Ramen Santōka Asahikawa Main Shop — Restaurant in Asahikawa

I have never tried ramen from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka before, not even the outlet in Singapore. I guess it’s because almost every ramen I’ve tried back home is often too overly seasoned (i.e. too much or overloaded with MSG), which kinda puts me off from most ramen in general.

However, seeing that I happen to be at Asahikawa, the birth place of Santouka and where its original outlet is located, I can’t possibly pass it by, especially after reading so many reviews and recommendations about it.

Even though Asahikawa is known for their shoyu(soy sauce) ramen, Santouka’s famous for their shio(salt) ramen, and it’s not hard to see why.

Their tonkotsu soup is flavourful but at the same time very delicate and light, with just the perfect amount of salt to bring out and alleviate the flavours to a whole new level. The soup was very smooth and just the right amount of fattiness to give it some body but without making it overly greasy.

Their char siew was also amazing. It was so tender and juicy that you almost didn’t need any effort to chew. I also liked how their soup was not laden with MSG like most others I’ve tried.

Unfortunately, there was a downside and that was the noodles. For yellow noodles, there’s always that possibility of it having that unpleasant ammonia odour and I could detect it in their noodles which was a lil off putting. However having said that, the dish had more positive notes than negative ones and it still...

I ordered the spicy miso ramen. When I saw the bowl I regretted ordering the spicy option. If I return to this shop again I will try the plain miso ramen. The spice is not that hot.. but the flavour completely dominates the broth and it’s not really a chilli spice flavour that I really liked. Somewhere between a kind of Thai sri racha sauce and a Korean kimchi style of chilli sauce. The noodles were good.

The chashu was odd in that it seemed as though they were going for slow cooked tenderness but in fact the pork was quite tough in parts. I was left confused about whether they are going for the Hokkaido tough pork style or the modern ‘melt in your mouth’ fatty tender pork chashu style. Maybe trying to please everyone? I’m not sure.

I will try to find another branch of this famous ramen chain on my travels.. and I will try the non spicy miso. I couldn’t really judge the quality of the miso broth underneath all that cheap tasting chilli sauce on top. The staff were very very kind and welcoming. The shop is...

Amazing ramen! As reviewed earlier, tokusen toroniku ramen was amazing! The tokusen toroniku ala carte was also amazing, accompanied with gijon mustard, the taste was perfect. The meat was so tender, it almost melted in my mouth. The broth of the soup is perfectly balanced between light and thickness. It was amazing experience of flavour! The place can accommodate about 15-20 people inside, however it was packed. I didn't have to wait for a seat, but after us, there was 3 people waiting in line while it was almost 9.30 pm. You wouldn't hang out in the restaurant because it would be impolite considering the people waiting outside, however the ambience and temperature is nice to accommodate short chat over a meal. We couldn't speak Japanese yet we managed to order just fine, they were friendly enough to make us feel welcomed, unlike some local restaurants in Japan(especially Japanese...