Sanpoutei Ramen

Peanut allergy alert!
Menu says ‘may contain traces of nuts’ when peanuts are in fact one of the main ingredients. Very misleading. Thankfully our server told us upon ordering.

ALLERGY ALERT!
My husband and I took our friend here for his birthday. My husband ordered the Tori-​Miso and half through his meal, he realized that it contained nuts. My husband is severely allergic to nuts. Ramen does NOT generally contain nuts and the menu does not indicate nuts as an ingredient.
Our meal was completely ruined. My husband’s face started to puff up and we ended up leaving to treat his reaction. The restaurant blamed the incident on the server, stating that it was her responsibility to inform us. As compensation, the restaurant offered us two ice cream mochis and comped only my husband’s meal even though we all stop mid meal to attend to the reaction. We also had plans after which we had to cancel.

If you’ve never heard of Sanpoutei before, dont worry, neither have I… haha. But seriously, Sanpoutei is a popular ramen chain owned by the Sanpou group in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
I for one, welcome our new ramen overlords because they’re offering something pretty damn good. Sanpoutei is located in the newly built Kam Do Plaza between Aberdeen and Parker Place. Parking is somewhat aplenty, so dont worry. Since its beside Aberdeen, it is easily accessibly by transit via. Canada Line — Aberdeen Station. The exterior to the restaurant is modern yet typically Japanese, using wood grain design vinyl tape on the window frames to create an atmosphere of typical Japanese restaurants. Even the automatic sliding doors are reminiscent of my days in Japan, which by the way still have the best sliding door systems i have ever seen.
When one walks through the sliding door, you are greeted with a giant window which peers into the noodle making room, an awsome sight to behold. Too bad the noodles arnt created by hand, instead, machinery does most of the work. The interior of the restaurant is bright, modern, and uniquely Asian/​Japanese despite the heavy usage of black. Traditional noodle boxes with the Sanpoutei name line the cubbies in the walls near the rafters. The rafters feature a fine dragon print carving, something you’d expect out of an old-​timey Chinese restaurant. A communal table with giant lanterns in the middle is also a nice touch. I give full marks for architectural design if I could, but unfortunately that is not one of my grading parameters for food reviews.
The menu was pleasant to look at, nicely designed, but offered no real insight as to what things were. Their specialty Niigata Shoyu ramen doesnt tell you that its made with Bonito/​fish stock, nor does their menu tell you what Tori (Chicken) means for the rest of their ramen such as Tori x Miso, or just plain old Tori Ramen for those who dont know Japanese. And that is a common complaint about the Niigata Shoyu ramen is that it’s «fishy» and leaves a bad aftertaste. I think that’s where many negative comments for Sanpoutei stem from, is the fact that many diners order the Shoyu ramen expecting something they had before, only to be digusted because of a lack of communication. Playing devils advocate here, I feel that If you’re dining and expecting to write a review a restaurant, you should ALWAYS keep an open palate and judge the experience as objectively as possible. That said, it is very hard because we, as humans, always create judgement by comparing with our past experiences.
I ordered the Niigata Shoyu, and the Oroshi Yuzu Karaage. Prior to coming to Sanpoutei, I did read some reviews, therefore I had prior knowledge that the shoyu was indeed a fish stock based ramen, but that still didn’t deter me from trying it. I went with the 14 $ option which includes 4 slices of their «Chashu» and Ajitama. 14 $ is pretty steep when you compare it to other restaurants in the lower mainland, but cost aside, the ingredients are fairly premium when considered. The «Chashu» is actually pork belly, and not pork shoulder like many ramen restaurants, the bonito in the fish stock is not cheap as an import item, and lastly, the noodles are handmade which require labour. Speaking of noodles, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the noodles, which I did not read about prior. The noodles were delicious! They were like Taiwanese noodles you get with Beef noodles, but much thinner. I think like most people expected ramen noodles that were perfectly cut, thin, round egg noodles. It paired perfectly with the fish stock and tasted perfectly fine to me. One common complaint about the shoyu soup is that it was too oily, a complaint which I can empathize and agree with reservations. This is the part where my objectivity disappears a little; Firstly, If you know what goes into a «real» tonkotsu ramen, then this level of oiliness pales in comparison. Secondly, my experiences with ramen in Japan is that, everything is oily, which is why its good =D. I believe Soup takes a hit if we’re viewing this objectively, but noodles get full marks.
But what about the Chashu and Ajitama I paid for? Well, lets just say some people are willing to come back to eat just for the Chashu and Ajitama. They are well marinaded, the flavour of the marinaded as seeped into the flesh really well, allowing one to distinguish the taste and texture through the flavour of the «fishy» soup. The Ajitama is the same, well marinaded, softboiled with a perfectly flavourful gooey yolk. You also get «spinach» or so they called it, but It didnt look or taste like spinach, because it was just gailan leaves. The Oroshi Yuzu Karaage was a slight disappointment, the flavors were there, and the fry was good, but the pieces were very small and grossly overpriced for the amount of meat served.
Unfortunately Im out of characters,
I like Sanpoutei, and will be returning shortly.
A Fishy but Great Four, out of Five.

Overpriced and just so-​so food. Not recommend at all.
$ 14 for a regular size ramen (which soup base is very fishy).
$ 6 for 4 tiny pieces of chicken karage.
$ 7 for a mini rice bowl.

This place is a pretty decent ramen place within the Richmond area, with the competing restaurants around the area this place really stands out from the rest. It almost reminds me a bit like the ramen places you find downtown around Denman/​Robson Street.
The noodles were delicious and nice texture. Chewy but not too thick either. The soup base I had gotten was a spicy one therefore I can only really say good or bad things about the spicy bowl and not the regular miso. But I personally enjoyed the spicy miso ramen alot, the soup was a little thicker, possibly creamier? Not sure if thats the right way to describe it but it wasn’t very watery it had some thickness to the soup.
The cha-​siu was pretty good as well. Soft, tender, and flavorful. Quite fatty, but that’s what makes it more tasty right? The karage tar tar was pretty good. Fried nicely and the tar tar sauce gave it a nice saucy taste to go with eating something that’s completely fried.
Nice interior décor. Large community table in the centre where if your a table of 2 can sit there. If a larger group you will need to sit at a table. Nice place, good ramen, and service was pretty quick as well. Need to come here again to try something different next time.

Considering there was already a lineup of a dozen or so people even before they opened their doors, I was hyped to say the least. But of course, the higher the expectations, the more likely you’ll be let down, and such is definitely the case with Sanpoutei. Everything was just average, from the ordinary oden to the run-​of-​the-​mill ramen. I was not impressed with the texture of the noodles, and there was some caking when I got to the bottom. Seating was nice though, prolly best in town for a noodle joint.

Reservation can be made if there are 6 people or more.
My boyfriend and I came here for dinner last night. We had waited for more than half or longer. All the customers had to write down their names on a wait list. A server would call out the names when seats were ready. The wait list was extremely long and more and more customers arrived in the evening. All the customers were waiting at the waiting area that was separated from the dining area, so customers who were eating inside would not be able to see the ones at the waiting area.
The servers were busy running around and serving so many customers. There was an open kitchen that we could see the chefs and assistants or helpers who were cooking and preparing the food.
My question was whether or not it was worth to wait for 30 – 45 mins to eat the ramen here. We got a table and settled down after a long wait. Both of us ordered tsukemen (regular and spicy ones) with some fried chicken. The fried chicken was average. It was quite expensive though. The dish of fried chicken was small like having 4 pieces (?) and cost $ 6. The whole dish of tsukemen was good but not better than the one I had at the Ramen Butcher. The soup base at this ramen place was the best part in this meal. I didn’t like the texture of the tsukemen noodles though, because it was like the Chinese type of noodles that I didn’t expect to eat at a Japanese ramen place.
I would still rate this restaurant four stars overall but I would probably not come back if I want to eat ramen. There are many good ramen restaurants in Vancouver or downtown Vancouver. Waiting for a table out there is shorter and the quality is better.

The wait was too bad as you can watch the employees make the ramen. In term of décor, it looks quite nice and large. For food, I find their ramen noodle texture and taste a bit like most instant noodle. The tsukemen dipping sauce is supposed to be super concentrated, but I find the flavor a bit weak as a dipping sauce. The amount of sesame seeds on the noodle mean that the dipping sauce get overwhelmed by the sesame seed pretty quickly. They provide extra water to add to the dipping sauce, but wait until after finishing the noodle or it get too diluted.
I have to say my favorite ramen place in Richmond is still Nanchu

Pretty good experience.
Pros:
1. The soup was very rich and thick
2. The pork was amazing～
3. The chicken was crispy and tasty.
Cons:
1.a little bit crowd (between tables) and many people in line
2. Extra $ 1 for hot tea…

Another new place for ramen in Vancouver.
Ordered all three difference soup based ramen. I have to say, this place really intrigued me. The first thing comes to my mind was how authentic the noodle is. It seems like the noodle is made in house and not bought from out-​side vendor. Unlike most of the new Ramen (with their bought thin soft Ramen noodle), Sanpoutei maintain its originality with the traditional Japanese egg ramen noodle. It is thick and chewy, which tangles in your mouth. The thick noodle also coats well with the oily and flavorful soup or sauce. The soup was well prepared, and with a good amount of sides (eggs, Chashu, seaweed and vegetables).
Every other aspect of the taste is just as you will expect from a Japanese Ramen restaurant, nothing extraordinary but always above average.
The spicy marinated Bamboo shoot was a great surprise, not over-​whelming spicy that you can’t taste any other flavor. The fried chicken was just standard, just try it and probably won’t order it again.
Just like a typical Japanese restaurant, the service was polite yet you can feel that they are rushing you out asap because there is usually a crazy line-​up.
I really hope they maintain their quality until the next time I come back.

I left with heavy fishy smell both on my tongue and breath. It wasn’t too pleasant.
I just came back from Japan, and this meal just made me miss Japan even more.
Maybe because I’m not a fish soup person, but the broth to me was oily, heavy and definitely overrated.
The noodle is tender but not my cup of tea.
We got the shoyu and tsukemen along with tartar karage.
Shoyu…I took a couple of bites and I was done already… I wish they could let you pick the oil level and thickness.
Although the egg and chashu were perfectly cooked, I think the soup killed the goodness instantly.
Tsukemen… It was flavorful but I felt bitterness throughout the dippings.
Overall, I will not be back especially with all the hype and lineups.

I was told that this newly opened ramen place in my area was good, so I went to check what the hype was all about!
First, we had to circle around to find parking. When we finally got inside the place, the seemed to be manager welcomed us and told that it shouldn’t take long. The place was huge and well designed. They have a nice waiting area adjacent to the reception and there was a glass wall where you can see one of their chefs making fresh noodles so we were somehow entertained there for a few minutes.
We got seated within 10 minutes and ordered right away. I got the Niigata shoyu ramen and mini butariki-​don. The ramen was good and the richness of the broth was just right and not too heavy. The butariki-​don was very delicious and probably my favourite over ramen. I wanted to try the agedashi tofu as well but was told that they’re sold out that day. I guess that was my excuse for ordering the mochi ice cream!
I’d say food was 3.75 and I will definitely consider coming back to try other dishes.
Service was 2.75 coz they served me hard rock mochi ice cream so I asked to have them replaced and the server returned and gave me a weird, unapologetic look. I understand that things can go wrong sometimes but at least be pleasant and smile!

3.75
I’m going to jump straight into the food.
The tsukemen (dipping noodles) was spot on. Good portions, tasty soup, chewy noodles — no complaints.
The same can’t be said about their miso ramen. My soup had way too much miso (a bean paste) and not enough soup. So it felt like I was eating my noodles with a thick miso paste. I’ve had my fair share of miso ramen and this was definitely not normal.
They’ve only been open for less than a month so try and get there before they open (5:40ish) to secure a table.
Limited parking is provided. I’m talking 4 – 5 stalls, for a place that seats 30+.
We parked in stall that was reserved for another store (they were closed).

The new ramen place in Richmond to be and be seen. Located in the newly built Kam Do plaza, it’s located in the far corner of the plaza away from No. 3 road. The décor and ambience is probably the best of all ramen places in greater Vancouver. They definitely did not skimp. The entrance and foyer is similar to japanese hotels. I thought this was a great idea. It keeps the frustrated, hungry, increasingly impatient people on the waitlist from staring like vultures on the diners enjoying their ramen and tsukemen. So I don’t have to feel guilty while I slurp down beautiful noodles and take my time drinking the sublime wari soup.
Reservations are available for groups larger than six. Time to gather family and friends for a ramen date. Otherwise, be prepared to wait 20 minutes or more. Unless you are a single person (Hallelujah for Singles Appreciation Day!), and then you have a fighting chance of getting seated quickly in the main square where you will be eating noodles elbow to elbow, albeit in front of a zen like black stone garden and lovely lighting.
Food was ok. Not perfect but very good still. Probably the best tsukemen in Richmond, although I don’t think I would wait 20 minutes for this. Probably just head somewhere else.

The newest addition to the ramen scene in Richmond, Sanpoutei serves up Nigata style ramen. Arriving on the third day of opening, the place was quite full during lunch, but we had a reservation for our large group so we got seats right away.
Located in the brand new Kam Do plaza, there is limited parking. The restaurant space is one of the larger ramen shops I’ve been to. It’s bright and spacious, with an open kitchen. There’s large wood beams and accents throughout the restaurant.
Their menu consists different ramen soup bases– shoyu and miso. I ordered the Maze Soba; this is essentially a dry noodle which comes with a side bowl of chicken soup. There’s 30% more noodles in the Maze soba. The noodles are topped with chopped aburi chashu, ajitama, and negi and nori. I mixed a bit of the concentrated chicken noodle soup with the noodles, ensuring that I also combine the thick mixture from bottom of the bowl. I really enjoyed the flavourful sauce– it was made of a mixture of sardine oil, shoyu and a spicy sauce. The texture of the noodle is less chewy than I normally like, but it was good for picking up the thick broth.
Also, I tried the chicken karaage with the oroshi ponzu. I really liked this, the batter was light, and the oroshi ponzu complemented the chicken well.
Service is good here, with their servers constantly refilling my water and asking how everything was. For a different kind of ramen than the regular pork bone soup ramen, Sanpoutei is worth a try.

Sanpoutei was featured in a Chinese foodie magazine and my mom was excited to try it. Ramen is one of the foods we love to eat together, for some unknown reason.
We got into the restaurant on a weekday afternoon at around 230pm. We idled for 10 minutes in their parking lot, waiting for someone to leave. Sanpoutei is in a new strip mall on #3 Road and is the only establishment currently open for business. The parking is ridiculous (there’s probably only 50 spots available for a complex that has 10 shops) but we understand it’s also Richmond, where car pooling isn’t the norm. I can only imagine the parking issue being even more of a hassle in the coming months.
Anyways, when we got in, the hostess told us last call was at 230pm. We were disappointed and explained the parking situation. She said she would ask the cooks if they could stay open. She came back 5 min later and thank goodness we could be served. In fact, several other groups of people came after us. I told the hostess they should remain open all day, like other ramen shops. She said they are looking into that option.
When we walked in to the dining room, I noticed the place was packed. My mom had heard there has always been a wait (up to an hr) since it opened a few weeks ago and we were glad we didn’t have to wait.
We asked the server what the specialities are. She told us it was the Tsukemen ramen, Niigata Shoyu ramen, and chicken karrage with yuzu pozu sauce. Which of course were all items we had to order.
Tsukemen ramen is cold ramen with a small bowl of concentrated sardine and bonito soup on the side. It also came with a pitcher of dashi broth (in a insulated jug) to dilute the broth. While the Niigata Shoyu ramen is their famous ramen in their Shoyu fish broth with pork and egg.
The ramen noodles were chewy, soft, and delicious! The noodles are made in-​house; in fact we caught a chef pushing the noodles through the machine for cutting (you can see this at the foyer, behind the glass).
The soup base for the Tsukemen was delicious. It was savory and flavourful and full bodied. While the Shoyu soup was just OK. I found the Shoyu to be too salty and lacking the complex flavors that the Tsukemen had.
Each bowl of ramen was about $ 12-​$ 14. I’m not convinced it’s worth the price considering the Tsukemen only had 1 egg on the side of the noodles and broth while the Shoyu only had half an egg, 2 thinly sliced and very fatty pieces of pork, and some seaweed and 2 pieces of spinach.
The chicken karrage dish came with only 4 small pieces of fried chicken covered in pozu sauce (for $ 6). We were quite disappointed and felt this was a ripoff.
The service was inconsistent. Some servers were excellent and very hospitable while other servers served like this was their first restaurant job. I had to ask a couple times to get a refill of hot water and the server brought us pipping hot water in a glass. Then another server apologized to us for offering this in a glass and asked me to point out which server provided the hot water. She then went to talk to her about the incident. The manager came over to ask us if we enjoyed the food and when we left all the servers thanked us and wished us well.
The ambiance is nice. The restaurant is very clean and takes you from Richmond to Japan. But we came to enjoy the food, the ambiance is just a plus.
We agreed we probably won’t be coming back. We didn’t find the food amazing though it was tasty. The price point was too high for what we got.

What is the buzz about this place? It’s authentic Japanese ramen from Niigata.
Will you have to wait 30+ Minutes to get seated? Probably. Especially if you come during peak times. Currently, they are open 10:30am to 10pm. Closed Tuesdays. Their website also says:
Wednesday to Sunday 11:00am t– 3:00pm, 6:00pm — 10:00pm. They may be adjusting their times so call ahead to double check (604) 285‑1226 (reservation available for 6+ people)
Why are the other Unilocal reviews Average/​Low? Seems people hate waiting. Some have complained of the poor service. I experienced a 30 min wait and it was a struggle to find parking but I tried not to let that get in the way of my overall experience. The service was very good considering they are a brand new restaurant and there are a lot of rude monkeys who are starving for a bowl of soup. I expect that it will get better when the hype dies down.
What food should I try? Tsukamen is a great dish to start. Keep in mind that the portions are Japanese size and not American size. You may need to order Karaage or some other A La
Carte dish to feel the food babies kick. If you don’t like a fishy broth, you may want to try something other than their signature Ramen Bowl.
Do they make their own noodles? You bet your sweet shiri they do.
What can I drink there? They have some great Sake from the Niigata area which is hard to find in the metro vancouver area. If you aren’t willing to spend $ 40 for some sake, you can also have Calpis or Ramune. You have to purchase tea as it is not included with the meal.
Why am I still reading this Unilocal review and not eating? Probably because it is Tuesday or you have gone there during a peak period. I suggest you quit your job and go there during a non peak time. Then you have the restaurant all to yourself and you can chat with the nice people who work there.

If you’re willing to wait 20−30min for a good bowl of tsukemen (dry ramen dipped in a brothy dipping sauce), then check this place out.
The noodles were enjoyably chewy, and the sauce was flavorful and clung nicely to the noodles with every bite. Just be warned that it doesn’t come with a slab of chasu; the meat is diced and mixed into the broth. The egg was a bit overcooked (beyond soft boiled). Some also like the novelty of having a small pot of dashi broth to pour into your remaining sauce at the end of the meal. :)
The ponzu chicken karaage was juicy and meaty, but was too soggy for my liking.
I’ll also add that the seating is very comfortable for a ramen joint.

Decided to try this newly open ramen place out. I thought it was just okay. I don’t know if I would wait an hour for this though. I think I still prefer santouka and jinya. I liked the tsukemen because it was different. They make their noodles in house so it was fresh and chewy. However their broth for the miso ramen was a bit too thick in texture for my liking. The chasu was very tender but extremely fatty. The soft boiled egg had no flavours so I wasn’t a bit fan of it. Décor inside is really nice and roomy. I really liked their design. Service was very good. Staff were attentive and friendly. Food overall I would just give it a ³⁄₅. We went around 7 and didn’t get seated until after 8. Anticipate long waits!!! If you have a party if 6 and more they will take reservations.

So now that there is some traction here at Sanpoutei and the reviews are coming in. I’d like to state a few things that come to mind after reading them. Firstly everyone has their own taste and reasons for liking ramen. Each is individual in what they like and think ramen should be.
Today on my fourth visit I brought some specialists in ramen from Japan.
I also brought the «Japanese Food Critique» who is a culinary expert in the ways of Japanese food, it’s history and culture. She can be pretty damn picky.
While waiting in line for over an hour. Everyone was getting hungry. We were reading over the menu and the first thing two of them said was «Niigata? Famous for Ramen… where’s the Gyoza?» «This isn’t a traditional ramen shop. Too big and fancy» «Is this a franchise? Are they really Japanese?»
When we seated, my favourite server came up and said hi and took our orders. (pssst, she’s the cutest one there).
Ordered up The Chicken Kaarage in both Oroshi (grated daikon radish topping, very traditional) and the Tartar sauce topping (popular in many Izakaya style places).
When I asked their opinion, they all said very good. Impressed considering most Kaarage served is NOT Kaarage in Canada. Unfortunately I think many people who are conditioned to eating what they are told is Kaarage think this is too soggy or too saucy. It’s like how modern Japanese foodies in the western world think California rolls and other fancy sushi is real Japanese food. Hey! Don’t be so stupid! What y’all think fortune cookies are real Chinese food too?
My colleague from Japan had Sanpoutei’s specialty ramen made from dried fish. He was surprised at how closely it resembled Tokyo style ramen. And he did concurs that he thinks most people wouldn’t like the soup, as they are used to the modern fatty tonkotsu or chicken broths. Most people who Unilocal about Ramen probably never had original ramen. Many would not like this slightly fishy broth.
However, after asking other Japanese people who tried this soup, they ALL concurred that this broth was indeed a 4 – 5 star rating!
Think about that. Are you a ramen poser?
His wife had the tsukemen which she really enjoyed. Rating? 4 stars.
Unfortunately the Japanese Food Critique did what she does most often and bashed her Maze ramen with a 2 star rating. It didn’t taste good to her. But she did have the Tsukemen before and gave that a high rating.
They had various ratings of the ramen itself.
One said they prefer the Hokkaido (thick) style noodle and she said Sanpoutei’s noodles were not thick enough for her.
The other two liked the noodles and appreciated that they were made fresh.
All agreed that the texture of the noodles were correct.
See Webpage on different types of ramen noodles
My guests all agreed that Sanpoutei should have Japanese fried rice, but this location doesn’t have it. It depends on each location it seems.
This last visit I tried the
Bamboo shoot — ok for the price. Slightly spicy, low glycemic index value, but it has sugar in it.
Agedashi tofu — I have had better. 3 stars
Oden — sadly sold out… Next time.
Retried the following:
Kaarage’s — still highly rated. Hopefully you can appreciate it. 4 – 5 stars.
Fried Shrimp Salad (Ebi fry) large size –gives you three prawns instead of two.
Not as good as before. I had a number of greens that were not fresh (I find that restaurants get lazy using this type of salad greens and 80% never inspect them well enough before plating). The dressing was a bit messy like it was rushed. That went down to a 2 star rating sadly.
I tried a bit of the Maze Soba and something didn’t taste right about it. It was off. It dropped from a 4 or 5 rating down to a 1 star. What happened?
Had a taste of the fish broth soup and definitely agree that it is a great soup!!! I will ask if I can order it without the ramen next time and substitute it with bean sprouts instead. (This will be a Good test of their flexibility for customers with dietary challenges) Unfortunately most of you may not like this broth as much. If you do try it please tell me if you liked it or not.
Especially the Maze ramen. Because now we have a hit and a miss in a big way.
Overall census among the Japanese community that I have spoken to, the Tsukemen and the Fish broth are both hits.
Typos free of charge as I was all thumbs up typing this on the iPhone

Looks good. Had the Tori-​Miso Ramen + extra noodles. I like veggie in my ramen but there were too much imo. Fatty pork was pretty amazing, fat melted in my mouth before I could bite on it. Ramen was in the softer side, flat noodle type, still good. Waitress asked if it’s the first time I was here and offered me less oily for my soup, I said no its fine. Soup was definitely oily but good. Very thick miso. Egg was so so. Would come back and try other menu items. Needa try the sake tasters — $ 29.0

Chashu and chicken soup are ok. But the noodle is too … to be ramen:(If you are really hungry, it might not be a great choice for you. Need to wait around 15min to get your food. And 15−30min to be seated.

Service was good — really friendly and polite staff. I had the Tori Miso Ramen with Aburi Chashu, Japanese Soft Boiled Egg, Vegetables and Minced Chicken. The broth was thick and flavourful. The ramen was nice and firm. The aburi chashu, just melts in your mouth because it was 85% fat. And they made the soft boiled egg just the way it should be, with a creamy yolk. The serving was a good size. Pretty small for a big guy like me because I got hungry a couple of hours later. The chicken kaarage with the ponzu sauce was good. It wasn’t spectacular, or outstanding, but good. With those two dishes, my lunch came to about $ 20. A bit on the pricey side considering where and what it is. With a few good and decent ramen places in Richmond, this place just stood out as the pricier ramen place to me. Good to try at least once. I’ll be back for more if I feel like burning cash.

I find the soup just ok, however I do love their chashu and noodles. Haven’t had the chance to try their chicken karaage, but the couple next to me wanted to order all 3 flavours and it was sold out by 2pm… on a monday… so it must be good. Soup is better at Santouka or Gmen in my opinion (if you like the rich flavours). Fast service. Parking can be a challenge, they have their own strip mall parking lot, but there’s limited spaces. Also, cash only for now, they haven’t received their credit/​debit machine yet. Also a little on the more expensive side, my Shoyu Ramen with full toppings came to $ 14.50 plus tax, and it’s not even a HUGE portion (decent portion though). So yes, basically I paid almost $ 17 for a bowl of ramen.

The portion is a little small for the price. Shoyu broth is OK, chasu is good.
But the Tsukemen is super delicious. The dipping sauce tastes so luxurious. You don’t get any meat, but 30% more noodles. Use the extra with your other bowl if noodles :)
I didn’t find the chicken karage that special, but it was good. Again, a bit pricey for the portion.
I love how they thoughtfully provided a little bowl, baby spoon and scissors to cut up food for our 1 year old. So cute, so Japanese! Although a lot of the staff are Chinese.
On Day 3 of operations, they had a line out the door. It’s good, but not worth waiting for. Hopefully the hype dies down. I doubt it though.
In other news, this place is located in the Kam Do plaza, just north of Parker place. You can actually drive through from Hazelbridge and avoid the hell that is No. 3. Kam Do has its own plaza now! You go, girl! Sell those loh poh bengs!

Hands down the most authentic and delicious ramen in the city. Great ambiance and very nice décor.
The texture of the noodles was superb. You can really tell that a lot of care and attention went into it. The broth was a nuanced, deep, and flavourful. Definitely worth a visit!

With all the hype decided to check out the newly opened Sanpoutei Ramen in Richmond. It was a little hard to find as its in one of the strip malls off to the side of No. 3 but luckily we were able to spot all the floral arrangements for prosperity and good fortune outside the storefront. My friend and I ordered the deep fried chicken with tartar sauce to start. Chicken was moist and tasty although we noticed some liquid pooling at the bottom of the bowl which was kind of unappetizing.
Now for the main event the RAMEN! My friend went with the classic Niigata Shoyu Ramen, while I ordered the rich Tori x Miso Ramen to mix it up a bit.
The noodles are hand made in house which always bumps them up a notch in my books especially with many Vancouver ramen places using pre packaged noodles. The noodles were a bit thicker and curlier than typical Vancouver shops but were a nice change and had a good bite to them.
The pork. The oh so fatty and juicy melt in your mouth pork was to die for! We each got two pieces with the standard order but you’re able to modify or add on more as with most ramen places.
My friend’s Shoyu broth was pretty clean and tasty. My Tori x Miso broth definitely had more flavour but also had a mix of vegetables in it (sui choi, red peppers) opposed to the standard ramen toppings. I feel like there was a bit too much going on in mine and the flavours got kind of muddled.
I would definately come back here for the hand made noodles and the melt in your mouth pork and try out some of the different broths next time!