Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

After a long and crazy morning of shopping at the Eaton Center on boxing day I was bummed. I was starving. I was freezing. All I wanted to do was hibernate somewhere cozy and call it a day! I’m just kidding =P  Of course I would venture off somewhere to eat before calling it a day.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is a chained Ramen restaurant that first started in Hokkaido then slowly   roamed across the world. Now they have many locations overseas including many in the states, 2 in Canada etc. To be honest, I’m not a huge Ramen fan. I don’t crave for it on a daily basis so that probably explains why I haven’t been exactly running to all the 892018392018 new Ramen locations that have just recently opened up in Toronto.

The first time I attempted to eat here, I came on a lazy Saturday afternoon and the line was all the way to the end of the street. Bad timing on my end. So in light of the situation, I decided to go right when the restaurant opened. Unfortunately restaurant was packed but I was next in line!

We waited for about 10-15 minutes in line. Snapped a few photos here and there.

The menu:

Santouka Hand-Made Gyoza ($5.50)

• Hand-made Fried Pork Dumplings 
• The Gyozas were fried to a perfect colour and ended up really crispy
• I loved the thin skin

At Hokkaido Santouka Ramen, their pearl coloured Tonkotsu soup is prepared approximately 20 hours prior serving. The pork bone needs to be simmered before adding their vegetables, dried fish, kept and other special ingredients.

Shio Cha-shu Ramen ($12.80)

• served with a double portion of slow simmered pork cha shu

Toroniku Shio Ramen ($15.90)

• Simmered pork jowl and salt flavoured ramen
• Santouka’s Toroniku Ramen comes with our special simmered pork jowl (cheek) toroniku meat and toppings which are served separately
• It’s the perfect accompaniment to your noodles as a topping or a side dish

The pork here was oh-so-good. It was delicate yet extra fatty which probably explains why the pork just melted in my mouth… super tender.

The different components that went into the soup really did it for me. It was amazing. Having said that though, the creamy pork flavoured soup started tasting a tad salty after many sips. All I can say is – the soup was memorable. Most people prefer the noodles from Kinton. I honestly can’t tell the difference but I rather enjoyed the ones served here. The ramen was chewy with a very good texture.

The verdict:  Hokkaido Santouka Ramen is definitely worth checking out especially if you’re craving for a bowl of creamy and rich pork-noodle-soup in this cold weather. I’m literally reliving this meal while blogging about it. The delicious fatty tender pork with the tasty soup really did it for me. Having said that, please keep in mind this place is really tiny. Either come in really early or right before closing or be prepared to wait….. Cheers!