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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Sushi Street – Paris Hotel (Las Vegas): What’s in a Name?

It happens to us all the time… we make plans to try and eat somewhere and something goes wrong. Specifically, we were looking to grab some Japanese food while we were in Vegas and I had already scoped out a target that was located right in our hotel called Sekushi. The online menu and pictures all seemed good. The only problem is that we couldn’t find the darn place. We wandered around and around the casino and hotel area looking for Sekushi but couldn’t find it anywhere.

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.

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.

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.

Ramen Raijin: Tsukemen and Ramen

Ramen Raijin is the latest entry to the Zakkushi Group of Restaurants. For those of you that haven’t heard of Zakkushi, check out our post on Zakkushi on Main for some seriously delicious izakaya food. Located in the former Sushi Bella spot on Kingsway, near Royal Oak, Ramen Raijin focuses mainly on ramen and is named after the Japanese Shinto god of lightning and thunder.

Momosan Waikiki (Hawaii 2018): Ramen and Kushiyaki

In our visit to Hawaii in May of 2018, we decided to stay at the newly renovated Alohilani Resort (formerly the Pacific Beach). One of the main draws to this hotel is that they have not one, but two restaurants run by Iron Chef Morimoto. Momosan Waikiki is his casual eatery that’s located on the first floor, across the street from the beach. While they have an inside bar area, the best place to sit is on the covered, outdoor patio that fronts Kalakaua and Liluokalani.

Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen: Another Ramen Shop in Town

It looks like the latest food craze to hit the fickle Vancouver restaurant scene is ramen. It seems like there’s a new ramen joint opening up every week. Recently, Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen opened up on Kingsway, across from Metrotown (and about a block away from Yaguchiya Ramen.

Yaguchiya Ramen: Iekei Ramen

Last year, a new ramen shop opened up in the former location of Seoul Cafe on Kingsway, across from Metropolis at Metrotown. I know that’s not too unusual since 3-4 new ramen shops opened up in this area around the same time, but in this case, I’m referring to Yaguchiya Ramen which is a small chain of iekie-style (house-type) ramen originating in Yokohama, Japan.

Ichikame Shokudo: Pretty Bowls for Ramen

Disclaimer: I originally wrote this review back in late October 2017 but I’m just getting to posting it due to a backlog in old posts and our Japan trip)…

A new ramen shop has popped up in Vancouver. Yes, I know, that’s not exactly earth shattering news given the number of ramen shops around town. Ichikame Shokudo is a tiny shop located on Victoria Drive in south-east Vancouver.

Ippudo Takadanobaba: Tokyo 2017

On our first visit to Japan back in 2016, I recall dining at a ramen shop called Ippudo. It’s a fairly well known chain (perhaps not as popular as Ichiran) that serves up tonkotsu ramen. We found ourselves in Takadanobaba (an area on the northern outskirts of Shinjuku and the hometown of Astro Boy) when we came across this Ippudo location.