Shun Fa Noodle House: Super Slow and Forgettable Service

Shun Fa Noodle House is a fairly forgettable place located on Victoria Drive (close to Mui Garden). I had to actually dig deep into my notes to help me remember anything about this place (yes, I keep notes about the places that I visit).

Hon’s Wun-Tun House (New West): Old School Asian Comfort Food

Things don’t get any more old school than Hon’s. There’s a good reason why they’ve been in business over 30 years… if you’re looking for Chinese comfort food, they have things nailed down pat.

Marutama Ra-men (Metrotown): Super Duper Busy

If you’re a ramen lover in Vancouver, you’ve probably heard of Marutama Ra-men. This iconic chain founded in Japan back in 2001 has spread across the globe and is known for their signature creamy chicken broth with aosa seaweed. Recently, they opened up a new location near Metrotown (in the former Ramen Raijin spot on Kingsway) and I visited during their soft opening.

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MeetRice Noodles: Bookshop Noodles

I was intrigued by the new restaurant that recently replaced the old Au Wing Kee on Kingsway in Burnaby… their large picture window allowing me to see the bright and modern interior was a big change.

Ramen Ono-Ya – Wakiki Yokocho Gourmet Alley (Hawaii 2019): Mazesoba, Ramen and Gyudon

Our last restaurant visit during our trip to Hawaii this year was to the newly opened Ramen Ono-Ya located in the Waikiki Yokocho Gourmet Alley under the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. Similar to the Shirokiya Japan Walk in the Ala Moana Center, the Waikiki Yokocho Gourmet Alley has a collection of Japanese eateries clustered together.

TerraCotta Boyz: Oodles of Noodles

TerraCotta Boyz is a Chinese noodle shop located in the Old Orchard Shopping Centre in Burnaby. This smallish shop has a few tables on one side of the store and a stand-up counter on the opposite side. Their menu is fairly basic but odds are that you’re coming here for their noodles.

Pho Capital: Pho in Coquitlam

After running out of places in the South Burnaby and New Westminster area to eat, I’ve been gradually expanding my range to areas around the Burnaby/Coquitlam border. This area is primarily known for having lots of Korean restaurants but I wasn’t really in the mood for Korean so I stopped by Pho Capital.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Fairview): Shio Ramen and Melon Soda

Like the sushi joints that proliferated the Vancouver dining scene years ago, the same trend appears to have happened with ramen houses. In addition to independent ramen restaurants, popular chains, such as Hokkaido Ramen Santouka which originated in Japan back in the 80’s, have made Vancouver their home.

Chengdu Spicy Restaurant: One Dimensional Flavours

My first attempted visit to Chengdu Spicy Restaurant didn’t go as I had planned (what else is new?). I’ve been wanting to try this little restaurant located at the corner of Wilson and Kingsway for a while now so I made a point to visit earlier this year. Unfortunately, I relied on the hours that were listed on Google (they didn’t have a website that I could find) and arrived just past 11:30am only to find that they were closed and the hours they were displaying in their shop said they open at noon (Mondays-Friday). So, after reporting the new hours on Google, I headed to another nearby restaurant and waited for my next attempt to try out Chengdu.

Tian Shi Fu: Liang Pi Noodles

The northwest corner of Kingsway and Marlborough in Burnaby has been a rotating spot that’s seen many restaurants come and go (from Happy Day Metro to Black Dragon Sushi, to Chef Corner and now Tian Shi Fu). All the previous restaurants that I listed weren’t that bad so it kind of makes you wonder why they couldn’t make it and whether or not Tian Shi Fu (which appears to specialize in northern Chinese cuisine) will fade away as well.

Ramen Danbo (Kits): Fukuoka-Style Tonkotsu Ramen

There’s no disagreement, Vancouver has some seriously good ramen joints around town (most of which are located in the downtown core). Ramen Danbo is one such ramen joint (they have 1 location downtown and 1 in Kits) and they are frequently busy.

Ramen Hachi: Ramen in New Westminster

Ramen Hachi is one of the many new ramen joints that seem to be popping up all over the Lower Mainland. This cute noodle joint is located on Carnarvon Street in New Westminster, behind the New West Skytrain station.