Benkei Ramen

On my trip earlier this year to Vancouver, my friends and I were pretty much gorging wherever we went. One particular night, we were out on Robson St. and it was chilly. Needing warmth via environment and in our bellies, we waited around until Benkei Ramen opened. We were the first in the door once their hours started and were pleased to see their quaint décor. I enjoyed the simplistic but still stylized look and hey, who doesn’t love stepping inside a warm ramen house to the smells of deliciousness?
They have different combinations available in addition to single entrees. Perhaps it was the need for warmth that made me go for a combo (more food than I would normally eat) but whatever the case, i was glad to have done so. My order was of their Shio Ramen (bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onion, and chashu) combo set with Shrimp Gyoza. Their pork based soup infused with a mixture of sea salt and kelp was pleasant enough though lacking a bit of the richness I hope for in my ramen. I was grateful, though, that they also lacked the oversaltiness that some places have in their broth. My chashu was nice and tender with plenty of fattiness on the side to sate the carnivore in me. Now, I’ve never had shrimp gyoza before and perhaps there is a reason for that. It doesn’t seem all too common and ultimately, I would have preferred the traditional pork version. This one was pan-​fried just right but the insides a tad bland.
One of my friends got the Spicy Akaoni (green onion, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, special toasted garlic oil, roasted sesame) which normally comes with pan fried minced pork but not this time as she doesn’t eat pork. Its broth was a spicy-​miso base that I tasted; to my delight, it was not overwhelmingly spicy and had a nice flavor zip to it. Again, however, the broth was not very rich.
My other friend got a combo set as well of their Curry Ramen (grilled chicken, spinach, corn, and carrots) with Beef Curry Rice because he sure as heck was craving curry! The curry flavors were fantastic but again, the broth was more on the watery side than the thick, rich side. The rice was cooked to the right amount of stickiness to pair with the sweet beef curry (more Japanese style after all). Overall, an enjoyable meal that satisfied our ramen-​craving stomachs. Give them a shot if you need a solid environment to warm up in.

If santouka and kintaro is «wow», bekei is «meh»
Not bad, but not exactly the best ever, the price is good and it’s fast, but nothing more.

They have a good variety of soups and toppings, the staff is friendly, the environment is nice and casual, and the price is reasonable. Can’t really ask more. My go to choice is the miso with extra chashu, kimchee, bean sprouts, egg, and chili oil. The gyoza is always a nice compliment as well.
Sadly, I still haven’t found a ramen place in the Pacific NW that can compare to Benkei. Makes me want to move back to YVR.

Soup is not hot, soup base is not rich enough (could have been better)
Price was reasonable. Staffs are friendly.
Environment is casual.
It’s a good restaurant for quick lunch.

Good portions of good ramen. Run by japanese owners, they sure do know how to make good Ramen =)
This spot is right by the Stanely park. So stop by and slurp on some noodles. =)

Want to know where parents take their newborns and toddlers to eat in downtown Vancouver in the morning? Well, why not a noodle Ramen bar? It works and the restaurant knows it. They have all the right kid’s utensils and plate settings for them.
Before sitting down, I noticed half a dozen parents with babies munching away their tasty noodles. Don’t worry, the coolness doesn’t go away just because rattles, diaper bags and strollers are around. The cool youngsters and hungover clubbers still go needing that good morning meal. They aren’t so disruptive to the scene because they’re still waking up from the night before.
I like their side dish selections of vegetables and meats. Their small proportions work for kids but probably not so much for older people. I would like to see a small or large option.

One of my favorite spots downtown during a cold winter night and stop by a small Japanese shop for a bowl of delicious ramen.
I came here a long time ago when this establishment just opened, a month after Kintaro. I recently came here again to visit the nostalgia and the true essence of Japanese ramen in a bowl. I love this place as it is directly on Robson and it has special options for combos and additions into the ramen.
I love the décor here as they spent a lot of time on it. The wood stools, and the authenticity of a «side kart» like décor into a store is very modern in Japan, especially. The wood plated walls are amazing, and the old traditional patio they try to emulate the style of shinto/​zen décor. The chef’s kitchen is always open, like all Japanese bars, to create a sense of comfort and home to the restaurant.
I enjoy their shoyu ramen and the pork soup base is very flavorful. Yes, I did drink the whole bowl. It was too delicious not to. :3 and the cha siu had perfect cuts of getting some fatty parts in it too, but i took those out. Only negativity about this place is that when it gets busy, it will be packed and there will be long lines.
But for sure, this is one of my favourite spots in downtown I would head to for ramen. Yummy! :3

Doh! They have a one year expiry on their loyalty card!
I tried their beef curry on rice yesterday, nice addition to the menu. A little spicy, thick creamy brown curry with nice chunks of beef brisket. The best thing about it is the rice — I’m not sure what kind of rice they use, but it’s got a similar texture to sushi rice but not gluey at all. For $ 8, it’s worth a try.
Also had the miso ramen, I think their cha shu has gone a bit downhill — or maybe it’s just in comparison to Santouka’s superior cha shu. Will be sticking to the shoyu broth.
Another menu item added that I didn’t get a chance to try was their chicken clear broth soup (forgot the name of it) but I was sad to see they no longer offer the buttery creamy corn chicken ramen.
It’s still nice to know that I can get a quick filling meal here.

when we got here it was not crowded at all. we ordered spicy ramen, miso ramen, achashu plate, curry ramen, chashu rice and gyoza. It was very friendly. When it started getting busier, there was this empress dowager type that kept walking over by our table to see how much longer we would be.
overall, the food was good. just don’t linger!

Ramen places are popping out all over. You gotta stay on your A Game to win in the noodle race.
I rate Benkei one of the lowest compared to other neighbouring ramen joints such as Kintaro or Santouka.
Soup is leaning towards the bland, and the noodles itself is too eggy/​waxy. Maybe its trying too hard since it feels pressured by the compitition :(
Place is cute, with modern japanese touches. Price is more reasonable than the others. but sometimes you are willing to pay that extra dollar or three. to have that OH SO SATISFYING YUMMY BOWL OF RAMEN!
When going to Benkei. I now order the Beef Curry. Which suprisingly tastes even better the day after *if you have left overs*
Perk: You get a stamp card when going to Benkei! 10 gets you 1 free!

There’s a reason why Benkei locations are popping up all over town. With the increase in locations there is a noticeable decrease of traffic at the Robson location, but as a customer this is not a bad thing at all.
They have a customer loyalty program. Buy 10 ramens within a year, get 1 free. Yay!
The pricing is decent, and their noodles are fresh and good.
But what does it for me? The soup. Not sure what kind of crack they put into it, but I’ve tried 4 of their 5 flavours and each one is freaking good. Add a few spoonfuls of fresh garlic (they give each table a jar) and you’ll be dreaming of this stuff.
I like how you can customize your options, and at 50c an option, it’s pretty reasonable. Examples include green onions, a hard-​boiled egg, corn, or bamboo.
The gyoza is fresh and searing hot.
My only gripe is that the entranceway is way too small for 2-​way traffic, but maybe they did it on purpose. I also like how they let you collect all your friend’s «frequent diner» stickers. Some places are really anal, but this one wasn’t.
The other ramen places within a stone’s throw of this location (Kintaro, Machimaro, and Santouken) are also great, but I always find myself gravitating to this one for some reason.

I crave ramen. Any ramen. I relish the Saturday mornings that I am home alone and came make ichiban with a lightly poached egg. Ahhh…
So D and I came here and made our male companion sit on the hard stool… had I known, I would have switched with him… and then we made him sit there for so much longer whilst laughing and talking… so sorry. Whoops. Besides one table, on a Tuesday, this place was almost empty. I have never seen this place so empty… but then again, I don’t stare into the windows every time I walk/​drive by.
I am swayed by advertising. I ordered the Peko because of the two big posters I saw and I added an egg. For $.50 I added half a hard-​boiled egg. I stabbed around and used my ladel spoon. Nope, just half an egg. It was salty, creamy, yummy… I ate all the noodles. I wish I had added more noodles. Normally I want to add more meat, but I guess I am okay with just the two slices of pork.
We shared to gyoza. I thought they were okay. I liked that they were more meaty than cabbage-​y. I love their garlic and spicy bean sauce. Ahhh, but if you add too much spicy bean, it gets a little too salty.
Everyone is so nice here…

[sigh] I seriously don’t understand the appeal of ramen. Everytime I walk out of a ramen joint, I just feel like I got ripped off and I should have just went for phở or Chinese noodle soup instead — which is god tier compared to the second-​class tier that ramen occupies in my rankings. I’m convinced part of the ramen appeal is the fact that it’s Japanese — which still retains an air of sophistication whereas Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine is often seen as lower class. [shrug]
Anyways, I like Benkei more than Kintaro for the simple fact there’s no ridiculous line-​up or you’re literally rubbing elbows with other diners like brutish savages. Benkei has some bench couches and hard wooden stools. I guess they are going for that Japanese-​y décor, but come on. Maybe it’s just chivalry and gender roles, but if a gentleman and a lady come here to dine — guess who’s ass is going to wind up on the uncomfortable stool? In the words of Charles Montgomery Burns, «Oh, yes, sitting — the great leveler. From the mighiest pharoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good sit?»
Maybe it’s the fact I have a insufficiently padded, pancake-​like Hank Hill ass (despite my girth) — but I demand better seating! Come on, Benkei — get some decent chairs… or at least make all the chairs equally uncomfortable in the interest of gender equality. As much I would like to, it would be unacceptable for me to get some Nicki Minaj style butt implants.
They told me they ran out of their special curry beef rice. I grudingly ordered the curry ramen for ~$ 8 as a consolation prize. I guess it’s a plus if you want to customize to your liking — but these extras always feel like a cash grab. Service is very Japanese and they will tend to you hand and foot.
The pork gyoza had a good level of char to it. I wasn’t so impressed with the curry ramen — the broth was passable but seemed to lack flavour. I like GMen’s curry ramen more and I really can’t tell the difference between Benkei and Kintaro.
Take it from me – the guy that knows dick-​all about ramen! (thumbs up)

Background: The ramen revolution hit Vancouver around 5 years ago with the rising popularity of a couple places on Denman. Now everybody and their mother wants a piece of the handmade ramen market… whose cuisine shall reign supreme?
Food: The thing I like about this place is that they always change things up… they’re not one-​trick ponies. Try the ramen in the butter + milk sauce. Or try their Japanese-​style curry ramen. Dayum. The usual shio, miso, and veggie ramen are just so-​so… as for the actual noodles, to be honest they lack the firm core bite of an al dente noodle. I’m still partial to the Kintaro texture. The pork is meh. And for goodness sake DON’T order the fried rice! It’s a horrible waste of rice. Shrimp and pork gyoza could be slightly crispier but otherwise are spot on.
Ambiance: Lovely and uncramped quarters compared to its brethren.
Service: Usual attentive Japanese servers.
Pricepoint: $ 10 after tax for a o
Overall: I like this place because of its variety of soup bases and attractive ambiance. However if you only care about the noodles, I can think of a couple places that do it better.

What do I know about ramen? Not much.
I grew up eating packaged, instant ramen. Blame my mom. Once I got to college, I was out of control. I was really into this creamy chicken flavored ramen, which probably bears zero similarity to Japanese style ramen.
What I do know is this: I liked Benkei’s ramen. I ordered the shoyu because it looked the tastiest, and hey, it was super tasty. The broth was light and flavorful, and the pieces of pork in the soup were tender and wonderful.
Overall, I’d have to say my first Japanese ramen experience was a success!

Before I begin I just want to say: I didn’t know about Kintaro until after my trip. So if you know what I’m talking about, please don’t get on my case. And if you don’t, please just ignore this spheel. =D
Benkei is ramen chain located in Vancouver. This Robson location is clean and modern. And the servers are extremely friendly.
Akaoni Ramen (
): Minced pork in spicy miso broth. Reminded me of Ramen Dojo except this Akaoni was way spicy! In a good way of course. Even with my eyes tearing, nose dripping, I couldn’t stop eating until I was done. So yum!
Shoyu (
): The traditional ramen with soy sauce broth. I usually stay away from this broth due to previous bad experiences. But the one here was spot on. Just the right amount of saltiness to add flavor but not overwhelm the noodles.
Peko Ramen (
): An inventive bowl of ramen with its broth made with coconut milk. The broth is light compared to the other ones but still flavorful. And instead of pork, chicken is served. The chicken was cooked in an interesting way so the resulting texture is very similar to pork slices. It had a tenderness that just melts.
Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t know about Kintaro (the supposedly best ramen place around). Benkei is already better than many places I’ve tried in the Bay Area. It’ll only be torturous if I had even better ramen and be so far from it!

Came here on a late Wednesday night after finding out that Motomachi is closed on Wednesdays.
There was a bit of a wait, a line up, in fact. When I looked in, there were actually quite a bit of empty tables, so why weren’t they seating anyone? When it got to our turn, we saw an empty table right in front of us, but we weren’t seated. Instead, we were kept waiting for another 5 minutes before the girl came back and then sat us down at that empty table.
We were given water right away, and then told that my favourite ramen here-​the Shiro ramen is sold out. Its a creamy tonkotsu with pan-​fried chicken, spinach, butter, herbs, corn, garlic and milk. Think a light creamy soup like cream of corn. I opted for the Miso Ramen instead-​which was a combo of a chicken broth and tonkotsu soup base. Also got an order of shrimp gyozas.
Gyozas were a little burnt, and the skin was a bit dry. Probably not the best gyozas I’ve had. The ramen came soon after. This came with bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onion and cha siu.
Soup was not too heavy, not too salty. It was alright. Noodles were nice and chewy. Two pieces of the cha siu wasn’t too fatty. Wish I had added more of the ‘extra’ stuff-​eggs, spinach, corn…
Overall, I like the atmosphere of this place-​authentic looking, with hints of bamboo accents. Service is good-​they kept on refilling my water, and made sure that everything was ok. A good late night dinner indeed!

Benkei is delicious, but it’s only after Motomachi’s and Kintaro for me. Still, I’d be lucky to have Benkei here in Seattle. I love that they have a punchcard to reward their frequent customers. Also, the prices here are even cheaper, and you get a lot of ramen for what you pay for. Their service is quick and you never have to wait long, so I come here when I don’t want to wait at Kintaro or Motomachi’s. I love all of their different ramen flavors at Benkei!

A nippy-​cold, grey Vancouver’s winter day calls for some tasty, hot broth with something slurpily tasty to fill an empty stomach. As Kintaro is not open on Mondays, so I took the chance to try out the «other» ramen place near the corner of Denman and Robson.
Aesthetic-​wise, the little noodle shop is definitely looked visually more well-​designed than Kintaro. Unlike its competitor around the corner, this little noodle shop did not have a line-​up, but the shop was pretty much full of seated customers.
Portions were definitely not as much of a bargain as Kintaro for the same price. But still, it filled myself and my lunch partner up. Not a lot of variety in ramen, just your typical choices (i.e. miso broth, creamy broth — with butter… etc.). I ordered the Shio ramen with the Tonkostu, and this is what I have to say about it (warning: for those people who squeal at the teeniest bit of lard — just stop reading):
The Tonkostu broth was AMAZING! It is exactly what the pork bone broth should taste like! Not very salty, and you can definitely taste the pork bone. I would know if it’s genuine; It’s like the Chinese soup that my mom use to make, which was absolutely delicious!
One downside (the make or break decision factor of differentiating it between a 3-​star and a 4-​star): There were TONNES of pork fat turds of all different sizes floating around my broth and between my noodles. And if I left my soup just sitting there for a few minutes, it would form an oily film on the top.
The slices of pork was on the thin and slightly more fatty side, with only 2 slices served in my bowl. Remember, I am the person that orders the no-​nonsense, completely lean pork at Kintaro. But I find the amount of fat on the pork OK, not ridiculously fat.
There are sides/​extras you can add onto your for $ 1 or less (such as extra noodles, nori, corn and pork). But for that price and a relatively smaller portion, I was hesitant to jump on adding more to my bowl.
Conclusion:
IF Kintaro is closed or the line up is ridiculously when I absolutely need my ramen fill of the day, I would come here for a bowl of ramen.
And,
IF they would use my fat separator for soups container for my pork bone broth so that I would just have the pure, sans fatty turds broth for my ramen, I would happily clear my bowl completely.

Meh, is all I can say.
Great service, you get your order fast, and it fills the stomach. It’s not some of the best tasting soup, but after I bombarded it with garlic and chili paste, it was delicious enough to satisfy.