Priscilla Liang

There are also a ton of reviews out there on Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂, but I honestly haven’t heard of them before!  It turned out that it’s owned by the same guys @ Kintaro 金太郎, and it’s only a few stores down from Kintaro towards West Georgia.  So my theory of it not being that well-known is because: based on where it’s located, most people are “blocked” by Kintaro 金太郎, Benkei 弁慶, and Santouka 山頭火 .  =p

Before diving into Motomachi Shokudo, let me tell ya how I think of the other 3 ramen places first.

Kintaro 金太郎: ♥
I used to love their ramen.  Certainly lots of good memories there with beau.  But as the other new ones kept popping up with nicer ambiance, I’ve switched.  =p

Benkei 弁慶: ♥
I still remember how I raved about this one to fellow foodies, and how I saved a copy of their recipe of the yummy soup base from The Province.  But as soon as they’ve opened up the other 3 locations in Vancouver, their quality went the opposite way.  The chashu (fatty cuts of pork that are braised over low heat for a very long time) was less, noodle was less… totally not the right way to run a business.  Too bad.

Santouka 山頭火: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Beau and I both love Santouka!  Every time I went I forgot ma Lumix GF1.  So no pictures of their carefully prepared ramen or the glass they put between the kitchen and the seating area to give a cooler, more comfortable experience for us fellow ramen fanatics.   But do imagine chewy noodles, good quality chashu, and delicious soup base.  Their ramen is the closest to the ones I had in Tokyo.  They did close for a good number of weeks shortly after they opened, due to mechanical issues they said.

So here we go. Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂!

One note to make is that their soup is made with organic chicken and fresh organic vegetables.  They say their “BBQ pork is barley-fed” and the ramen is served with well-balanced flavours of the earth, ocean, and culture.  No Chemical Seasonings they say!

I like that.  It’s their niche in a city saturated with ramen shops!

What beats having a hot bowl of ramen with cold beer eh????

A very cute little place.  I like it.

Look at what I had!
Bamboo-charcoal dark miso ramen ~ $9.75
angel-haired Japanese leek, menma (bamboo shoots), soft-boiled local organic egg, green onion, BBQ pork, thinly sliced chili pepper, white pepper, seasonal green vegetable, chili pepper power.
The verdict?  WOW!   ♥ x 721!  Nice presentation.  The only thing is it’s a bit on the oily side.

So what’s bamboo charcoal?  They say it’s a well-known digestive supplement in Chinese medicine (apparently!).  I have no idea that it’s edible.  -_-”  Is it really?  “It has also been a traditional remedy in many regions of Japan.  The numerous pores in bamboo charcoal absorb toxins from the body when it goes through the digestive functions and relieving skin problems, and it’s excellent for dieting and anti-aging.”   HmmmMmmm, whatever, it surely was tasty!!

Beau’s: Shio Ramen ~ $8.95
Soup uses natural salt imported from either the Himalayas or Mongolia.
Beau likes it a lot.  =)