This post was written in 2006. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Of all the ramen chains that went national and got famous, like Ippudo, Ichiran and Kamukura, there’s one I still haven’t introduced here. It’s Santouka, which has 11 branches in Tokyo alone. It’s such a famous ramen shop that I meant to wait until somebody else wrote it up, but as it turns out I’m the one introducing it first.
This time I went to the Hiroshima branch.
The exterior is neat and clean. There was jazz playing in the background. Maybe because the interior is nice and the food is good, there were quite a few women eating on their own.
The menu is short, so I ordered the one that looked tastiest, the toro-niku miso ramen.
Toro-niku means meat that melts in your mouth. The chashu isn’t thick, but it’s tender without being greasy, which was nice. Unlike regular ramen, they bring the toppings on a separate plate, though I don’t really see the point.
The noodles and the broth.
The broth itself seems to be tonkotsu-based, and the noodles have a good bounce but aren’t thin. It’s one of the better broths I’ve ever had: mellow and nutty, fresh and light, with just a touch of creaminess, and it stays clean and refreshing right down to the last drop. I bet it would work as a hangover cure too. The Ippudo ramen I had before finished creamy rather than clean, and regular Nagahama tonkotsu ramen competes on a clean finish; this tastes like it combines the best of both.
The secret to the flavour seems to be the sesame. The rich, refreshing pork broth meets the nutty, subtle sesame for a fantastic combination. I wonder who first thought of putting sesame in ramen. You have to admire the Japanese spirit of exploration. ^_^
Put the toppings into the broth, and this is what you get.
A bit messy, but…
The portion isn’t big for the price, but the nutty, fresh flavour, almost like eating taro soup, is an idea that turns conventional ramen wisdom on its head. The chashu and broth are a great match too. The Japanese ramen world has its traditions, but it’s always quick to catch new trends, and new flavours of ramen come out every year, so there’s always something to look forward to. Just thinking about which ramen to try next makes me happy.