Santoka Ramen, Shio flavor

Santoka Ramen, Shio flavor, originally uploaded by dorisaurus.

ramen haiku:

Santoka Ramen
first of my noodle reviews
good but not the best

So the Great Ramen Adventure of Summer 2010 begins. There's a ton of fabulous ramen eateries in the area and in my circle of noodle devouring friends there's lots of debates of which one is the best. Who has the best noodles? The best broth? Who has the best meat?

Of course there's personal preference involved; do you like a clean ramen, a fatty ramen, spicy? So this is just going to be a review of the one that is the best to ME. Luckily (or not?), I've been accused of being a ramen addict after suggesting it for every outing in a two week period. I'd like to point out that we only went for ramen, like, once in those two weeks, proving I only kept suggesting it because we didn't go!!!! Also, this isn't a superpower (or is it?) but I can eat hot noodle soup in any kind of weather. That's what A/C inside restaurants is for.

Getting down to business, then. I'm told that Santoka is a chain that is very popular in Japan, so popular that people will wait in redonkulously long lines for it. Luckily for ME, there's one in Mitsuwa, my local big Japanese supermarket and I didn't have to wait in line at all aside from my friends who were ordering ahead of me.

My favorite ramen is the Tonkatsu broth; thick, fatty, pork goodness. Hey, it's the most green! You use all the yummy bones and gelatin and fat to make the savory and delicious broth. Santoka doesn't offer a standard Tonkatsu flavor, but their Shio broth (normally a clear, salf broth) was pretty much the same thing. Rejoicing and and slurping commenced as this pretty bowl landed in front of me - high marks for presentation. (bowl presentation only. Santoka is in a very food court-type of location, so no atmosphere, disposable utensils, etc.)

I liked the broth - savory and rich without being salty. In fact, there was a slight sweetness to it that a fellow ramen-slurper pointed out. It might not be for everyone but this glutton didn't mind. However, the noodles were a bit mushy, perhaps slightly overcooked? Topping were acceptable, sadly they were out of the special fatty pork but the meat was of good quality. (I could have eaten more meat.) Portions are somewhat smaller than at other ramen joints.

Overall: 3.5 burps out of 5
I'd eat there again, but not my favorite joint.