First impressions of Ramen Santouka
1 Comment
Karen Hamilton
March 7, 2010
Whenever I want to go adventuring in the land of Japanese cuisine, I ask my brother. His inner circle is populated with so many Japanese students and ex-pats that he’s practically foresworn our Filipino culture for theirs. When it comes to the food, he’s one of the biggest snobs and best scouts that I know, having introduced our family to Kingyo, Alpha, Kaide, and Motomachi long before ramen and izakaya entered Vancouver’s mainstream vernacular. It should therefore come as no surprise that it was he who made me curious about Ramen Santouka.
My brother haunts the non-touristy end of Robson Street for its array of Japanese and Korean dining options. A week and a half ago, he happened across the soft open of Ramen Santouka, the newest of the chain of ramen shops originally based out of Hokkaido and starting to make its conquest of North America.
The restaurant decor is peppered with bears – the symbol of Hokkaido, according to my brother
Soft open / grand opening signage and tasty, tasty visual menu
Even if he hadn’t already eaten at Ramen Santouka during his last trip to Hokkaido, the place still would have captured his attention. The storefront, while modest in signage and obscured by a bus stop, has an arresting display in the front window of what one could eat inside its doors. It would have been enough for this curious diner to try it without further recommendation; I imagine the descriptions and visuals would interest a ramen neophyte as well.
My brother stepped inside for his first Vancouver taste of Santouka’s shio ramen. One slurp was enough to sell him on a second visit in the same week – another positive experience which led him to suggest Santouka for lunch the next time he and I hung out. He tried the shoyu ramen and the cha-su don while I wasted no time in ordering the most unusual items on the menu: the kara miso ramen and ikura don. Our picks were conveniently available as ramen/don combos for $11 and $13. Gotta love a place that makes sampling this easy.
Kara miso ramen: spicy tonkotsu broth flavoured with chili oil and miso
Ikura don: rice bowl topped with salmon roe and thin shreds of scrambled egg
Shoyu ramen: tonkotsu base flavoured with soy
Cha-shu don: rice bowl topped with slowly simmered pork
Yum, yum, yum! Easily the best tonkotsu I’ve had in Vancouver. The regular pork in our ramen was already so superb in tenderness, marble, and rich flavour that it’s gotten me drooling in anticipation for the premium pork jowl of the toroniku ramen that I will no doubt order upon my return.
A few observations: 1 slice of pork in my bowl and the default portion size were not enough to appease my normally peckish appetite, and certain items on the menu were not yet available for order. I recommend immediately upgrading your bowl to the large portion and requesting extra pork when you visit. Don’t let the limitations in the current menu stop you from coming down to eat there, as food lovers in the know and Santouka fans happy to see its presence in Vancouver are already causing a formidable line-up during service peak times. Oh, and don’t forget your cash – no debit or credit cards accepted yet.
This is a promising ramen find for me. As for my brother – who isn’t wild about Kintaro and who prefers the likes of Motomachi – he has found a new favourite in Santouka. He’s even posted photos and rave one-line reviews of his Santouka meals on his Facebook profile without telling his friends where to find the place. Tease.
Chow Times and La Petite Vancouver can give you more detailed accounts of this newcomer to Vancouver’s ramen scene, so read about their dining experiences if you aren’t already en route to Ramen Santouka.
Categories: Downtown, Food, Restaurants, West End
A preview of Mis Trucos
1 Comment Karen HamiltonJuly 25, 2009
Thursday evening saw myself, Tipsy Bites contributor Degan (representing her blog, Ethnic Eats), and some of the gang from Foodists at a preview tasting of a newcomer to the Davie Village scene, Mis Trucos.
We were asked to give feedback on the dishes they presented to us that night, which also happened to be the first time the kitchen was fired up. Below are brief notes on what we were served.
The plates
Mixed olives, sheeps milk feta, orange and mint – $7
Fried petrale sole with tartare sauce – $8
Warm salad of Serrano ham, manchego, asparagus, and slow-cooked egg atop a bed of arugula – $9
Trio of wild fish crudo: ling cod with apple and celery mince; spring salmon with grapefruit; scallop with radish, sunflower cream, and parsley salt. $13
Pan seared spring salmon, artichokes barigoule, spring garlic cream – $15
Roasted leg of lamb, chick peas, chorizo, feta cheese, salsa verde – $16
White truffle + nova scotia lobster risotto, crème fraiche – $19
The drinks
Everyone at our table thought that the drinks that were being pushed out that night were outstanding. Even I, who had to settle for whatever non-alcoholic concoctions that bartender Jonathan would send my way. I would venture to say that the imbibables outshone the food. I mean, people were getting unintentionally sloshed just because some of the drinks, like the Gin-Gin Mule and The Snapper, were just so damn tasty.
First impressions
Having had this taste of the Mis Trucos bar and kitchen, I am truly eager for this addition to the stagnant Davie Village eating landscape. The food was commendable and the drinks certainly worth the trip, but I’d like to see whether the full portions are indeed worthy of the fairly steep price tag (our tasting plates seemed much too small for the values we were seeing on the online menu).
If you’d like to check out Mis Trucos, follow them on Twitter to discover the dates of their soft open. They are crossing their fingers for next week.
They certainly plan on being open for their first charitable event: a fundraiser for A Loving Spoonful on August 6, 2009.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, Food, Restaurants, West End
High Tea Series: The Fish House at Stanley Park
3 Comments Karen HamiltonJuly 25, 2009
On July 11th, I was joined by 7 lovely ladies and 2 distinguished gentlemen for another tea party for my High Tea Series. The venue: the Fish House in Stanley Park, tucked away between the tennis courts and Second Beach inside Vancouver’s largest urban greenspace.
Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules
We started off slow due to guests being delayed by the changes to the Burrard Bridge, but that just gave us more time to admire each other’s creative choices of hat.
What wasn’t acceptable was the slowness of pace that continued even after our full contingent arrived. Tea took 15 minutes from the time of order; the food didn’t show until nearly 20 minutes of tea drinking had passed. By then, some of us who had deliberately fasted for this 2pm meal were getting frustrated and somewhat dizzy from hunger.
Our table tried 5 of the 7 teas on offer. Those who took cream and sugar favoured the Flowery Earl Grey. A couple were seduced by the concept of the Mountain Berry, a rose-hued tea that contained Saskatoon berries, red and black currants, hibiscus, and Seneca root.
I wish I could say a few good things about the tea that the Fish House served, but the general feel was that our drink was poorly set up, flat in taste and occasionally in aroma, and at best, forgettable.
Sad to report that the food verdict is similar. The overall selection was plainly presented. Overall tastings felt bland and lacking in contrast. A few piped up to defend the scones and the brownies, which were the best of the bunch, but I’ve personally had better at all of the other places I’ve been to for afternoon tea.
Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules
The one true highlight for me was the Devon cream, whipped energetically to airy deliciousness. It would have been more appropriate to say that I took my Devon cream with scones – in fact, I might have eaten it on its own if I hadn’t been concerned about what my companions might think.
Despite this small bit of praise, don’t you think it’s a shame that something akin to butter is the best offering in the Fish House’s afternoon tea array? I do.
The verdict: don’t bother.
You can probably sum it up like this: while the Fish House does have afternoon tea on the menu, they only pay lip service to it. No one else was there to have tea. Not many people were present in the dining room, period. I guess they’re not known as a lunch or tea destination, as we learned the hard way.
Ah, well. Our $24 a person fees weren’t entirely for naught. It did give our party an excuse to don fancy clothes and frou-frou hats, and we did have a great time just being in each other’s company. But if I were you, plan your next afternoon tea excursion elsewhere – I’d rather you to enjoy both your friends and your food.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, Food, Restaurants, West End
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