There was a time when all of the respectable ramen places were restricted to the downtown area. Now they’ve started breaking away from Robson and Denman, setting up new shops all over Vancouver. I almost got whiplash when I nearly pulled an exorcist head turn after casually walking by the new Santouka on Broadway near Cambie! It wasn’t even completely built yet, but I was so so so so so excited! Of course, there’s Jinya in Kerrisdale, but Santouka rules more.
I can’t read Chinese, let alone Japanese, but I’m assuming this means SAN – TOU – KA. Right? Right?
I loved how this location was so much more spacious than the downtown one. We also didn’t have to line up out the door. Also, maybe because not many people knew about it yet? I’m having an internal struggle as to whether I should write about it… I want it to be my own little secret. But it’s Broadway… so it’s bound to get busier, especially since it’s so close to the Canadaline.
Weinerr was leaving for London soon, so I decided to surprise her with a visit to the new Santouka. I can’t even remember when we last visited Santouka downtown… I just recall ordering the ramen with rice and cream soda combo… carb overload.
We started off the meal with some gyoza. There’s five per order. It had a decent crust, but nothing really noteworthy.
Obviously, the ramen was the true highlight of the meal. I don’t know how they do it, but Santouka’s broth is the creamiest of all the ramen places I’ve visited. I got the miso this time around, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. The broth is absolutely addictive. I can’t think of anything better than a comforting bowl of ramen on a Vancouver rainy day.
The noodles were well-cooked with good bounce. I wanted to take a picture of the egg add-on, but it was just too ugly after I took a nom out of it… I wish they would’ve sliced it and placed the halves in the bowl. It was perfectly soft-boiled, though.
The cha-shu was the only thing that wasn’t perfect to me. I liked how it was quite lean, but it’s a catch 22 when I also wanted it to be more tender.
Overall, solid ramen as expected from Santouka. I went again the next week :)
Final Bytes
- Free 2 hr parking along Cambie St
- Located nearby Broadway Canadaline Station
- “Large Ramen” only means extra noodles, not meat.
Foodobyte’s Rating
http://www.santouka.co.jp/en
558 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC