Travelling With My Tastebuds, Remembering Asahikawa - Shoyu Toroniku To Go from Santouka

Well, it's definitely ramen weather right now.....at least San Diego's version of it.  Since She'd had a rather substantial and late lunch, the Missus asked if we could just go ahead and split a bowl of the toroniku ramen from Santouka, which sounded fine to me as I wasn't super hungry. So, we headed off to the Mitsuwa Food Court and wouldn't you know it, Santouka was out of shio broth, just like when I last did takeout in April. Oh well, the Missus went shopping for snacks while I waited for our large shoyu toroniku.

I gotta say; the broth wasn't as salty as the last time I had this.

And that pork cheek....while not as fatty as on previous visits, was so nicely flavored......welcome to shoyu-porkiness!

But, unfortunately, like my last takeout visit, the noodles just didn't hold up and were mushy, lacking in that nice al dente pull and chew. So I guess it really doesn't travel well. The Missus agreed; I think She know believes that Menya Ultra is better; at least for takeout.

As we were both enjoying ourselves at the dinner table, we had one of those "moments". And we both blurted out; "remember going to Asahikawa and finding the original Santouka?"

Yes, we were in Hokkaido at the end of November in 2015, and went to Asahikawa, the city where the coldest temperature in the history of Japan (-42F) was recorded.....I was in search of Otokoyama Brewery; the Missus, the  flagship location of Santouka, which turned out to be a humble little shop (photo to the right). We both shared our memories and had a couple of laughs; there were actual snow flurries while we were on the train; we then caught a bus to Otokoyama Brewery, me having to ask the driver if the but went to the brewery....the wonderful bus driver made sure to let us know when our stop came up and when got out and headed in the wrong direction stopped and pointed the way for us! We miss Japan so much. Even though we had to cancel our planned trip last fall; these memories make sure that we'll return when we're able.

Here's hoping it's soon.

Funny how a bowl of ramen can transport you to a place 5,000 miles away and what seems a lifetime ago. Well, it's all we have for now; so it'll have to do....for now.....

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Takeout Hours
Daily 11am - 630pm

We hope everyone had a warm, dry, and safe weekend!

Comments

[kat]

glad you had ramen weather:) we look forward to hanging with you both again!

[Denver]

I ordered a few frozen ramen kits from Ramen District which sources from several restaurants like Daikokuya from LA. Check it out at https://ramendistrict.store/.

Funny, my favorite ramen in the world was Ichiran in Japan but I noticed it was the worst for you in Japan. Still craving it. For SD, Ramen Yamadaya was my fave until it closed. Santouka has been my go to. Menya Ultra is just ok for me. Otherwise still searching for the perfect bowl in SD.

[Jason]

Sounds like Santouka needs to offer an uncooked noodle option like Menya does.

[Kirk]

We can't wait to see the both of you Kat!

I've seen that Denver - perhaps you should try Tsujita. One of the good things about the ramen kits from Menya is that the noodles are fresh and not precooked. But, like I've always said; Menya would be average ramen in Japan, but here in San Diego...... Yamadaya started strong but seemed to start cutting corners after a while and I thought the ramen was terrible near the end.

I wish they would Jason....I'm wondering if I could order it that way? Hmm....

[Junichi]

Wouldn't hurt to ask for uncooked noodles. Less work for the employees.

[Sandy]

I once asked for uncooked noodles at Menya Ultra for a ramen bowl, and was told there was a charge for it. Since then, I have gotten their ramen kit. I haven't been to Santouka in ages, so I will try it on my next trip to Mitsuwa.

[Kirk]

I think I'll do that next time Junichi.

I'll post if I'm able to get uncooked noodles from Santouka Sandy.