Foodie Finds | Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

いただけます !

(Itadakemasu)

When it's my partners day off from work he goes the extra mile of picking me up from work, spending quality time, and maybe grab some good grub. After a long day of answering support emails, I was ready for some good food. 

My office building is part of a commercial complex where the original mall can still be found. At 2pm a lot of places were still pretty full with the last minute lunch crowd *cough-cilantro-cough*. My throat hasn't been feeling well for the past 2 weeks and I wanted soup, so we gravitated towards the Ramen place.

LOCATION

Alabang Town Center

Corte de Las Palmas, AlabangTown Center, 

Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Tel. No.02 8015631

I realized we have tried Santouka before. There is a branch of this Ramen place in Mall of Asia. I didn't write a review because it was from a few years ago and I didn't have an active blog back then. So this is a fresh take on this restaurant.

THE MENU

I really wanted spicy broth, so the obvious choice was Ramen. Mind you I do not like Miso based soups. I always avoid it with Ramens and Shabu-Shabu broth. This time I found a Miso soup that is spicy enough that I liked it. Me and my partner both ordered from the Santouka Set Meals which included a small Ramen, pork cultlets , small salad and dessert, and a cup of tea (Php 570/$11.40). 

Santouka Set Menu

Not in the regular menu are their Takoyaki's. We ordered this one that had cheese on it. I don't remember the exact price but I think it was around Php160/$3.20 per plate with 5 bite sized pieces.

Takoyaki

The "small" bowl of Ramen was not small at all. It was more than enough to satisfy my Ramen craving. And I loved that it was spiced the way I liked it. I mentioned at the beginning of this post that I do not like any Miso based soup but they actually no lobger had any other spicy Ramen that was not Miso based. I'm not sure if it just wasn't available that time or they made a new menu in that branch and they didn't include the other spicy ones. I blame it on my lack of sleep. Haha.

Kara-Miso Ramen

I was not impressed with the noddles they used on this Ramen. I don't remember this from the previous time we ate at a branch of Santouka but this isn't what I expected. It looked like regular instant noddles. Good thing the soup was spicy. I'm guessing this wouldn't have any discernable flavor whatsoever. Not like the Ramen noodles I've tried in other restaurants.

The Pork Cutlets or Katsu was a good size with an crispy outer layer. Surprisingly the pork inside was not dry and it was just perfect for the Ramen and the Japanese rice that came with the set. 

THE VERDICT

I was hungry, so I didn't bother setting any expectations with the food. I would eat a horse by that point and the only thing I don't really like with any Japanese cuisine is Wasabi. I hate the taste of Wasabi (yuck).

Anyway.  I know for a fact that we did our money's worth with the food alone. The set meals were good enough for at least 2 people who are not as hungry (or as food greedy) as me. The Ramen was average at best. It's only saving grace was the spicy miso soup. I also didn't like the pork Chashu in this specific dish. It had a funny taste. The side salads were all cabbage (with a little dressing and stuff), and the dessert tasted like it came out of a can. The tea was a surprise though. I had it last and it was already a little cooler but not room temp yet and it was so refreshing. So different from the other tea's that are usually served at either Japanese or Chinese restaurants.

I am not 100% disappointed nor am I completely satisfied as well. This was just an ends to my hunger.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐