This ain't your 39 cent dorm room hot plate ramen
	Reviewed By howie	Jun 26, 2008
Tags: ramen

Until recently, my only experience with ramen had been with the instant kind to which you add hot water and flavor packet. This was a staple during my college days since it was both cheap and fast.

It was kind of odd to realize years later that there's a whole ramen sub-culture. There are whole blogs devoted to ramen on the internet, and movies like Tampopo discuss the quest to find the perfect ramen. It wasn't until Santouka ramen opened recently in the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court that I'm starting to "get" ramen. It's nothing like the crappy instant noodles you get at the supermarket.

My first trip to Santouka was revalatory. I tried the Salt (Shio) Ramen, which seemed to be the most basic. The broth was milky white and on top of the noodle lay some beautiful slices of pork. My first sip of the broth and I was a believer; it was simple, yet so rich and deep in flavor. The slices of pork were delicious and tender with just the right amount of fat. And the noodles had a nice little chew.

I loved it so much that I ended up going back to Santouka 4 times over the next two weeks. There are several flavors including miso flavored, soy sauce, and hot miso versions. They have all been delicious, but my favorite is still the salt ramen, for its zen-like simplicity.

They also have a few other interesting items besides ramen. You can get a soy flavored hard-boiled egg to accompany your ramen. You can also get rice bowls topped with salmon roe or even natto, the strange substance made of fermented soybeans and something that looks like ectoplasm from the Ghostbusters.

If all you've had is instant noodles, you really owe it to yourself to try the real thing. Santouka could completely change the way you look at ramen.