the ramen blog & other goodies!

Well, we never were able to make it to Motomachi Shokudo, just a few doors down from Kintaro (and owned by the same people). There was just too much to see and eat, and too little time. (more…)

Kintaro Ramen…one of the “big three” of Vancouver’s ramen zone. Kintaro is a no-nonsense ramenya with an open kitchen. While its competitor Benkei Ramen has obviously spent some time on its interior decorating, Kintaro settles for bare, concrete walls. The ramen chefs dwell silently behind the counter, working efficiently and quietly. The waitresses clump near the back of the restaurant, also quiet, but alert, waiting to serve customers quickly. At times we almost felt a bit rushed, but given the small space and that it’s often very crowded, I can’t really blame them.

On a side note, I just want to establish my “ramen chops.” Not only did I walk for 45 mins to get here, I forced my poor wife to come with me. Then again, it was cold, and slightly uphill, but I can’t say I was barefoot, and it wasn’t snowing. (more…)

Most Vancouver ramen fans will probably agree that the top 3 ramenya are Benkei Ramen, Kintaro Ramen Noodle, and Motomachi Shokudo. There is no official Vancouver “ramen zone” or “ramen central,” but by concidence or by design, all three ramenya are located within a block of each other, near the corner of Robson and Denman Sts in Vancouver’s West End. (There’s even a Gyoza King a couple of blocks SE on Robson, which has an unspecified “ramen comma udon” on their menu.)

If you’re in Vancouver for the Olympics, Robson and Denman are a bit far from all the Olympic excitement happening on Howe, Granville, and Seymour, but even from the GE Ice Plaza/Robson Square, it only takes about a 30 min walk to satisfy your ramen craving.

And what’s this I spy…about half a block from and across the street Benkei’s Robson’s location… (more…)

I saw this Noodle Restaurant after lunch while walking down to the Waterfront to see the Olympic cauldron. I was too full to eat, but still had to poke my head in to look at the menu.

The good: there was about a dozen different types of ramen available.
The bad: for each type of ramen, there was a corresponding udon. e.g. Shoyu Ramen or Udon. Miso Ramen or Udon.
The ugly: Really? Ramen or Udon? Ramen or udon purists out there know that you can’t just substitute noodles like that and call it a day.

Or, maybe I’m completely wrong and the Sapporo Ramen Shogun geniuses somehow manage to make it work. The place was pretty crowded. If anyone would care to enlighten me, maybe I’ll try it out on a future trip to Vancouver.

Sapporo Ramen Shogun
518 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC
(604) 684-2922
(more…)

It’s the 2010 Winter Olympics, so we’ll be reporting from Vancouver this week! First up…Benkei Ramen. Benkei Ramen is considered to be one of the top ramenyas in Vancouver, with 4 locations throughout the city, including one in “ramen central” (more on this later). That location was a bit far for me, so I went to their newly-opened Thurlow St. location. (more…)

In Vancouver, it’s Menya vs. Benkai.

In prison, it’s Bread vs. ramen?

And on TV: ever try the “#2 challenge” at L.A.’s Orochon? The TV show Man v. Food gives it a shot on the Feb 18 episode.

Find out if Asa Ramen in Gardena “does what ramen should do.”

Can a master ramen chef be too popular to retire? If he’s the founder of Taishoken in Tokyo, the answer is a resounding yes.

“Making Ramen Sexy.” Oh yeah!

Ever have to fill out an application to eat a bowl of ramen? Ichiran Ramen in NYC will be member’s only. Is it worth it?

If you live in Japan and like ramen, or just like looking at pictures of ramen, get a free PDF issue of RamenBank magazine. via Ramen Tokyo

The Tops:

• Top 15 ramen dishes in Sydney
• GoRamen’s 2008 Southern California ramen ratings
• The rameniac 2009 king of the bowl rankings

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