Benkei Ramen – Competition is good for everyone
Kintaro is the Vancouver standard for ramen. Ruling the egg noodle in rich broth kingdom with one hot cousin by its side. If you had the bonitos to challenge that authority by opening up another ramen shop on the same street block, what might you do to avoid a quick and shameful death?
Make a good bowl of noodle and address the gripes about the current reigning king of course. Atmosphere, seating, cleanliness, wait times, and to some extent, price. Benkei is easy on the eyes from the get go
With a brightly lit facade, dressed up decor, adequate seating (not comfortable, just adequate), and no line of hungry customers spilling onto the sidewalk on a Friday night, its more welcoming than the royal ramen family around the corner. All of that is simply plate garnish however, as what really matters is the food.
Three familiar types of soups are offered, with toppings as optional add-ons. This brings the price of the basic soup + noodle + 2 (mingy) pieces of pork chashu + green onion + bean sprouts down close to $7. We ordered a chashu plate, which resembles a more tender, thicker, fatter, less seasoned versions of the Chinese charsiu. Whether its better or worse than Kintaro’s is a matter of personal preference. I like the flavor of Benkei’s but does it have to be so tiny…
Their Shio “heavy tonkotsu” ramen is advertised to be popular with the ladies. Though I think it’ll appeal to anyone who’s looking for a rich and very meaty tasting broth that suspends a lot of flavor around slippery noodles.
We also had the Miso ramen, which in my opinion is even heavier than the Shio tonkotsu soup with a quarter inch of clear oil floating at the top of the bowl. Combined with the extra salty miso, any depth of flavor (if there were much) were covered up. Also, the portions were a bit smaller than Kintaro’s.
A good hearty meal, but Benkei still doesn’t beat out Kintaro or Motomachi Shokudo for ramen. It does offer some healthy competition that ensures everyone is playing their A game, which I hope someday will spread beyond the Robson & Denman block.
Actually, the competition has already to spread out. Check Menya in Broadway, just east of Cambie Street.
KimHo, I’ve been meaning to try Menya, but don’t know if its worth the trip. Did you find Menya to be on the same level as the players downtown?
Unfortunately, I have not been there yet, as it is out of my way. Other bloggers, however, seem to like it.
I like miso soup so I was disappointed to hear that Benkei’s ramen comes with a layer of oil.
No thanks, I think I’ll stick to the healthier Motomachi and I’ve yet to try the japanese chain, Ajisen, in Richmond. It’s next on my ramen adventures list.
Red Alert!!!
Kintaro will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary on Monday, January 26th and the first 500 bowls of miso ramen will only be $2. Add an order gyoza for $2 (that day only) and you have a great lunch.
I have been itchingt to try their miso ramen. This is a good a time as any. See you there.
Hurry while it’s hot or until they run out of soup stock, that is.
wow, that’s awsome. I’ll be making multiple trips in different costumes.
this place is a HUGE disappointment
In the name of research (even with my initial reservations), I finally tried Benkei.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t even compare to the other ramen places I have tried.
Their soup was really salty and the onigiri was weird because it just fell apart. The gyoza was passable. The ramen I tried at a chinese run shop was better than this.
When it’s just steps away from Kintaro and Motomachi, it won’t do.
The soup base at Benkei is definitely richer than some other ramen places. It’s more of a personal preference. I personally love the rich taste in their soup.