Santouka Ramen

Sunnyvale, CA

By no means am I a ramen expert, but  when I get a ramen craving Santouka fits the bill. Located inside of Mitswa Japanese market, there are generally as many people sitting in the food court eagerly awaiting their number being called to pick up their ramen as there are grocery shoppers; me being one of them. Truth be told, its just ramen, right? It's soup and noodles, a couple pieces of pork, turnip, dried fungus and green onions. Well, if that were the case, I'd make it at home and save myself $8 bucks. But I can appreciate the work that goes into flavoring the broth. I can appreciate, piping hot soup that warms my soul. I like the simplistic traditional item that fulfills your hunger. I enjoy these meals just as much as a fancy multi-course dinner because they pick one thing to do well and they do it really well.

Spicy Miso Ramen with pork and green onion dombori

I've had better ramen in LA, but Santouka in a grocery store fits the bill in Northern CA. The ramen noodles are boiled fresh to order, broth is always boiling hot and dombori's simple, tasty and filling. We've had the shio, our classic fav, the shoyu ( a little salty) and the spicy miso (with a kick, but does not kill the sweetness or lightness of the broth) and each time leave full and satisfied.

Shio Ramen with leek dombori

Rating 7.5/10
October 23, 2010