The ramen craze continues. If you haven’t noticed the many, many ramen joints that have opened shop all over Manila, then you must have been living under a rock. We have so many options, I love it! There’s a different ramen flavor to satisfy every palette. I love ramen because it reminds me of my childhood. I remember how I would always look for it whenever I was sick or when I’ve had a bad day at school. Ramen never fails to cheer me up, and it really is my comfort food. Because of this, I have been open to trying all kinds of ramen. I’m not exactly a ramen connoisseur, not yet anyway, but I do know what I like. I get so disappointed when I am served a bowl of ramen I don’t like, and I wont stop looking for great ramen until my craving has been satisfied. I once ate ramen for dinner one week straight because I couldn’t get enough of it, that’s how obsessive I can be about it. I mean, how can you not like ramen?! Its tasty-chewy egg noodles are just so addicting. Add all the trimmings–pork belly, bamboo shoot slices, egg and everything else I can’t name but are sooooo yummy. And, of course, the soup!!! You can’t enjoy your ramen if the soup isn’t wonderful. It really is one of the best inventions ever haha.

So it was a no-brainer. Hokkaido Santouka Ramen invited me to dinner and asked me to bring along my friends, I said yes almost immediately. Best. Decision. Ever. We had a feast! And while I was dead set on just having ramen that evening, I discovered so many more yummy dishes. Really, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t realize Santouka was more than just a ramen place, although their ramen is pretty amazing (real quick, their Shio Ramen–salt flavor–is their signature flavor and soooo good, though I like their Shoyu Ramen–soy sauce flavor–more. Both are so tasty). I got to try new things like Aburi Char Siu, which is roasted pork strips, Sake Furai, or fried salmon, and their Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) and Ebu Furai (fried prawns). And they also had a ramen salad, called Sen Yasai Hiyashi Ramen, if you can believe that. I was a little iffy to try it, I wont lie, because it was a cold salad. But one bite and I was in love. I finished that whole plate I think. And then there were other things I liked–the iced tea shake was refreshing and sweet, and the green tea ice cream was just the perfect dessert after hours of eating and talking. It was a great way to catch up. We got one of the private rooms at the Glorietta branch and it allowed us plenty of kwentuhan time. I recommend this if you’re a big group!

Their iced tea shake is worth the special mention. I like its sweetness because it resets your palette when you get ramen-ed out.

Sen Yasai Hiyashi Ramen (P390) – noodle with shrimp, salad greens and rich sesame sauce. This was really good. Who would’ve thought cold ramen noodles would go so well with fresh greens! The sesame sauce made it a win for me.

Ebi Furai (P260) – fried prawns. Its basically tempura, with a different dipping sauce. This is a staple for me when eating at a Japanese restaurant.

Of course, we had to have ramen!!! This is their bestseller: Shio Ramen (P390), which has a salt flavor soup. It doesn’t taste like salt, if that’s what you’re thinking. It has a rich, tasty flavor thanks to the pork belly and ramen noodles. Its taste isn’t overwhelming too, which I like. It is hard to get tired of this soup. Very good.

  This was another yummy surprise for me: Sake Furai (P220). I never had salmon cooked this way before. It was really tasty–the salmon was fresh.

Our server showed us how to mix this dipping sauce for the Tonkatsu (you can use it for any dish too). She crushed the sesame seeds first, then poured tonkatsu sauce on top.

This is one of my favorites: Aburi Char Siu (P240), or roasted pork. It was sweet and salty, a little fatty, but hey, this is pork! This went so well with my ramen. Must-order!!!

Tonkatsu (P270). Oldie but goodie. The pork cutlet was tender and soft. It was cooked perfectly.

My favorite family: the Reinsosos. Love them! <3

 My baby girl, my inaanak, Liana enjoying her ramen. She loved eating her noodles this way! So cute! 

Normal Aburi Tokusen Toroniku (P270) or roasted pork cheek. Amazing flavor. This also went well with the ramen. So flavourful!

This is one of their newest dishes: its called Hokkaido Tsukemen (P360). It’s cold noodle with hot miso flavor dipping sauce. The way to eat this is you dip the noodles into the sauce first (like soba noodles) then eat. You don’t mix them together. The sauce was a little spicy, but it went well with the noodles.

 Happy to catch up with these girls.

Liana! <3

 For dessert, we had Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream (P90). Yummy.

  And we had Mochi Ice Cream from next door: MochiCream Cafe (same owners). I especially liked the red bean flavor!

Thank you, Hokkaido Santouka Ramen! We will be back soon! 🙂

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Glorietta 4 – G4-132 Ground Floor, Glorietta Mall, Ayala Center, Makati
City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Contact Nos.: 09178476087 or 7281381

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SM Mall of Asia – Unit 2141 2nd Level, North Veranda of the
Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City,
Metro Manila, Philippines
Contact Nos.: 09158055838 or 8043224

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Greenhills – F&B U1, Upper Level, Greenhills Old Promenade, San
Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Contact Nos.: 0915-7712735 or 7819704

They take reservations for VIP rooms at their Makati branch with a minimum consumable amount. If you want to reserve a room, you may give them a call.

Open from 11 am to 11 pm daily. Last call is at 10:30 pm.

LIKE them on Facebook to get updates: https://www.facebook.com/RamenSantoukaPH