Kamamarui Ramen & Don

¹⁰⁄₁₀ would definitely return!
I am not usually a big fan of ramen as I often find the broths too salty at most restaurants. However, my experience at Kamamarui proved me otherwise and I’m open to try more ramen establishments again.
The highlight of my Tonkatsu Ramen was the flavour of the charsu pork itself. It was juicy, full of a roasted flavour, and had the perfect balance of fatty and lean meat. The broth was very refreshing and made great use of the green onion garnish as the flavour actually highlighted the broth.
You are also able to pay additionally to have combo add-​ons such as onigiris and mini donburis with your ramen. I decided to order the Twinkle add-​on. It was primarily a ground pork croquette ball with a sweet and spicy sauce. I was originally expecting something similar to Sweet and Sour pork, but the texture of the ground pork didn’t really go well with the sauce. However, I had a bite of my friend’s onigiri add on and it was very yummy. It was for a awesome price too! For $ 1.50 you can add on two mini onigiris!
This place is so close to home for me and I’m super excited to come back and try their other ramen flavours!

Located is busy Metrowtown area in South Burnaby. I’ve had this place on my bookmark for sometime, today just happened to be the day.
Street parking only and hard to find, which was a little annoying we almost ditched this place, but we decided to park further way on a side street several blocks away. It’s a cute place modern with Asian accents.
I ordered miso ramen with chashu. The chashu was yummy, tender very flavorful. The miso broth was also good not something I usually have, I tend to order a spicy broth or for fatty broth. Overall the ramen was good. Service was on the slow side but maybe I was just hungry. I would come back for the chashu. Place only accepts cash or debit only!

I remember my first time coming here with my Japanese Food Critique. It was new and hip and at that time in a location that nobody thought anyone would ever rent out. (long story on that one.)
Back then the ramen was more Japanese than Korean and it was very good. My JFC (Japanese Food Critique) gave them a thumbs up for trying something new in Ramen but still holding to what people know about with the modern day ramen. 3.5 stars out of 5 was her rating. A tough call. I gave them a near 5 star review for their service and interior design.
The music was upbeat, there were two young guys working the business and everything was fresh and new.
That was my review then.
A few years later, how did time tell?
They have come out of the closet so to speak and now they make Ramen that suits their origins. Korean flavours now more predominant in their traditional Japanese Tonkotsu broth.
The Katsu or the Char siu (bbq pork) has more of the sweeter Korean sauce on it.
The Agedashi tofu is not of the Japanese type. It’s more the Korean deep fried tofu with Korean sweet and slightly spicy sauce.
As long as you are aware of this and open to new fusion ideas (c’mon, Ramen was originally Chinese) You may like what they have to offer.
If you happen to be like my mother… well, that’s another story altogether. Nothing can appease to her appetite.
My son liked his Ramen and I’d say the group we had there that day was about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on their food choices.
Probably because they were expecting something else.
One dish did stick out. It was the Salad dressing that tasted like candied strawberry syrup on some wet lettuce. I’d have to give that a 1 star. Sorry. I had to order it without the dressing (two orders now of salad) without the dressing. If you’re diabetic or sugar conscious, stay away from the salad or just order without the dressing. BTW, put it in with your Ramen and let it soak up the flavourful soup and you’ve got a new exciting dish!
Most of the food I couldn’t eat. Gluten, noodles, carbs, sugars. I did get to sample all the dishes our group ordered to at least give it a fair review.
Service — Excellent!
Soup broth — 4 stars
Ramen noodles — chewy, not too soft. 4 stars
BBQ pork — soft, but the sweet sauce took some getting used to. 3.5 to 4 stars if you like sweet
Deep fried Tofu — not agedashi tofu, but Korean version — rated as such 3.5 stars. Good!
Salad with dressing — 0 stars — too sweet, tasted like candy.
Salad without dressing — Awesome with the Kimchee side dish.
Wakame saled — average 3.5 stars. You get quite a bit of wakame! good deal.
Kimchee — average 3.5 stars. Again, you get quite a bit.
Value — 4 stars.
Music — Upbeat, pop but there was one rap song that had alot of X#!@%$^*&!! LOL. Glad my kids are in their mid 20’s.
Parking can be a challenge if you don’t know where to park.
Still looking for that «non fatty broth» that is healthier like Ramen used to be 30 years ago.
Typo’s Free of Charge.

Considering all the reviews, I decided to check this place out for myself.
The restaurant isn’t that big but there were enough small groups that the turnaround of tables didn’t take long. We had tonkatsu ramen, tonkatsu miso ramen, twinkle and a pork belly mini don. The soup base was a real disappointment — the tonkatsu miso was weak, all miso taste, and mostly flavourless while the tonkatsu had a stronger pork taste but still mostly flavourless. I figured that’s what the «ramen sauce» on the counter was for. The ramen sauce tasted like straight MSG (the instant you get from instant noodles). The meat was dry and very lean as well. The portion, however, was commendable — very big and filling amount of noodles and meat.
The twinkle was not at all amazing. A fried pulled pork meatball with some pretty standard sweet and sour sauce. The pork belly mini don tasted like pork jerky on rice.
I do really love my ramen and unfortunately this place wasn’t up to par to the other ramen I’ve experienced across Metro Van.

I enjoy the noodles here I find them to be chewy and I love that.
Broth is bland but when you put the sauces on it taste lovely.
No complaints.

This is a nice little ramen place in Burnaby. I went here for dinner around 6pm, so the restaurant was not too busy yet. The interior design and decorations are alright. I liked the design of their wooden chairs and tables.
The service was ok. Once I sat down, a waitress asked what I would like to drink. I ordered some tea. Then I looked at their simple menu. Most of it is text. I expected this ramen place only had ramen, but they also offered donburi. I ordered a miso chasiu ramen. I only waited for a short period of time. The ramen arrived! Yum! The texture of the ramen was great. Chasiu was soft that I liked the sauce that the restaurant marinated the meat. The soup base was great. The portion was small though. If you eat a lot for dinner, you better order extra ramen or side dishes.
I would love to visit this ramen place again and try something else next time.

Showed up around 7:30pm on a Friday night to have dinner with a friend. She was there before me and already waiting for a table. There were a couple people ahead of us but they were seated fairly quickly.
We watched as a couple was seated at a table for four. As it was just the two of us, we thought that we would get seated next to them (it should be noted that seating is very limited at this restaurant). We weren’t, however, and we continued to wait a while. We were finally seated a table for two in the corner.
Although the food was good and the prices were decent, the slow service makes me give Kamamarui only 3 stars. I didn’t think the bombs were anything special either.

I met up with a girlfriend here for dinner. It was my first time eating Ramen, as I never had it before, but have always heard such wonderful things! I ordered the Miso Ramen with the pork slices, it was really good but the service was not so great. There was only one server and the restaurant was pretty busy and it took them awhile before they seated us. The tables were so uncomfortable, no backing so you are eating all hunched over. It wasn’t a very relaxing dining experience.
For the service, I probably would not go to this place again and it’s such a busy area, parking was hard to find. Yes, there is parking in the back, but it gets full really quickly.
Price was medium, it’s soup after all, shouldn’t be overly pricey!
Ramen is tasty, but am I bias to say Phở is better?! I like the idea of having some veggies in my meal — balances out the carbs and protein. There was some bean sprouts in the soup, but it would have been nice if there wasn’t something more.

Owned by two enthusiastic Korean students, this ramen shop is a surprise find for me in this part of town. Unfortunately, the ramen fell short of my expectation.
My meal here began with the Da Bomb appetizer — seaweed rice balls flavored with a soy sauce base mixed. For an order that comes in two, the price was a little steep but I thought the flavorful rice balls were somewhat worth it. Yet, I felt it was mistake to follow the their tonkotsu ramen.
For me, the broth is the main determining factor of whether this is a good ramen or not. While Kamamarui’s pork broth had the flavor, it lacked the depth. Rather than an enhancing milky flavor of a well-​done ramen broth, the flavor was a subtle one that was unfortunately overshadowed especially by the flavorful Da Bomb that preceded it.
That being said, it’s a decent ramen place that is worth checking out if you are already nearby, but I would not recommend this as a place to go out of your way to try.

The tonkatsu ramen was perfect for an overcast day. The broth had soul (not too salty) and very flavourful. Hmmmm… Just thinking of the chasu makes my mouth water.
We had the Twinkle sweet and sour pork — shredded pork with corn. These were deep fried in tempura batter.
Very busy little restaurant with one server and two in the kitchen but they were attentive in serving tea, clearing dishes and actually bringing the bill promptly. This restaurant is a gem!

Great food for a reasonable price. Service was fast. I was making sure my Miso Ramen ($ 9) with less salty flavour and informed the server about it. It was less salty, however there wasn’t much flavour to it. Chashu slices were tender. I thought noodle was half cooked at first, but found out it was in an al dente texture. I usually like soft texture than al dente. It was alright though.
Adding chilli oil didn’t do much on flavoring. I think I better stick to Tonkotsu Ramen instead.

There are times when I want ramen (like after watching too many episodes of Mind of a Chef, season 1, featuring ramenauteur David Chang), but don’t want to go allll the way downtown.
Well, I’m discovering I can really only have one or the other — ramen that’s either relatively close by (i.e. in the ‘burbs) or really good. Kamamarui has its high points, like barbecue pork topping and interesting sides and combos like the much-​discussed «bombs» but on the whole left me relatively underwhelmed by the basics of noodles and broth. After a while, I wasn’t really excited about finishing the noodles, thick and chewy as they were, and well, I guess I’ve been spoiled by other flavourful, fatty broths for this joint’s pale, underdeveloped version.
I guess my real rating would be about a 2.5, and I’m rounding up because it’s a pleasant enough little restaurant with a cool atmosphere and cute Japanese doodads and nice staff, and who knows, I may need a ramen close to home again. What can I say, I get lazy.

I was surprise to find such place in Burnaby where it is quite hidden. A Hidden Gem, I should call it. Its located in a very quite neighborhood and I have to say I don’t think its a great location to open a restaurant there but I am guessing cheap rent. So I am guessing because of its location their prices are quite reasonable. I was surprised how many chashu the put in my bowl of Ramen. There was at least 6 big pieces. The other ramen places I go to usually just put 2 and 2 is the max. This place is not super busy but probably because its summer and people don’t eat ramen in summer time. But they do get enough business. Their food are quite fresh. As well, the bowl of ramen was huge.
I also had the soft egg. I thought that was an egg they put in the noodle. Nope that’s not what it was. It was sunny side up soft egg with sauce. Yummy. We also got the tonkatsu. Very flavorful and best of all its not dried out.
As a hint. Go for the combo. You pay a bit more but you get a pretty big side to it. Really worth the value.
Definitely coming back

5 stars! Pregnancy craving satisfied… I ordered the Tonkotsu Raman (the only difference between this and Chatsu is the amount of pork slices) I wanted less meat so Tonkotsu was perfect with 2 big slices of pork. Mz. A loves her ramen! She ordered the Miso plus corn, so delicious she says. She has quite the palette for a 7 year old. She’s been tasting ramen all over the city and loves it here. (Her fav is still G-​men or Ramangers but she says it’s very close between the 3)
We made one into a combo with the BOMBS! How yummy are those things? We had to order it to go for the MR. to try.
Service was excellent, it was a busy night but we got two seats by the bar right away.
We will be back!

The server was really nice and helpful to explain and recommend what would taste good. Extra Fat or Not that much Fat ~ I said just give me whatever tastes better extra or no extra fat.
I had the Chasu Ramen, and found that my pork — 2 slices was a little odd, and felt it tasted more like sandwich meat? I really, really, really questioned if it was.
It wasn’t the best bowl of ramen I’ve ever had, but it was ok.
The décor is your little Asian restaurant. At first I thought it was a Japanese place but I over hear the server speak Korean. I loved the little wooden tables and the bench booth and chairs — so stack-​able! I don’t know how this little restaurant would do with big groups but small groups are ok for them to deal with.
Free Parking around the area maybe a little difficult to find.

What a great discovery in what seems to be in the middle of nowhere. We ordered combo #1 which was any ramen + 2 bombs and combo #3 which was any ramen + a twinkle. I really enjoyed the Tonkotsu ramen I ordered. The broth was light and flavourful. The meat that came with the bowl was slightly overcooked but that may have just been because they were continuing to cook in the broth. My dining companion got the Miso ramen which had a much heavier soup base. The noodles had a good chew to them.
The bombs were amazing fully of seaweed flavour. It tastes a lot better than its description. The twinkle were nothing too special. They were almost like wontons — deep fried pork and corn, drenched in a sweet and sour sauce — but they were lacking the crunch that I was expecting.
We were there at an awkward time between lunch and dinner so the place was quite quiet. Service was very attentive. I’ll definitely be back for a bowl of noodles if ever hungry in the area.

I like the restaurant décor… It’s not over the top or shabbily put together: P the food was okay. The bomb was too wet… it felt like an onigiri that was done poorly. And I don’t think it’s supposed to taste like that. The twinkle wasn’t half bad. The ramen were average.
Oh… And you can park at the HSBC stalls around the restaurant from Monday to Saturday after 5pm or on Sundays :)

My mum and I have been wanting to try this place after driving past it a couple of times. I work at metro, so after work my parents and I came to check this place out.
First of all, the atmosphere is perfect. Very cute and cozy and intimate. The interior is really modern/​industrial/​homey, and I love it!
As for the food, there aren’t too many options on the menu but they have a good enough variety and you can customize your ramen. I got the tonkotsu ramen and my parents got the miso chashu ramen. What I really like about this place is that the broth isn’t salty, and it isn’t too greasy either. My biggest problem with ramen places elsewhere is how greasy and salty their broth is. This place got it just right. The flavours were very good, the noodles were good… nothing to complain about.
Even the parking is good. There’s free parking at the back and after 5pm, you can park in the reserved seats since the bank closes.
If you want a nice and cozy little place for a good meal, I recommend this place!

Das Restaurant ist klein, aber sehr schön eingerichtet. Es hat Platz für ca 25 Personen und das Menü ist sehr kompakt. Der Service ist exzellent, die Preise sehr angemessen für Vancouver und das Essen wird schnell zubereitet. Die Reis-​Bowls sind extrem lecker, die Tempura heiss und knackig und die Rahmen Bowls schauen super aus.
Das Lokal mag nicht in einer belebten Ecke liegen, aber wenn man im Metrotown Mall einkaufen ist, sollte man die paar hundert Meter zu dem Restaurant auf jeden Fall in Kauf nehmen.
Also: echt lecker, günstig, nett, hip und schnell — einer der besten Ramen-​Restaurants in Vancouver!

We had bookmarked this place and finally decided to come and try it out. Thanks Unilocalers, this is a great find.
We ordered.
Miso Chashu Ramen — strong flavor broth, the Chashu has a nice glaze
Chashu Ramen in Tonkatsu broth — lighter broth, same Chashu with other orders.
The Bomb — lovely orbs of warm rice dipped in a coating of seaweed mixture and teriyaki sauce.
Twinkle — we were curious about this dish and glad we ordered it. This is a fritter of pork and corn niblets, deep fried and smothered with tangy sweet and sour sauce. It also has a little bite that kicks.
The chef also gave us a small seaweed salad as a starter.
The extra bits you would normally expect to find at Ramen shops like the half soft egg, sprouts, and corn bits are extra.
Price is a little high for just a bowl of noodles. (Less 1 star)
The place is busy so if you come at prime time expect to wait. This is a small restaurant and the parking lot has limited space.

I was craving for ramen but didn’t want to go downtown for lunch coz we had to go Burnaby afterwards. Of coz, Unilocal is most helpful foodies guide! I found Kamamarui Ramen reviews were great and wanna checked it out.
The décor was simple, it looked pretty neat and clean. The menu pined on the wall and only has 3 – 4 kinds of ramen/​5 donuri with few appetizers.
We ordered most popular dish Ramen + Bomb — Chashu ramen was yummy and seasoned seaweed with rice ball with teriyaki sauce was great too!
Seaweed salad was tasty but a bit too cold when it served. Soft egg was bit disappointed coz it heated up in microwave!
Overall, the food was ok and service was great! Our server was checked up on us regularly. I would say the ramen is good in this area!