Updated: 15th Dec 2014; This restaurant has relocated to G-Men Ramen Izakaya@Nanchuu.
For so long we had only known of one Ramen shop in Richmond — Ajisen Ramen. When we heard that the venerable Gyoza King is opening a Ramen shop in Richmond, that place bubbled to the top of our to-visit place.
We know that both Arkensen and Nanzaro will like ramen. They devour MSG-laden instant noodles so much that we buy instant noodles by the box (30 packets!). They can easily finish 2 packets even after having a full dinner. So, Ramen will be up their alley.
G-Men Ramen is located in the Continental strip mall on Sexsmith and Cambie. It is on a corner shoplot which used to be a pho place.
We were there at about 11:15AM thinking that they would have opened by then as with most restaurants in Richmond. At that time, there were already three parties waiting for it to open. The sign outside said they open at 11:30AM but it was not until 11:45AM before they open the doors. At that time, I counted 15 people already waiting for it to open.
Frankly, I think they did not use their brains at all. Even if they are not ready (and late!), they could at least have opened the doors to the customers and let them have a seat and explain they need more time. The customers would have understood. So, some of the customers were fuming mad … a hungry customer is an angry customer. Simple as that … the staff need adult supervision. LOL!
Their menu is simple … just two pages with big prints. Of course, the main items are Ramen. There are four types of ramens costing between $8.00 and $8.50. Extra toppings and noodles are anywhere between 50 cents to $3.
Even though we were the fourth party shown the table, it actually took a long while before we got the ramen. I was expecting it to be served very fast since I reckon that it’s just pouring prepared soup into the bowl.
Arkensen ordered the first item on the menu. The first item on most menus are the specialty item. It is the authentic Tonkotsu (“pork bone”) Ramen with its distinctive cloudy broth. The broth is simply the most flavourful and richer compared to the other ramens we ordered.
Nanzaro quickly booked the “Sunday Special” since his older brother beat him to the first item. The boys learn fast … these days Suanne and I had to settle for third and fourth choices.
The “Sunday Special” is described as special homemade dry noodles with lots of pork and toppings and special homemade sauce. $8.50. The dish includes pork slices, green onions, black wood ear mushroom, and marinated free-range egg. This is the second consecutive dining in a Japanese restaurant that has “special homemade sauce” … why can’t they say what it is exactly?
I can’t make out the difference between Suanne’s and my ramen. I only know that we ordered a Shio Ramen and a Special Shoyu Ramen. Both of them costs the same, $8.50.
I did notice that people slurp the long noodles from the chopsticks direct from the bowl. I recall learning from TV shows that the Japanese are encouraged to slurp the noodles loudly. Can someone confirm?
I think the only difference is the type of soup used. I think Shoyu sounds like soya sauce in Chinese and so the top picture must be Shoyu.
Tell me about the use of soup spoons with the ramen. I guess the right way to drink the soup is to drink it direct from the bowl and the way they do it in Japan is not to use the soup spoon. Is that right? LOL! For the Chinese, it is uncouth to do so. I don’t know for sure … am just asking.
I like their marinated eggs (called Ajitama, I think). It is a hard boiled egg but had a soft almost uncooked yolk in the middle. How did they do this? I am sure it is a simple technique. Suanne doesn’t take eggs and so I get to gain.
Oh … their chili is awesome. It is really spicy hot and adds a lot of kick to the already flavorful soupbase. Nice.
The total bill came to $33.50 before tips. We enjoyed the meal but do think that they are still having teething pains having opened for just one month. Already I can see they are popular and is successful in such a short time. It makes me think that Richmond really needs more places like this … or in another word, we had enough of Shanghainese and Szechuan restaurants.
Be warned though … they are opened only from Thursday to Monday (closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Go early or be prepared to wait for a table. If there is a queue, just fill in your name yourself on the writing board by the entrance and wait patiently.
The egg is soft boiled, I think about 2 minutes in boiling water.
Peel carefully. The whites will be firm, but the yolk runny.
What if you forget about the time of boiled eggs. Well if you want to get them well cooked with out the yolk runny, you can do the following, you can make the egg rotate on the table and if it rotate for long time it mean it is absolutely cooked if not it means it is missing to be boiled.
yes it is perfectly ok and encouraged to slurp your ramen noodles! supposedly you slurp the noodles to show your appreciation to the chef. shoyu ramen is made with a soy sauce base, while shio ramen is salt based. shio is my favorite!
me and my bf went here when they first opened..
and boy oh boy! their noodles totally disappointed us….i mean….i could’ve went to T&T myself and bought a pack of the jap ramen noodles myself and it would taste 100 times better! NO KIDDING! -_-
the broth was tasteless..the noodles were….NOT ramen @ all….more like…spaghetti x ramen …imagine that! lol
but luckily i ordered the rice…and it was much better…!
if you would like to have better & cheaper ramen …u gotta try BenKei on robson near denman. their add-ons are only 50cents each…unlike this place..and u can supersize the noodles by $1 i believe..their broth is richer than kintaro..(which i like) and their ramen are awesome..very chewy…
and hey! u can collect stamps! hahaha if u get 10 stamps then u have a free bowl of ramen =)
another recommendation from me! lol BENKEI !!!
Ajitama:
1) Boil water to full
2) Place eggs in water right out of a fridge
3) Boil for 6 minutes and 30 seconds for running yolk, 7 minutes for soft yolk
4) Immediately cool the eggs with cold water
Now you can enjoy yummy boiled eggs.
*The time may vary by size and the number of eggs so please try a few times
However, if you want to give some color & taste like Ajitama,
5) Sauce – Mix equal part of soy sauce, water, sake or Mirin
6) Put eggs & sauce in a freezer bag
7) Vacuum the bag with your mouth (Dont’t choke)
8) Leave it in a fridge for an hour (shake the bag occasionally to avoid white spots on eggs)
*Sauce is actually more complicated “special homemade” thus it varies so this is a very basic one.
Spoon:
Japanese call it RENGE (ren-gay, meaning lotus flower). It is used to drink soup or hold toppings such as egg. Some people drink the soup directly from bowl and it is also perfectly OK. But they never use it to drink miso soup. Actually RENGE is associated with Chinese dishes and rarely used in Japanese dishes. Additionally they use it to eat fried rice. It is very rate to see a person eating fried rice with chopsticks in Japan.
Slurping:
Sorry we make annoying noise. It said to be a way to maximize the flavor of soup and taste of noodles and also not to get your tongue burnt at the same time. Wow. But if you are uncomfortable making noise, you don’t have to.
The eggs are soft boiled in boiling water about 3 minutes ,then take out immediately into icy water.
Then the whites will be firm, but the yolk runny.
Ben, in Japan the louder you slurp your ramen the more you are showing appreciation to the chef for the quality of the noodle dish you are enjoying.
Foodies will fondly remember this foodie movie (Tampopo) all about the quest to create, and enjoy, the perfect bowl of ramen:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampopo
Call it the Japanese version of “Noodle Western”, lol !
If slurping is so polite, than you should slurp more the next time you eat wonton noodle or Chinese la mian, LOL.
Haha, YouTube actually has clips of Tampopo ! This is a great scene, showing the reverence to the mighty bowl of ramen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyoAZFREnY
Hi Ben,
Slurping your noodles/soup based dishes have a dual purpose:
1) As Jenn said up there, to “show your appreciation to the chef.” In traditional Japanese families, not slurping meant you didn’t enjoy the soup, and it comes off as disrespectful to your mother who meticulously prepared it.
2) By slurping, you are also sucking lots of air that cool down the hot noodles. Experienced ramen or Pho eaters have no problem slurp-eating their first few bites & not burn their tongues the moment it is served.
I say you start making your own @ home~
That was funny. Never heard of Tampopo before. Next time I am in a ramen place, I’ll see if anyone eats it like that!
Ben
OMG when I went with my friend at 7pm once they ran out of literally everything on the menu! There were only 2 or 3 choices left -___-
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Like everyone else commented before me, yes, slurping is polite. When I lived in Japan, I stayed in a house that had an udon restaurant attached and I helped make the udon for two years. Within a few weeks of eating with my family there, they finally broke down and asked why I wasn’t slurping, was the food bad and what-not.
Now I can’t get slurping out of my system, but I am careful to do it only at Japanese restaurants and to explain to my non-Japanese fellow diners.
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I heard any good ramen shop in Japan should be able to make “char sui la mian” or “chun wah la mian”, since la mian was originally introduced to Japan by Chinese workers selling their la mian from street stalls in Japan.
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