Santouka Ramen - San Diego

*** An updated post can be found here.

I had been hearing about the possibility of a branch of Santouka Ramen opening up in San Diego for quite a while. I had heard that Santouka would be opening in the Mitsuwa Marketplace; but after Kayaba opened it's doors; or to be more precise, drew back its curtains, there was no activity for for over a year. But soon enough, word got around that Santouka was opening on April 14th. "Finally, good ramen in San Diego" was the first thought that went through my mind. And though the first few days after opening was a bit too crazy for me, it was just a matter of time before I wanted to inhale some good ramen!

I placed my order, and watched the automated green onion slicer go to work. I dunno, they had 5 people working, do they really need a machine to cut green onions? And just the fact that the Young Man running the contraption stood and fed the scallions one by one through the machine, made it seem somewhat Goldberg-ian!

I usually will just get a Shio or Shoyu Ramen, but on this day, I decided to go for the gusto and ordered the Shio Ramen - Chashu Rice set ($9.48). Which was ready in no time.

Santouka's ramen is a favorite of many food bloggers, from The Rameniac to Miss Oishii-Eats and Daily Gluttony, who made sure to attend Santouka's grand opening in West LA. Recently, "RT" doing a guest spot on The Delicious Life, called it "liquid crack". And having had a few bowls myself, albeit at the Torrance and Costa Mesa locations, I'd be more than happy to join in, singing praises.....

I approached my bowl with eagerness, and that's where the problems started.

The shio(salt) ramen, which according to Rameniac owes it's flavor to the combination of pork bones(done in the classic "Tonkotsu" style) as well as shellfish. For me, there is one key thing about the broth I enjoy; a good oil content. The shiro at Santouka is not as rich as the "good bowls" I've encountered at Daikokuya, but it usually has a nice velvety richness that will wrap itself around your tongue. Unfortunately, this bowl of ramen was served to me lukewarm, which turned it from rich, to greasy, and not as enjoyable. In fact, halfway through my bowl, I had my own little personal Exxon Valdez disaster....which marks the only time that I've never finished a bowl of ramen at Santouka.

Still, I could live with that. Why? Well, for me, it's about the noodles at Santouka, which have a nice springy, toothsome, chew to them. These were undercooked and on the hard side. And being in lukewarm broth would not help, bummer.....

 

At least the Chashu delivered, as did the boiled soy sauce eggs, an accessory that goes with the ramen at Santouka, like Marc Jacobs with the Missus.

Disappointed with my ramen, I don't even remember what the Chashu Rice tasted like, and frankly it was just an afterthought for me anyway.

 

I've had enough good bowls of ramen at the other locations of Santouka to give the San Diego  location "a pass" for now. I'll assume that they still need to get things straightened out. I'm hoping my next visit will be more successful.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Comments

[nhbilly]

Talk about disappointing, considering how hot it was today I can't really think about having ramen any time soon unless the joint has ice blowing from its A/C vents. The Exxon Valdez is an understatement in regards to this bowl. The bowl of rice just looks so much like thit kho. http://gastronomy.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/thit-kho/

[Du]

Santouka is my favorite ramen! Well the one at Costa Mesa anyway...

[Carol]

I think I'll wait a little longer before trying Santouka. I hope they get things right soon. Thanks for the review!

[Tammy]

Kirk!

You're back! I can see that you really enjoyed Viet Nam in your recent posts...
Anyways, I went to try Santouka last week and I thought it was just "OK" ramen. The price for the ramen was a little deep though, don't you think? I think I like Shushengumi(spelling) ramen better.

See you later aligator,
Tammy

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Yeah, I know what you mean, I had this last week, right before it got real hot.

Hi Du - Santouka is a favorite of mine as well.....it's just that I think this location needs some work.

Hi Carol - I hope they get it together soon.

Hi Tammy - It's good to hear from you. I take it that you enjoy the thinner Hakata-style noodles? I sometimes find the broth at SSG too "sweet" for my tastes. Just as with Santouka, SSG can be wildly inconsistant. Pricewise, it's pretty much in the park for ramen.

[Wandering Chopsticks]

I was disappointed with the Centinela location and much prefer Costa Mesa's myself.

[Kirk]

Hi WC - I guess that all Santouka's are not created equal. I hope this location in San Diego doesn't share the same fate.

[Mike]

I just went to Santouka today. I must say, I had been really looking forward to this.

I had the Large Chashu Ramen. The diference between the regulard Shio ramen and the Chashu ramen, as their menu separates, is that the Chashu has 5 pieces of the Chashu pork, as opposed to the only 2 pieces of pork in the regular Shio ramen.

All in all, it was fine. Nice to have it in San Diego, but I don't think I'll be hurrying back anytime soon. I know that San Diego's own Tajima has long been described as "not being as good as the Ramen joints in OC and LA", but I found myself happily surprised that Santouka wasn't as good as I've heard it would be.

I found Santouka's broth almost too oily and rich. The flavor was fine, but it wasn't all that different from your average Shio or Tonkotsu broth. It wasn't like Tajima is serving frozen sirloin, and Santouka is serving fresh Filet Mignon, to put it another way. The difference is neglible at best, in my opinion.
All in all, I was expecting to be blown away, and I wasn't at all. Not to say that Santouka isn't good. It is, but I think it's definitely overhyped.

To which, throw in Santouka's pretty hefty prices ($10 for a large bowl of ramen?!?), the fact that it's in a crowded food court serving up cafeteria style, and I think it becomes even less "special".

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I'll be sticking to the Tajima ramen with Stewed Pork. Cheaper and bigger bowls, made in an actual restaurant with nice ambience, and with the option to have a beer or sake with your ramen, not to mention the excellent sides, apps, and salads they have. Oh yeah, and that divine sesame ice cream and some green tea for after the meal.

[Kirk]

Hi Mike - Thanks for your 2 cents, Santouka in San Diego is not as good as the Santouka locations in LA, yet...neither is Tajima for that matter. BTW, next time, could you not just do a cut and paste of your comment on CH?