*** An updated post can be found here.
I had been hearing about the possibility of a branch of Santouka Ramen opening up in San Diego for quite a while. I had heard that Santouka would be opening in the Mitsuwa Marketplace; but after Kayaba opened it's doors; or to be more precise, drew back its curtains, there was no activity for for over a year. But soon enough, word got around that Santouka was opening on April 14th. "Finally, good ramen in San Diego" was the first thought that went through my mind. And though the first few days after opening was a bit too crazy for me, it was just a matter of time before I wanted to inhale some good ramen!
I placed my order, and watched the automated green onion slicer go to work. I dunno, they had 5 people working, do they really need a machine to cut green onions? And just the fact that the Young Man running the contraption stood and fed the scallions one by one through the machine, made it seem somewhat Goldberg-ian!
I usually will just get a Shio or Shoyu Ramen, but on this day, I decided to go for the gusto and ordered the Shio Ramen – Chashu Rice set ($9.48). Which was ready in no time.
Santouka's ramen is a favorite of many food bloggers, from The Rameniac to Miss Oishii-Eats and Daily Gluttony, who made sure to attend Santouka's grand opening in West LA. Recently, "RT" doing a guest spot on The Delicious Life, called it "liquid crack". And having had a few bowls myself, albeit at the Torrance and Costa Mesa locations, I'd be more than happy to join in, singing praises…..
I approached my bowl with eagerness, and that's where the problems started.
The shio(salt) ramen, which according to Rameniac owes it's flavor to the combination of pork bones(done in the classic "Tonkotsu" style) as well as shellfish. For me, there is one key thing about the broth I enjoy; a good oil content. The shiro at Santouka is not as rich as the "good bowls" I've encountered at Daikokuya, but it usually has a nice velvety richness that will wrap itself around your tongue. Unfortunately, this bowl of ramen was served to me lukewarm, which turned it from rich, to greasy, and not as enjoyable. In fact, halfway through my bowl, I had my own little personal Exxon Valdez disaster….which marks the only time that I've never finished a bowl of ramen at Santouka.
Still, I could live with that. Why? Well, for me, it's about the noodles at Santouka, which have a nice springy, toothsome, chew to them. These were undercooked and on the hard side. And being in lukewarm broth would not help, bummer…..
At least the Chashu delivered, as did the boiled soy sauce eggs, an accessory th
at goes with the ramen at Santouka, like Marc Jacobs with the Missus.
Disappointed with my ramen, I don't even remember what the Chashu Rice tasted like, and frankly it was just an afterthought for me anyway.
I've had enough good bowls of ramen at the other locations of Santouka to give the Sa
n Diego location "a pass" for now. I'll assume that they still need to get things straightened out. I'm hoping my next visit will be more successful.
Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111