I had dinner on Sunday evening or just a few hours ago. I had lunch earlier at a Japanese restaurant in Eastwood. That lunch was very filling and satisfying. It was shrimp (panko, not tempura) with curry. I make my own curry in Canada so, this was close enough to what I make albeit more spicy.

The Shoyu Ramen had fat or thick noodles. It's not like that in Japan. As it happens, I was in Japan last March so, I had time to eat ramen there. That was my third visit so, it can't be said I didn't have a point of reference. Until I visited Japan, I thought that the ramen in Canada was good enough. The ramen in Japan is nothing like the ramen in Canada or in Mendokoro Ramenba. At most, it is their version of a type of ramen in Japan.

My husband wasn't impressed with the chashu pork. He already tasted my homemade chashu pork that's seared under a torch. The meat you get in Japan is not the same as the chashu that Mendokoro makes. In all likelihood, it's not true chashu because it is a two-day affair. That's like saying you can confit a duck in a few hours the French way. I did it the French way the first time round. It was a two day affair. The Americans found a cheat using a Dutch oven so, that's how I made it this year before coming over to the Philippines.

Actually, I only came to BGC in search of matcha ice cream not coming from the overpriced and overhyped The Matcha Tokyo. If you have never made your own matcha beverage (ceremonial or culinary) and desserts, The Matcha Tokyo and others is your best bet. Good matcha is generally in the $30 range per 100 grams. Probably more with the gas price increase.

Back to the ramen. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. Kudos to them for keeping things organized. The broth was salty but, flavorful. I prefer the broth not too salty when I make ramen. I use either Himalayan salt, Celtic salt or Israel salt. Just not iodized salt. That really turns me off. It just coats my tongue and I can't get rid of the taste.

The ramen eggs and nori were extras to be purchased. Honestly, all ramen I've bought before outside of the Philippines has these two included as toppings. Makes me feel that the store was cheap in ingredients by making people pay for it.

Again, if I did not make my own vegetarian, vegan or meat-based ramen using Japanese made organic miso and other ingredients, it would not matter. My eggs are organic and nori is from Japan or Korea. Japanese Nori tend to cost more than Korean.

That's why I rarely ate out in Canada coz the food was overpriced, service was nothing remarkable and servers expected a 15% tip. No, thank you. I made sure to eat ramen in Japan whenever I was there. It's cheaper, has no tipping and no bad service or attitude. I actually liked eating my own ramen as I could eat to my heart's content without limitation on the toppings. My favourite topping is menma, fermented Japanese bamboo shoots.

The staff were great people. They even refill your glass of water. Unfortunately, the water was tap coz it tasted heavily chlorinated. Again if you don't filter your water, you wouldn't smell or taste the difference.

The ramen restaurant was just outside Mitsukoshi so, getting there from the store was so easy.

I can tell that the taste is very pleasing to someone not used to the ramen in Japan. That's why there are long queues. I had heard so much about it from YouTube vloggers before coming to the Philippines. My verdict is still the same. Go to Japan if you can, to eat their food. It's much more worth it in my experience. Canada to Japan is longer in distance than the Philippines so, I imagine many would be able to go there on any low cost airline. Even if you can't today, plan it for the future. It took me more than two decades to finally visit Paris and see the Eiffel Tower in my lifetime. Anything is possible. Only your thoughts are limiting you in where you want to go and do.