My cousin David's friend
Lauren recommended
Kintaro (about halfway down the article), proclaiming it the best ramen in Greater Vancouver. Geoff had also heard about it so we decided to check it out for lunch. By pure coincidence, we stumbled into Lauren eating there at the very same time. I wasn't sure what to expect - I hadn't been to a ramen joint in Vancouver before, so I had no idea what the standard is. What I did know is that my own bar for ramen was set pretty high after my trip in 2003 to Sapporo, the capital of ramen (notice that ramen on the left). I've been unable to find a place that can make anything comparable outside of Japan.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped inside of Kintaro and found a very serious-looking ramen operation: three Japanese guys behind the counter, various
massive pots of stock containing giant pork bones in different steps of the soup-making process, and an efficient assembly line of production with each batch of noodles and each batch of soup prepared individually. Perhaps most impressive was the taste testing by the head ramen guy of every single batch of noodles and soup as it was made. Anyway, on to business.
shoyu ramen - ramen in soy sauce soup with pork bone stock with bean sprout, menma, green onion, nori, and BBQ pork - C$6.25
gyoza - C$3.25
Another immediate sign of encouragement upon receiving our menus was the notice at the top that gave options for both soup (rich, medium, light) and pork (fat, lean). Why anyone would choose a combination other than rich/fat is completely beyond me, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I ordered the staple shoyu ramen as I always do (they also offer miso and shio, and claim the miso as their house specialty).
To be frank, this is the best ramen that I've had outside of Japan. The soup was remarkably flavorful, and splashed with little tiny globs of pork fat, a luxury I have only experienced in Sapporo and Tokyo. The single piece of fatty pork was delicious. Bean sprouts, green onions, and salted vegetables were all great. The noodles were firm and textured. This bowl of ramen was wonderful, although I still don't think it's as good as what I've had in Japan. That's not a knock though - this ramen was really great. The gyoza was very good, though not spectacular, and did its job as ramen sidekick of choice. Kintaro is better than any ramen I've had in SF proper (though I admit there are places around the Bay Area I have yet to try), and I expect it will become a regular stop for my future Vancouver trips. Next time I'll try the miso...
shoyu ramen - ramen in soy sauce soup with pork bone stock with bean sprout, menma, green onion, nori, and BBQ pork - C$6.25
gyoza - C$3.25
Another immediate sign of encouragement upon receiving our menus was the notice at the top that gave options for both soup (rich, medium, light) and pork (fat, lean). Why anyone would choose a combination other than rich/fat is completely beyond me, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I ordered the staple shoyu ramen as I always do (they also offer miso and shio, and claim the miso as their house specialty).
To be frank, this is the best ramen that I've had outside of Japan. The soup was remarkably flavorful, and splashed with little tiny globs of pork fat, a luxury I have only experienced in Sapporo and Tokyo. The single piece of fatty pork was delicious. Bean sprouts, green onions, and salted vegetables were all great. The noodles were firm and textured. This bowl of ramen was wonderful, although I still don't think it's as good as what I've had in Japan. That's not a knock though - this ramen was really great. The gyoza was very good, though not spectacular, and did its job as ramen sidekick of choice. Kintaro is better than any ramen I've had in SF proper (though I admit there are places around the Bay Area I have yet to try), and I expect it will become a regular stop for my future Vancouver trips. Next time I'll try the miso...