I noticed the flat screen above playing Cannonball Run (which is what I also saw during my Broken Record visit).

Emma and I sat down and the two waitresses helping us were great. Super friendly. Emma wanted rice but I wanted ramen. Hmmm what to do! I noticed they had this combo special where you could order any ramen (~$8) and get a side order of donburi ($3) so that’s what I did.

I ordered the tonkotsu ramen with shrimp and mixed vegetables (tempura) donburi which covered all my bases.

Overall it was a satisfying bowl of ramen. Not the best I’ve ever had but ok and pretty good by SF standards. The broth had decent flavor and the cha siu was tender and had good flavor (especially when I compared it to the horrible cha siu at Sappora-ya). The donburi side I probably could have done without. The shrimp and veggies tempura was pretty standard.

I’ll definitely come back  based on this experience. As an added incentive, I hear they periodically offer braised pork belly as an option.

Update (11/6/10):

Went here again and we had the Spicy Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen and Miso Ramen.

Saiwaii Ramen

2240 Irving
(between 23rd Ave & 24th Ave)
San Francisco, CA