The Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Experience

After a long absence (due to summer activities and stuff), Lian and I are back again for another ramen review! Let’s start!

Introduction

Our next ramen house in line is Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. It was established by Hitomi Hatanaka due to his poor experience with a ramen house featured in a TV show, thus a desire to make the best ramen. The first branch was opened in March 1988 at Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. They have four branches here in the Philippines so far which is located at Glorietta, SM Mall of Asia, Greenhills and Trinoma.

Ramen Hokkaido Santouka's international branches to date!

Location and Ambiance

We chose the SM Mall of Asia branch which is located at the second floor along the row of restaurants facing the seaside. At first glance outside, it seems that the restaurant space is quite narrow compared to its neighbors. I first thought that it was intentional; narrow on the outside but roomy on the inside. To our surprise, it was really narrow both outside and inside. It was still okay since they have maximized the area; high seats for single diners were a welcome addition in the restaurant layout.

Seats for single diners

Since we were the first customers of that day (lesson learned from Kichitora of Tokyo—get there early to get a decent seat), we were able to seat at the couch area which is a “more private” area in comparison to the normal seats near the entrance. Wherever you may be seated though, their modern take on a Japanese ramen house ambiance will be consistent.

Bamboo inspired spherical lights at the couch area

Condiments are also available at every table which includes Soy Sauce, Vinegar, White Pepper, Chili oil (we presume) and Chili powder (or maybe its Cayenne). Sadly, there is no house tea which we somewhat missed from our Ramen Nagi experience. Overall, I like the simplistic ambiance of the restaurant!

Condiments are available at every table

Ramen-eating paraphernalia, check!

Staff and Accommodation

Diners are welcomed by all the staff in a Nihongo greeting (sadly as always, I was too shy to ask the meaning of the greeting from one of the staff). Waiters are attentive and polite and service is pretty darn quick (really quick). I guess we were the early birds so we were served first!

The Food Itself

Lian and I tried their house specialty which is the Shio Ramen (Php 380.00 large bowl) and added Komi-Tamago (Php 50.00), Kurobuta Gyoza aka Black Pork Dumplings (Php 240.00) and House-blend Iced Tea (Php 65.00). We also tried desserts for the first time; Matcha Roll Cake (Php 200.00) which comes with a cold Green Tea and Yomogi Shiratama Azuki (Php 150.00).

Our first impression with the ramen dish is that the bowl is really big (and servings too). Bowl size aside, it was pretty delicious. I could say that it is the “lighter” version of the Kichitora of Tokyo’s Paitan Zenbu No Se Pork Ramen in terms of the broth’s saltiness, colour and consistency. Even though I see it as the “lighter version”, the broth is very tasty—and still (oh so) tasty even though it cooled down eventually. Lian simply loves the broth; she even dips (marinates is I think a better term for this) her Gyoza to “seep-in” the flavour.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka's Shio Ramen

Lian and her Shio Ramen

Toppings also compliment the overall taste namely: Char Siu, Bamboo Shoot, Naruto (Japanese fish cake), Kikurage and Negi (Green Onion). Their Pickled Plum was a surprise; it has a subtle taste with a very little punch of sourness. It was better tasting compared to my previous experience with other Japanese restaurants. Their Char Siu was very fulfilling since they got the tenderness just right.

Lian’s comment on the noodles was right on the spot for me. I agree with her when she said that it has a “Lucky Me” noodle consistency (I laughed for a moment when she told this—lol). This is not to say that their noodles was inferior. It was very flavoursome but it has no “flavour-seeping abilities” in comparison to Kichitora of Tokyo’s noodles. Noodles are also plentiful here as with most ramen houses that we have tried so far.

We ate the Komi-Tamago and Kurobota Gyoza quite cold since we both adored eating our ramen dish first. Both taste fine though I did not get the “stimulating” flavour that I was expecting with the Kurobota Gyoza. I wonder how the “Gyoza-marinated-in-ramen-broth” tastes like (any comments Lian).

Komi-Tamago

Kurobuta Gyoza. Actual picture later below!

In the desserts section, the Yomogi Shiratama Azuki has a predictable taste (Rice-flour Dumplings with Red beans and Sweetened Milk) while we both agree that the Matcha Roll Cake was a “thumbs up” in terms of taste—Lian almost ate the whole cake because it was that good!  The cold Green Tea though was not keen for our taste. Hope that they will have another version of Yomogi Shiratama Azuki where the Red beans is inside the Rice-flour Dumplings.

Yomogi Shiratama Azuki (lower left) and Matcha Roll Cake (upper right)

Lian and Matcha Roll Cake

First time seeing their House-blend Iced Tea, one thing comes to my mind—Tides Bar and Grill (for those regulars out there, you know what I mean). Presentation aside, taste was a-okay; I pretty much like it—not too sweet, not that sour—it was just right. One thing that I am looking forward though which is lacking was the light “lime” taste which gives the sensation of “house blend”.

House-blend Iced Tea

Verdict

In our Ramen Nagi experience, we were suddenly bombarded by its pleasing ambiance, unique (or I could say revolutionary) approach to ramen “tweaking” and superb ramen flavours. This time around, it is pleasing to come back to the simple experience of eating a very delicious bowl of ramen in a not-so “busy” ambiance. Though I said that Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s ramen is the “lighter” version based on our previous two ramen house experience, it packs a very flavoursome broth, an array of delicious toppings and a big serving size that will surely satisfy hungry stomachs and ramen lovers out there!

Hokkadio Ramen Santouka lacks the “busy” ambiance but it does compensate with an extensive array of menu ranging from set meals to desserts. This is where both Kichitora of Tokyo and Ramen Nagi is lacks; a diverse menu (for now I suppose). Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has managed to widen their "palette" of flavors by introducing other all-time favourite Japanese dishes in their line-up. I guess it will be one of the ramen houses that will survive when the “ramen craze” fades out!

Would we recommend Hokkaido Ramen Santouka? Yes, we absolutely do!

Lian and I together with the remaining Kurobuta Gyoza!

Credits

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to all the staff of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka for their polite and quick service! I would also like to thank my very good friend Lian for joining me for another ramen review in a short notice!

Please look forward for another ramen review! Ikimashou!