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.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to award a gold, silver, and bronze ramen medal, seeing how we only managed to hit two ramenya this time around. Kintaro gets the gold medal by virtue of its Audacity of Pork and its superb pork-to-dollar ratio. This is a place more suited to serious eaters: get in, enjoy your ramen, get out. It’s like the former East Germany of ramen. The silver medal goes to Benkei. Even though I think Kintaro has a slight edge overall on their ramen, I enjoyed Benkei’s soup and overall dining experience a bit more. Even now, I’m still thinking about the sea-salt and grilled-pork flavor that lingered in my mouth after eating there. I’ve heard good things about Motomachi Shokudo, and with Santouka opening up just down the street, Vancouverite ramen fans have plenty of fine choices and reasons to be happy.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Vancouver, and leave a few less-ramen-related tips:
There is no ramen to be had in Whistler. None. Believe me. I looked.
Cactus Club, a chain restaurant run by Iron Chef Canada (he defeated Iron Chef Morimoto!) is fantastic. Highly recommended.
For good coffee, you can’t go wrong with Bean Around the World or Agro Cafe.
Holy cow! Vancouver has good bagels! Siegel’s Bagels at the Granville Island Public Market blew my mind, while my wife fell in love with Solly’s, near the Olympic Village.
And last but not least…Japadog!!! Wow, oh wow! The Oroshi hotdog is heaven on a bun! It lives up to the hype!
Signing off from Vancouver…Go Canada!