Ramen Revisits - Chopstix, Tajima, Gunco Ramen, Teri Cafe, and Santouka

The recent weather made me want some ramen. So I decided to revisit a bunch of places I've posted on before. This really isn't a comparison, as my favorite style of ramen is Tonkotsu style, which is made by rapidly boiling pork bones, making the broth a rich, cloudy white. Not all of these shops sell Tonkotsu style ramen, or if they do, I've had that before and it wasn't very good, so I went in a different direction. I've arranged them from my least favorite to my favorite....and I was a bit surprised. So let's get slurping......

Chopstix:

As I've mentioned in my previous post on Chopstix, I've never had two bowls of Ramen at Chopstix that were the same. No Tonkotsu Ramen here, so I went with the deluxe Chashu-men($7.95).

I don't quite know where to start......the broth which tasted like salted soy sauce water, or the Charshu which was extremely dry, crumbly, with a stale, fridge-flavor. The noodles were typical mass produced, standard ramen noodles, but were prepared perfectly.

Geez, this was pretty disappointing, the only thing I finished were the noodles. I dunno, I haven't been here in quite a while, and I'm hoping this was just an off day.

Chopstix
4633 Convoy St Ste 101
San Diego, CA 92111

Tajima:

Before Santouka came to town, Tajima was where we went to for ramen. I hadn't been back in a while, but expected the same dependable Tajima. In my mind, Tajima has always made a decent bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen, and that's what I went with, a Regular Tonkotsu Ramen ($6.95):

I expected the broth to lack the amount of richness that I enjoy, but this was pretty weak in that department. It was also very, very salty. And there was a familiar after-taste that I tried to place. It wasn't until I was making some ramen at home, opening that foil pouch that I recognized the smell, and later the flavor.....could it be that they are augmenting the Tonkotsu broth with some kind of base? I hope my sense of smell and tastebuds are wrong.......

The Chashu was also very tough and chewy. My favorite item was the boiled egg......

Say it isn't so........

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Teri Cafe:

I've never really had great luck with Teri Cafe. Even after my rather unsatisfactory visits to Teri Cafe, I returned due to several comments and emails, some of them rather nasty, but all of them informing me of the error of my ways....... I did return, and it only confirmed that I enjoyed the noodles, but the dishes were overly sweet, too salty, and to me, seemingly put together in a rather cavalier way. But I decided that I needed to visit them again....it had been two years after all, but I decided to skip the Tonkotsu Ramen, and tried the simple Shoyu Ramen($5.95):

This was not bad, nice shoyu flavor, maybe a bit on the mild side....but no artificial taste. It was decent, though the Chashu was soft, but tasteless. Funny thing was, the item I've always enjoyed most, the noodles were a bit over-cooked in my opinion on this visit.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised, and may revisit Teri Cafe again soon. Hopefully the next time those noodles would be on point.

Teri Cafe
7305 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Gunco Ramen:

I thought it wouldn't be fair to do a post on ramen in San Diego without including the much over-looked Gunco Ramen. Located in Chula Vista, it might be a bit out of the way of you live in North County or close to downtown, and I wasn't really impressed on my previous visits. Still, I'd make sure to visit Hogetsu Bakery, which would make the trip worthwhile...heck if I didn't enjoy the food, I could still hit Internacional 2000 for some Al Pastor to ease the pain.

Here I went with the Shio (salt) Ramen:

The noodles were decent and well prepared. The Charshu had good flavor, but was a bit on the tough side. The broth was perhaps a bit too light, but wasn't overly salty, and I enjoyed it, except for one thing....... there was a fairly strong, and cloying ginger flavor that clung to my tongue......

Still, based on these visits, pretty much even with Teri Cafe.....

Gunco Ramen
305 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Santouka:

I sometimes wonder if I'm just very biased.......but here in San Diego, Santouka does the trick for me...or perhaps I should say us, as the Missus, never a big ramen fan, based on what She says is bang for the buck, really will only have ramen from Santouka in San Diego. Yes, it is pretty expensive, if you're looking at only portion size....... but it is more than that. I'll let the photos do the talking:

 
The Missus and I discussed why She enjoys the broth at Santouka so much, and She came up with this. When She was child, and got sick, Her parents would make a deep boiled pork bone soup as a remedy, which I believe is much like Korean Gamjatang. Santouka's rich broth reminds Her of that, and when She is feeling a bit under the weather, She now wants some rich Tonkotsu broth. Coming from a background where dough is king, She also enjoys the noodles at Santouka.

The Missus prefers the Miso Ramen, which I find too salty. I prefer the Shio Ramen. When the Missus is feeling a bit under the weather, we'll often go to Santouka, and share a bowl of ramen, the result of which is usually this:

 
Though recently the Missus has "discovered" the Tokusen Toroniku version which comes with everything on the side, along with a more fatty version of the Charshu.

At over ten bucks a bowl, this ain't cheap...but I've never had the Missus leave Santouka hungry.......

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

Thanks for hanging in there and reading!

Comments

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, nice coverage! It's been a while since I've been to Gunco but I thought their ramen improved with the new owners. I had their miso a few times.
Anyhow, reading your blog for some time now and it's interesting how you seem sensitive to sodium but not Scoville. I don't know how you can do all those chili peppers!!! ;)

[Hao]

I was up in Costa Mesa a while back for a meeting (at the Hilton across the street from Mitsuwa) and stopped by the Santouka there. It does seem to be a hair better than the one we have in San Diego (the broth and noodle texture were more to my liking), but the most interesting thing I noticed was the lack of soup spoons! They just had the disposable plastic spoons, which kinda irked me.

[kat]

Santouka looked the most appetizing out of all the photos.

[Jo`]

Awesome Thanksgiving! But your photos and the NOODLES especially make me very homesick. This ramen post and going the XLB posts really are tough. On the other hand, I now know how to make pho and learning how to make the pork bone broth is next on the "to be learned" list.

Question, can I buy decent packaged ramen noodle? I've got an "in" with a Vietnamese shop owner and she stocks plenty of noodle. But she isn't big on other Asian foods, only Vietnamese. With an entire aisle devoted to nothing but noodle and dried tofu skin, I need advice!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks for the posts. I am missing San Diego big time. The noodle soup choices out here are pretty limited.

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - I enjoy salty, but too salty is not good eats. I'm also quite sensitive to "heat", it's just not in the way you're describing....I love nuanced heat.

Hi Hao - My favorite Santouka is the Torrance location, with CM next....but yes, they do the plastic spoon thing there...I believe it has something to do with volume. Man, that place is crazy busy, and I'm sure that plastic spoons are cheaper than losing several regular Japanese soup spoons a day.

Hi Kat - And it was......

Hi Jo - Funny, most VN markets in SoCal stock some instant noodles, mainly because it's affordable eats. I'm sure you can order by case.....which can be pretty cheap online.

Hi Ed - We'll hopefully be seeing you guys soon.

[Carol]

Great post, Kirk. It's been a while since I've had ramen. Of all the places I've been to, Santouka is my favorite. Haven't been to Gunco. Guess what I'm craving for now? ;)

[caninecologne]

hi kirk
i've always wanted to eat at gunco ramen...i pass it by whenever i go to seafood city. near palomar. i believe it's near el dorado. (ha ha - right across from the KD's NUTS sign----should say DoNuts!).

do you remember hiro shoten? they used to be near hogetsu and utage...

[bill]

That last bowl of broth looks so silky and rich of porkiness I would slurp the soup too myself not to mention the slices of pork with the right amount of marble in it, ok FAT. LOL. I think I need to make some ramen soon.

[Vicky (SF Bay Area)]

omg... we finally got a santouka up here in the mitsuwa shopping center too! i haven't had a chance to go yet. looks amazing!!!

[kamisama03]

I've tried all those places as well and came to the same conclusion. Santouka is the best ramen in San Diego. I even tried the tonkotsu ramen at Masa and was rather disappointed.

I heard that the owner of Yakitori Yakyudori is opening a ramen/yakitori joint on Convoy in January. Hopefully it turns out well. Until then it's Santouka for me. Or I drive up to Torrance for some Asa Ramen (kotteri-shoyu) or Ramen California. Both are spectacular.

[twitter.com/sammusubi]

kirk, you have to try the ramen @ Izakaya Masa in Mission Hills! They dont serve the Tokyo style like the places you mentioned. They server Hakata style Ramen!!!

I used to eat @ Santouka exclusively, I agree w/you 100%. but ever since I tried the Ramen @ Masa, I was instantly hooked. They only serve it after 9pm, but its well worth the wait!

[Natalie]

I'm not really a fan of the Mitsuwa marketplace one - they were nice enough, but like you said: expensive for what you get (which was tasty!), especially considering the cramped environment and busyness of a weekend if that's the only time you can make it. I'll take a bowl of Mountain Vegetable ramen (can't remember the Japanese) from Chopstix over EVERYTHING else on a day when I need comfort eating. If you've not tried it, it's worth a spin.

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - Hmmm...ramen perhaps? ;o)

Hi CC - You know, I actually have a photo of that sign on one of my posts.

Hi Billy - That pork does look pretty good, doesn't it?

Hi Vicky - I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Hi Kamisama - Predictably, I was a big fan of Daikokuya, but all other locations except Little Tokyo have fallen short. And I've heard that the Little Tokyo branch has gone downhill a bit.

Hi Sammusubi - I don't think Santouka is Tokyo style ramen....I believe to is Asahikawa (Hokkaido) style. Izakaya Masa is serving Hakata Ramen, huh? I'll have to check that out....I'm hoping they use Hakata style noodles...that'll be a deal breaker. Thanks for the tip!

Hi Natalie - LOL! Have you ever tried getting into Chopstix during the evening??? If I'm looking at quality, I'd have to take Santouka over Chopstix.......especially with the inconsistent stuff I've eaten there over the years.

[caninecologne]

hi kirk - i know! that's why i mentioned it! that sign cracks me up! it's been like that FOREVER! ha ha.

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, I know what you mean about the nuanced heat. Just being one dimensionally hot isn't very enjoyable. Anyway I refrained from saying originally cause didn't want to leave too long of a comment but Sakura had started a tonkotsu style not too long ago. It seems they're still trying to figure things out though. My first bowl was personally too light for me and the second was extremely kotteri (believe it or not). I personally prefer something in between but I only wonder what my third bowl is going to be like. ;)

[Jo`]

"Instant" noodle? There isn't a "real" ramen noodle? One that isn't burdened with the base packet and freeze dried "stuff"? Our shop does indeed have all kinds of bowls and packets where you just add hot water. I was thinking of getting just the straight up noodle.

[Kirk]

Hi CC - The owners of the shop must have a sense of humor..... or perhaps no money.

Hi Dennis - Isn't that what you ordered on Thanksgiving?

Hi Jo - I even have a hard time finding good ramen noodles. Good luck! Once in a while, I'll find one of those brands in the deli case that has good noodles, and use those, without the instant soup base. When I have found them, they have been in the frozen section. When I've made....or shall I say attempted to make ramen shiro, I bought my noodles from a restaurants here who makes their own fresh noodles.

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, that was my second bowl that was almost as thick as creamed soup (though I had even thicker). The packaged noodles didn't hold up to the dense broth but they seem to still be experimenting with it. The chijire wavy noodles aren't typical for tonkotsu as well but I can tell they're not trying too hard to be authentic to a particular style. In fact they named it "Sakuramen"(!) Haha.

[Natalie]

Kirk - :D sometimes! It's not always bad, but I haven't collected enough data to back up any statement I make. And fine, if you're gonna pick QUALITY, then I can't win. I'll give the Mitsuwa one another try ;)