Last week I went to Kenzo Japanese Noodle House on Kingsway and Griffiths in Burnaby. Besides ramen they serve many other Korean dishes and Japanese donburi, and also serve alcohol (unlike most local ramen shops, with Motomachi being an exception). As usual I ordered a miso ramen. Noodles were excellent with a deep yellow colour, cooked until it still had some firmness, and had the proper crinkled shape. I did not like the soup as it had almost no miso flavour and had a much too noticeable ginger overtone. Cha siu pork was tough and eggs were boiled far too long. I've yet to try the ramen at Metropolis in Metrotown or Miki Ramen on Kingsway and Royal Oak, but I don't think I will go back to Kenzo.

BTW: Does anyone know where Miki Ramen is on Kingsway and Royal Oak? I don't see it on Google Street View. Is it on the southeast corner with the HSBC?

Today I made another stop at Benkei and it was PACKED. I'm not sure if its the holidays or word getting around but it seems to get more busy everytime I'm there. When I was finishing up my meal around 7PM waitresses were already telling newcomers that miso ramen was sold out for the night! I noticed that I again got some decently cooked noodles (only on my first visit I received noodles too soft). I also ordered the cha siu pork onigiri, and its a decent side dish with some great flavour but a little dry.

I walked by 747 Thurlow Street and the new Benkei location has "Opening Soon" signs up with the windows covered. I like the location better so I hope they maintain the same standards. I also walked past Robson and Bidwell, and saw the "Opening Soon" signs for Hokkaido Ramen something beside Guu.

There supposed to be another Ramen place opening up in the same area as Benkei/Kintaro area. On the CIBC side, near Safeway on Robson.

Yes, same corner. It's inbetween Au Wing Kee and HSBC, where Asian 54 Restaurant used to be.

Any reviews for this place yet? Haven't tried it yet.

Benkei is really tasty and cheap!
I haven't had Kintaro for a long time but it's b/c the last time was not very good at all :(
The place in the food court at Aberdeen SUCKS!
Haven't tried Motomachi yet...

From what I hear, the one near Guu Garlic (Robson) is supposed to be Santouka which is a chain store in Japan with a few branches in other places (US, Singapore, HK).

http://www.santouka.co.jp/menu/index.html

weird i love kintaro and dont like benkei at all. never tried motomachi. I love the fattiness of kintaro's rich miso. I guess i prefer that over 'authentic' japanese ramen. mmmmmmm fatty

:thumbsup: you and i think alike :haha:

^
^^

you guys should go on a lunch date.

i read ramen shoot out.

i assumed some sort of fight with ppl shooting noodles from their wrists...

i was wrong.. =P

Went to Benkei during the weekend.

Wasn't impressed is what I could say. The soup tasted bland and the meat isn't soft enough IMO, guess the fat/lean ratio isn't exactly right (although they are properly seasoned).

But I went in with high expectation after reading this thread. Maybe I will try them again when I go around the area again.

I've been a longtime Kintaro fan and tried Benkei and MS this past week. I didn't like Benkei at ALL!. In their miso ramen, they added mini pork bits, which in my opinion ruined the ramen . Motomachi Shokudo was very interesting. I tried the charcoal ramen and actually enjoyed it.

When I want cheap hearty ramen that I can customize quite easily, I'll go to Kintaro. I also love Kintaro's hole in the wall atmosphere.

When I want something a little more upscale, I'll check out MS.

Motomachi FTW.

^

amen
:thumbsup:

If you don't mind spending a few more dollars on ramen, Motomachi is the best.

I hated going to Benkei, I usually get Shio Ramen and it tasted like ass compared to Kintaro. I haven't been there for a while so the taste may have gone downhill.

benkei is terrible, they're definitely not a top 3 now that santouka is in town

kintaro is still tops in my book as far as serving and quality

Aside from the different meats and veggies, doesn't all ramen taste pretty similar?
All ur paying for really is the size of the bowl & meats they put in it.
I usually just buy the ramen from asian food supermarket and cook it myself

Yeah, that place is Santouka.


mqr03,
It's mostly the soup that makes the difference.
If it was just meat and veggies, then fresh noodles vs frozen wouldn't make a difference at all right?


Santouka >> Kintaro > Motomachi >>> Benkei >>>>>> Ajisen

The more ">", the bigger the gap in quality.
As you can see, Ajisen is way down on my crap list.

Santouka,
Get the Shio Pork Cheek one. It's better than the miso, so much more complex and balanced.


There are 3 places on my list that I haven't gotten around to yet:
- Menya (Broadway @ Yukon)
- Kenzo (Kingsway @ Griffiths)
- Miki (Kingsway @ Royal Oak)

I heard menya was only okish, not great.
Can anybody comment on these?

Miki is pretty bad, but I went about 4 months ago.

Santouka is probably my favourite right now, but I really need to try Motomachi.

menya is ok.. the noodles are nothing special. their gyozas were pretty good tho.

you clearly know nothing more about ramen than the words on the instant noodle packaging

the pork cheek is really good at santouka, but having to fork out an extra $5 for it sucks

i'd generally suggest not eating any ramen outside of the robson and denman, the rest are terrible in comparison to the big 3

g-men soup base is pretty good

I never said I was an expert but I can tell you the stuff the sell at places like T&T taste pretty good. Why would I pay more at a restaurant if the taste is equal. I just add my own meats and veges and trust me I'm not the only one who thinks I make good ramen. I cook it for my friends and family and they love it. ;)

^ dude, I agree with Anakin. Just the soup base alone is what I pay for when I go out and eat.

When you can make a decent soup base without MSG & salt but from slow cooking / boiling bone marrow and bones to produce a soup base is when I can say it's a good ramen
The hours of prepping the soup base and the essence of the broth is why i pay the money i do when i go eat ramen.

cooking for your friends and saying it's good vs. the foodies in Vancouver saying you're good and making a business out of it is sort of diff.