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

[Faye]

So after i read this post the other day, I went to Santouka right after work to try the Toroniku (w/ hot raman miso flavor i think). I've been there before but hadn't tried the Toroniku. Did you find this broth to be waaaayyyyy salty? I don't know. It was beyond salty for me. I brought the leftovers home and added hot water to the broth and that made it better. Do you think the hot(spicy) ramen broth was saltier than the others?

[royaljester]

Yeah, feel the same about Chopstix, Tajima, and Santouka. If you're ever in LA, do go to Daikokuniya. Nothing here in SD compares to it.

[Kirk]

Hi Natalie - Let me know how you like Santuoka a second time around!

Hi Faye - The Missus likes the miso ramen, but like I said in the post: "The Missus prefers the Miso Ramen, which I find too salty. I prefer the Shio Ramen." And in a previous post on Santouka:"I had a sip of The Missus's Miso Ramen, and it still strikes me a being too salty."

Hi RJ - Yes, Daikokuya has been pretty much the standard for me....it's sad that I haven't been in a while.