1/15/2014 UPDATE:
KATSU SORA’s Premium Iberico Tonkatsu x RAMEN SANTOUKA’s Shin-Aji Motsu Ramen!
RAMEN SANTOUKA is one of the best ramen franchises originating from Hokkaido, north of Japan. It is named after a famous poet’s pen name — Santōka Taneda — and is the latest restaurant to join the Ramen Craze in Manila.
For their soft opening, they are serving variants of their original ramen and a few side dishes.
Here’s what to expect and what to order in Ramen Santouka:
The BEST RAMEN in Manila Series 2013:
- RAMEN NAGI: BUTAO Gourmet Ramen now in Manila! @SMAuraPremier
- RAMEN DAISHO UKKOKEI: Hakata Tonkatsu Ramen and Yakibuta Chahan!
- TAMPOPO たんぽぽ: Deluxe Black Pig Shabu Ramen and Top Grade Black Pig Tonkatsu!
- IKKORYU FUKUOKA RAMEN Philippines’ Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen!
- RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES: Legendary Hokkaido Ramen now in Manila!
- RAMEN YUSHOKEN: Guide to the Best Ramen House in the South!
- MITSUYADO SEI-MEN’s Double Cheese Sauce Tsukemen!
- NOMAMA (2x) But You
- UCC’s Tan Tan Mian Tonkotsu Ramen!
- GENYA Tonkotsu Ramen
- RAMEN BAR – One of the Best Authentic Japanese Ramen Places in Manila?
- TAMAGOYA! Ramen
- UKOKKEI RAMEN RON – One of the Best Shoyu Ramen in Manila!
The Best Restos of New Glorietta in Makati:
- GINZA BAIRIN: Authentic Tokyo Katsu Since 1927 now in Manila!
- CUPCAKES BY SONJA: The Secret of Success, and the Future of Cupcakes in Manila!
- RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES: Legendary Hokkaido Ramen now in Manila!
- WEE NAM KEE: Hainanese Chicken Rice now uses WNK Singapore’s Yellow Chicken!
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka opened strong to a full house composed of Japanese nationals and local foodies looking for the next best thing in Ramen.
The place is a bit small and cramped, but it does have two function rooms for big groups.
SANTOUKA SOFT OPENING MENU: Original Ramen | Side Dish
HOKKAIDO RAMEN SANTOUKA FULL MENU: Original Ramen | Specialty Ramen | Awase-Aji Ramen | Shin-Aji Motsu Ramen | Santouka Chicken Ramen | Santouka Spicy Miso Soup, Hiyashi Chuka with Tokusen Toroniku | Ikameshi Set | Rice Bowl | Santouka Set Menu 1 | Santouka Set Menu 2 | Curry and Rice | Salad and Pao | Side Dish | Side Dish 2 | Side Dish 3 | Topping for Ramen | Desserts | Drink | Ramen Santouka World Map
★ TOKUSEN TORONIKU (P250 +10% service charge). Premium Pork Cheek.
The roasted pork cheeks have a very delicate, all-meat texture. Quite soft and tasty, it’s supposed to be a precious part because each pig only comes with 200-300g of pork cheeks — better than the pork belly.
(For the best experience, ask if the Kurobuta version of the Tokusen Toroniku is already available!)
CHAR SIU (P200 +10% service charge). Pork Belly.
Compared to the Toroniku, the Char Siu is nothing to write home about. Also, it is not that enticing because of the thick layer of fat (unless you’re a fan of that 🙂 ).
The ramen only comes in small and medium sizes. The small size is a bit bitin and is suggested for kids.
THE PERFECT TEMPERATURE FOR DELICIOUS SOUP
“To achieve our mild, pearl-colored Tonkotsu soup, we take the time to simmer the pork bones before adding vegetables, dried fish, kelp and other special ingredients. We cherish the exceptional taste and flavor of our special soup, ensuring that it is never boiled. We purposefully maintain the soup at its optimal temperature, to be best enjoyed by everyone.“
One of the things we love about Santouka is the yummy flavor of the soup, which is delicately handled like premium teas. As mentioned above, they make sure they don’t boil it to achieve its optimum taste.
★ SHIO RAMEN (Small – P280 +10% service charge). Salt Flavor.
For us, the SHIO RAMEN is the best — they use only salt to flavor it. It’s very milky and it’s the soup base of all their ramen. Best eaten upon serving, the soup is not too hot and is full of flavor.
This is the only ramen that comes with Santouka’s signature topping of Pickled Plum, which has a sour taste and a light, crunchy texture.
SHOYU RAMEN (Medium – P320 +10% service charge). Soy Sauce Flavor.
For some reason, the Shoyu version pales in comparison to the Shio Ramen.
★ KARA-MISO RAMEN (Medium – P340 +10% service charge). Spicy Soybean Paste Flavor.
I love Spicy Ramen, and this is one of the best I’ve tasted so far. They really know how to spice up this dish (since the ramen is designed for the cold northern region of Japan), but it’s still yummy in taste. 🙂
The only thing about Santouka ramen is they use medium-size yellow noodles that resemble the typical noodles you see in ready-to-eat ramen packs.
But the noodles are imported from Japan, and Santouka chose it for its good flavor and aroma that match the soup very well.
They serve the Japanese Mochi Cream for dessert. The best flavors for us are:
- Raspberry Mille Feuille because of the little crunchy bits and good raspberry taste, and
- Apple Pie because it’s really like eating an apple pie but in mochi form.
Related Blog Post: JAPANESE MOCHI CREAM: Authentic Japanese Mochi Now in Manila!
RAMEN SANTOUKA FULL MENU: The Birth of a Legend | The Santouka Soup | Rice Bowl |Curry and Rice | Rice Bowl Set | Salad | Side Dish 1 | Side Dish 2 | Side Dish 3 | Topping for Ramen |Dessert | Drink | Ramen Santouka World Map
I’m actually more excited about their full menu line-up serving their signature heavenly ramen —
Kurobuta Tokusen Toriniku Ramen!
We like the Shio soup and Kara-Miso Spicy Ramen. But it’s the Tokusen Toroniku that we love. Made from the delicate pork cheeks, the meat is even better than pork belly! 🙂 Budget P400/head.
We can’t wait for their full menu and for the Kurobuta versions to be available!
RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES
The legendary ramen brand that offers the same family recipe since 1988, enjoyed throughout Japan and in other international cities such as Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, USA, Canada and now in the Philippines!
Address: G4-132 Ground Floor, Glorietta Mall, Ayala Center Makati
(Near Outback, beside Mercury Drug in front of SM Makati)
Telephone: +632 728-1381
Facebook: Ramen Santouka Philippines
Website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/
Operating Hours: Open Daily, 11.00am to 11.00pm
Related Blog Posts:
Tales from the Tummy | Ramen Santouka opens in Makati, Philippines
Jin Loves to Eat | Ramen Santouka ♥ ♥ ♥
The BEST RAMEN in Manila Series 2013:
- RAMEN NAGI: BUTAO Gourmet Ramen now in Manila! @SMAuraPremier
- RAMEN DAISHO UKKOKEI: Hakata Tonkatsu Ramen and Yakibuta Chahan!
- TAMPOPO たんぽぽ: Deluxe Black Pig Shabu Ramen and Top Grade Black Pig Tonkatsu!
- IKKORYU FUKUOKA RAMEN Philippines’ Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen!
- RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES: Legendary Hokkaido Ramen now in Manila!
- RAMEN YUSHOKEN: Guide to the Best Ramen House in the South!
- MITSUYADO SEI-MEN’s Double Cheese Sauce Tsukemen!
- NOMAMA (2x) But You
- UCC’s Tan Tan Mian Tonkotsu Ramen!
- GENYA Tonkotsu Ramen
- RAMEN BAR – One of the Best Authentic Japanese Ramen Places in Manila?
- TAMAGOYA! Ramen
- UKOKKEI RAMEN RON – One of the Best Shoyu Ramen in Manila!
The Best Restos of New Glorietta in Makati:
- GINZA BAIRIN: Authentic Tokyo Katsu Since 1927 now in Manila!
- CUPCAKES BY SONJA: The Secret of Success, and the Future of Cupcakes in Manila!
- RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES: Legendary Hokkaido Ramen now in Manila!
- WEE NAM KEE: Hainanese Chicken Rice now uses WNK Singapore’s Yellow Chicken!
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Full Disclosure: Our meal was courtesy of our friend Garry, who belongs to the family that owns the Santouka franchise in Manila.
I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. We only blog about our awesome food and travel experiences. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t accept compensation from food and travel places we feature in the blog.
P.S. The lines can get long, so better go in for early lunch (11am) or early dinner time.
any vegetarian options….
Hi Andre, unfortunately there's none in their soft opening menu 🙁 In the full menu line-up, they have salad options.
Anton
Gotta try this asap! And I’m glad it’s located inside a mall too. Really convenient! I’m a little concerned about the serving size though. It seems a little small? Or does it just seems like so on the photos?
Yes it is a bit small.
Live an Awesome Life,
Anton Diaz
Founder and Digital Publisher
http://www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
ang Tamagoya Ramen ay hindi po nasa Metro Manila. Nasa Antipolo po ito
not good. taste pale in comparison with the original. even my japanese boss did not like the ramen.
Probably one of the worst together with Mitsuyado among the Ramen shops to open. Really disappointing quality. I think the problem here is that these owners are people who bring in a chain just for the business without really understanding what real Ramen is all about.
Probably one of the worst together with Mitsuyado among the Ramen shops to open. Really disappointing quality. I think the problem here is that these owners are people who bring in a chain just for the business without really understanding what real Ramen is all about.
Ate there last Saturday. Arrived at 1pm and there was still a line. They already have large bowl servings.
My husband had the Miso-based and it had no taste at all, he had to ask for salt. I had the shio salt-based and it was ok. I have tasted better
a few friends and i wanted to have a sort of reunion, and we decided to hold it at santouka, since we’d heard such great things about the food. indeed, the food did not disappoint: we sampled a few of their bestselling ramen dishes and side dishes, as well as their shot desserts sampler, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
however, we were having a reunion, and therefore we had to wait for some members of our company who were arriving late. as a result, we had to stay a few hours at what we felt was our reasonably small table. we were in fact worried that we were going to be asked to leave, as it was the weekend and at times, lines of hopeful patrons formed outside the door. we were fully prepared to leave if we were politely asked to do so, but until then, we hoped we could wait until our other friends could get there and enjoy the excellent food along with us.
suddenly, as we were having dessert and contemplating ordering more, we were handed the bill. the server (didn’t get her name) just dropped the bill at our table mumbling something unintelligibly, and strode off. we found it very rude. we hadn’t even asked for the bill yet, WE HADN’T EVEN FINISHED EATING YET, but it was handed to us unceremoniously.
it didn’t help that we were dressed casually; it made us feel as if the servers felt we couldn’t pay, so they wanted us out of there as soon as possible.
another theory was that they just wanted us out of there because we had already stayed 2 hours. so,we called a server over and asked why we were served the bill even if we weren’t done eating, and also if they had a policy against overstaying. she was quite contrite as she told us, quite clearly, that they did not have such a policy, and she was very sorry we had to be served the bill even when we hadn’t asked for it.
we were still expected to pay the bill at the counter in spite of this discourtesy. since it was restaurant policy, we did it, but we made it a point to talk to another server and get more answers. this other server told us, also quite clearly, that it was their policy to serve the bill “as soon as the patron was done eating.”
we had been prepared to just leave and put the whole sorry incident behind us, but she just had to go and say that.
in retrospect, we really should’ve asked to speak to the manager instead of the servers, but we were too angry and insulted by that time. instead of making a scene, we just left, without leaving a tip. we felt bad about it, because the food was really good and we were looking forward to leaving favorable reviews for the place, and to helping spread the word about it. but with the treatment we got from the staff, i feel generous even giving this place 2 stars, JUST for the quality of the food.
Similar bad experience with this restaurant. Food was terrible and service even worse. We were being asked to leave as they said it was “time up”. Even if their good was good, this is not acceptable. Now im having a difficult time choosing which among Santouka or Mitsuyado has the worse food. At Mitsuyado, 3 out of 4 of us in the table wanted to puke the cheese ramen out.