Noodling Around: Santouka, Yakyudori, Izakaya Sakura, Gunco, and a special gift from Dennis.

Here are a couple of bowls of ramen from (fairly) recent visits.... plus what was a nice little bonus (for me) at the end. Since I've posted on most of these places before, I'll keep the verbiage to a minimum.

Santouka:

Still our favorite. The Missus likes the Miso Ramen, which I feel is much too salty. I stick with the Shio Ramen.

 

And as I mentioned in a previous postit has to be "toroniku", with the special fatty pork on the side.

 

The pork is wonderful with just a quick dip....steep it in the broth and it'll fall to pieces. This has become comfort food for the Missus, the rich pork bone based shiro seems to fix the Missus right up when She's feeling a bit under the weather. At close to ten bucks, it ain't cheap, and it's not everyday ramen..... but it sure fixes us up!

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

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I'm not sure if others have noticed this; but having been here six or seven times, I've found the ramen to be better when Nabe-san is in the house. My three previous visits had been a bit disappointing, but this bowl of Shio Ramen made up for it all.

 

The broth was nice and savory. I've been told that Yakyudori uses a special salt for this brought in from Japan. I'm not sure about that, but this was delicious. Just rich enough, the noodles done perfect for my taste; firm, but not hard. The one item that has always been perfect on my visits is the boiled egg. The chashu was tender, not too rich, but good overall. As I finished my bowl, I let out the "aaaah" of satisfaction.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111 

Izakaya Sakura:

Izakaya might be one of my favorites, a long time fixture on our rotation. I don't think I'll be standing in line for the Shio Ramen here however.

 

The noodles were a tad over-cooked for my tastes....which could be remedied by ordering it more firm. The broth however, was pretty mediocre....... I recall Dennis mentiong how thick the broth was here. I guess they've gone in the opposite direction.... this was waaaay "assari" (thin) and plain salty. It seems that you'll be playing ramen roulette here due to the inconsistency......

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Gunco:

Speaking of my buddy Dennis; we recently had a bite, or should I say bites in Chula Vista. we started with fish tacos from Mariscos El Pescador, followed by a visit to Hogetsu, ending with some ramen from Gunco. I've never really had great luck with the ramen from Gunco. But this time, the Shio Ramen I had was not bad.... perhaps Dennis has some major ramen "ju-ju" going on.

 

The broth was a bit low on the "richness" scale for me, but the shiro was pretty good, if a bit too heavy handed with regards to ginger. The noodles were cooked perfectly. The chashu is still too tough and dry, though. I'm finding that the ramen here seems to get better on every visit.....

Gunco Ramen
305 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

 

Speaking of ramen.... and the always generous Dennis. Having just returned from Okinawa and Japan (please check out his posts). Dennis had a gift for me. Being the ramen-maniac that he is is Mr Radiused Corner made sure to check out the Ramen Museum.

And ever thoughtful, Dennis had a box of various ramen from the museum for me!

It has been pretty cool in the evenings recently, so the Missus and I decided to do a sampling of the ramen.

I'm including notes Dennis gave me along with our observations about the various ramen....so here goes. From the top to the bottom. 

Box 1 - Komurasaki:

 According to Dennis: "I heard kumamoto style tonkotsu is usually on the lighter side compared to Hakata (cousins). As for slangs for firmness in these thinner straight noodles there's Barikata which many people get and even Harigane ("steel wire") which is firmer still. The firmest would simply be to ask for Nama (raw) where the noodles swim in the boiling water for a mere 15 seconds or so. Again these terminology for noodle firmness only applies to the Fukuoka/Hakata/Kumamoto tonkotsu ramen."

 

 

This was light alright........ the broth was a wonderful shade of pale, but we found this bland. I only cooked the thin Hakata style noodles for only 45 seconds, and that was still too much as it really got mushy quickly.

Box 2 - Harukiya

From Dennis: "one of my favorite shoyu ramen. very old school with a good dose of dried fish. I think they're one of the permanent fixtures in the raumen museum (most shops rotate). It was too fishy for my gringo friend I took with but I personally wish more places made shoyu's like it."

 
Check out the fat content in that package!

Man that broth smelled really strong, like I was boiling a pot of anchovies! At first taste, the broth had a good fishy punch. But a funny thing happened along the was..... the more we sipped, the more we enjoyed. This one grew on us.

 
I gave the noodles a three minute cooking and it was perhaps a bit longer than needed.

Box 3 - Ideshoten

Per Dennis: " I believe it's technically a tonkotsu-shoyu. It wasn't my favorite of the day (tried it there) but has a lot of character. remember loving the noodles."

This one came with a little bag of dried green onions.

 

More shoyu to my tastes, I'm not a fan of the noodles which are not as firm as I enjoy.

 

A nice middle of the road ramen.

Box 4 - Sumire

Dennis says: " Intensely miso. They came to mitsuwa's fairs a few times. might be a bit salty for some and I think I already warned you about the amount of fat."

This was my favorite of the bunch (the Missus preferred the Harukiya).

 

 

Loved the menma..... best noodles of the bunch as well, they held up well.

 
As a whole, I'm not a big fan of miso ramen, but I loved the flavors and the richness of the broth. I guess I'm going the next time Sumire is at Mitsuwa!

 I need to thank Dennis again for giving the Missus and I our own little ramen adventure! Yoso-generous!

Thanks so much Dennis!

Comments

[Dennis]

Glad you enjoyed them Kirk!
As for Sakura I see you had their new shinasoba (shoyu) which I felt the same, is much too bland. The tonkotsu based "Sakuramen" is heartier and better. Thanks again for the Chula Vista tour!!

[kat]

nice! I found out we have a santouka nearby, Satoshi and I will have to check it out, hopefully soon!

[bill]

If only I could get the real instant ramen here.

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - Yes, we had a lot of fun with that! Thanks so much!

Hi Kat - Santouka is the Missus's favorite..... it's very rich.

Hi Bill - You can't get real instant ramen there? Geeez

[janfrederick]

I think you are right about Yakyudori Ramen. I thought it was great the first time we went (Nabe-san was there and took time to talk to us during the rush), but it fell short the second time I went and he wasn't there (the broth was cold!)

[Lynnea]

wow! ramen really is it's own world, so many types with so many variations on each type. Kind of fun to read about but I'll never be able to keep it all straight =)

[kirbie]

I like how the ramen from Japan comes with the packages of side items like the onions and vegetable? in the Sumire

[Sandy]

I won't be looking at my Top Ramen quite the same way ever again. What a fabulous gift from Dennis!

I'm not very knowledgeabout about the different types of ramen, but are there similar instant ramen packages at our local Japanese markets?

[caninecologne]

wow, there's a Ramen Museum? Very cool!!!!! nice gift too!

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - After a couple of visits, I started noticing that pattern.

Hi Lynnea - Yes, so much ramen, so little time!

Hi Kirbie - It's menma, bambbo shoots. There are certain brands we get here that have items freeze dried in them as well..... though none are as good as these!

LOL Sandy! On occasion you can get a few of these during Mitsuwa's "fairs", but as a whole, no.

Hi CC - Of course there's a ramen museum..... after all there's a mustard museum, right? ;o) Dennis is so generous.