Motomachi Shokudo -- Unique Gem in the Ramen Shop Rough



The Fresh Blossom was so Pretty!

740 Denman Street, Vancouver

Food: 4
Service: 3
Price: Cheap to Moderate

I like ramen A LOT. And if I were to pick between it and pho, I would swing my vote to ramen. There’s more of a variety of soups to choose from and the ingredients you can combine with these noodles are much more diverse than your average pho bowl—Sorry pho lovers! So to my delight, there’s been a proliferation of ramen shops around Vancouver of late, but with all the ramen shops around town that serve the same miso/shoyu/shio-chasu-noodle combinations, something has to make each one stand-out. Kintaro has the line-ups, Benkei has the stamp cards, and Motomachi, as I just found out, has the nicest presentation and the unique-est ingredients.

 

Outside, Where We Waited in the Cold :(

What to expect:

·    to wait outside if the entire restaurant is full; me, my sister S, and my uncle G waited 20 minutes after 9pm on a Tuesday night

·    to sit on hard backless stools...and because of this, you have to hook your coats on the wall

·    7 varieties of ramen (...I think I got them all down): Extra BBQ Pork Ramen, Miso Ramen, Shio Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen, Bamboo-Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen, Shio Ramen with Seasonal Vegetables, Japanese Style Cold Ramen

·    ramen noodles that are thin, but fairly strong...so in my opinion, quite nice J

·    lots of ramen noodles in each regular order–-meaning, ordering extra noodles is unnecessary

·    natural ingredients that makes this ramen shop unique: raw unpasteurized soy sauce, natural salt, organic poultry, and bamboo-charcoal dark miso soup

 Butchigiri Gyoza, $3.75

·    special aspect of these gyozas are that they’re longer than your typical gyoza

·    they were slightly crisp on the panfried side, but soft and delicate on the steamed side

·    they had a nice pork and cabbage filling, but this was nothing special compared to other gyozas in town

 BBQ Pork, $4.95

BBQ pork shoulder butt and spareribs on a large bed of bean sprouts, served with a side hot chilli bean paste (mild)

·    they were tender, but leaned a bit (just a bit!) towards the dry side—a little disappointed here

·    the edges of the pork were super salty

·    chilli bean paste was necessary to add some interest to these slightly dry pork pieces; all they needed was a thin spread of chilli bean paste

·    this appetizer dish was large enough to be a meal itself

Bamboo-Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen, $9.75

Angel-haired Japanese leek, Menma (bamboo shoots), Soft-boiled local organic egg, Green onion, BBQ pork, White pepper, Seasonal green vegetable, Chilli pepper powder, Ramen, and Bamboo-charcoal dark miso

·    the deal with the bamboo-charcoal (in the miso soup) is that its pores absorb toxins in your digestive system as it passes through your body—a very beneficial promise for your body!

·    do not fear the black bamboo-charcoal miso soup!; it tasted a lot like shoyu soup and was slightly salty

·    unfortunately, the BBQ pork was drier than the appetizer BBQ pork L

·    ...but the soft-boiled egg was pretty cool: it tasted sweet, kinda like maple syrup!

·    as well, I really  liked the bamboo shoots because they tasted pretty darn fresh; very crunchy and sweet!

Japanese Style Cold Ramen, $9.65

Poached egg, Cucumber, Naruto, White sesame, Wasabi, Sweet & spicy sliced beef, Thinly sliced nori, Tenkasu, Green onion, Citrus sauce, Grated taro potato, and Ramen (No soup)

·    after all the ingredients were mixed together, my first impression was that it was sort of sweet, sort of citrusy, and very refreshing; wasabi was a major flavour here, but without its usual spiciness

·    the beef tasted like cold sweet Korean short ribs. Yummo.

·    the texture of an ooey runny egg was present throughout the dish...definitely noticeable, but not distracting

·    this was an absolutely delightful cold noodle dish! BUT I don’t understand how this could be a dinner item being that it’s cold....

New Generation Miso Ramen, $9.45

Bean sprouts, Onion, Angel-haired Japanese leek, Menma (bamboo shoots), BBQ pork, Green onion, Corn, White pepper, Ramen, and Miso soup

·    (Uncle G didn’t share his thoughts on this dish, so enjoy only this picture of the dish.)

Despite we had to wait 20 minutes for a table, all was forgiven because our food experience was pretty darn good. I’m speaking particularly about the lovely flavours in the Japanese Cold Ramen, the fresh vegetables, the natural ingredients, and the beautiful presentation of the dishes. For around $10 here you can get bowls of noodles that are beyond the experience of your typical noodle shop. Having said that, I also can say not everything here, like the BBQ pork, is great....so it’s not a perfect noodle shop, but nevertheless it’s worth for every ramen-lover in the city to come to.