#29 ramen for the starving souls
so it was my first week studying in school since my accident. yesterday, i was really delighted to be studying with fae, gigi, aldh and mike at macmillan but at around 6.30pm, we were famished and just really tired to use our brain cells. i was really craving for ramen since i haven’t had it in a long time so we packed up our stuff and made our way to the benkei at kitsilano.
benkei ramen
3217 W Broadway,
Vancouver, BC
(604) 688-6790
View Larger Map
we had to take bus 17 instead of bus 99b to benkei for shorter walking distance. aldh was already at benkei reserving seats for us. when mike, fae and i entered benkei, we were greeted with a warm welcome. the waitress was really meticulous as she provided fae with a small storage place for her bag and asked if we needed our coat to be hung. the waitress was very careful not to mess up with our orders as three of us ordered extra noodles and one of us ordered extra bamboo shoots. also, she did not hesitant to give us extra noodles for student price without checking our IDs. just FYI: with student ID, extra noodles cost CAN$0.50, not CAN$1.00.
however, i am surprise to see that benkei increase their price. around august, i took a picture of the menu of benkei at thurlow street. the prices of the ramens w/o tax & tips are as follow:
akaoni: CAN$7.80
miso: CAN$7.30
shio: CAN$6.95
shoyu: CAN$6.95
now just take a look at the new prices w/o tax and tips:
akaoni: CAN$8.75
miso: CAN$7.80
shio: CAN$7.30
shoyu: CAN$7.30
how funny that within just a short span of two months, the price increased.
akaoni ramen – CAN$8.75
with extra noodles +CAN$0.50
it was my second time trying akaoni ramen and i gotta say i’m lovin’ it !! the broth filled with burnt garlic sesame oil was rather thick but i wish it was a lot more spicier. the noodles were a little harder than ramens at ajisen and gmen. you know how there are usually a lot of noodles but very little ingredients in a meal served at a restaurant ? well, not this time !! there were sufficient minced pork, bamboo shoot and pan-fried green onions to go along with my extra noodles.
rating: 2.8/5★
miso ramen – CAN$7.80
fae fae ordered miso ramen, which consist of green onions, bamboo shoot, chasu and bean sprouts in rich chicken and tonkotsu soup. fae concluded that the ramen is kinda good but a little salty. she gave me a rating of 4.25/5★
shio ramen – CAN$7.30
with extra noodles +CAN$0.50
with extra bamboo shoots +CAN$0.50
mike ordered shio ramen, which is ramen in heavy tonkotsu soup. benkei describes this ramen to be popular to women due to it being a source for beautiful skin and strong bones as it contains a lot of calcium and collagen. how hilarious !! mike commented that shio ramen is satisfactory to a certain extend. he further stated that it is between good and best and gave me a rating of 4/5★
shoyu ramen – CAN$7.30
with extra noodles +CAN$0.50
aldh had shoyu ramen, which is the healthiest ramen of the lot due to the utilization of the best soy sauce. it is served with spinach, nori, bamboo shoot, green onion and chasu. no wonder aldh’s meal had more vegetables than mine due to the spinach. aldh said that the ramen is not too bad, just average i guess. he gave me the rating of 3.5/5★
ACCEPTS CASH/CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD
ambiance: 8.5/10
service: 9/10
food (taste & appearance): 7.28/10
value: 6/10
total: 7.7/10★
in conclusion, benkei is a good ramen place for casual dine outs !
better ramen places will be reviewed soon. here’s a sneak peek: think GMEN, AJISEN, SANTOUKA, etc.
swisscheese*
1 Comment
Pretty good article. I just came across your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be coming back and I hope you post again soon.