Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

One of my favorite things about visiting Northern California is the endless and excellent selection of Asian cuisines in the area. On this particular trip my goal was to find a good bowl of ramen, which I cannot currently get where I live. After seeing the reviews for Santouka on Zomato, I decided to take a long lunch break and drive to the Mitsuwa Marketplace, where the shop is located just inside the supermarket. I tried to time my lunch a little later to avoid the crowd, however, there was still a giant line of people waiting to order food -- An obvious good sign, and a delay I was willing to endure for a quality lunch. There were a number of ramen choices, including the 'staple' Shio Ramen, which features a white tonkotsu broth; Shoyu Ramen made with aged soy sauce, and a regular and spicy variations of Miso ramen. There are also a number of really good looking bowls of rice topped with various ingredients that one can order on the side. While I typically go for stronger, more savory choices like the Spicy Miso, I decided to go with the house specialty and order the Shio Ramen, which is topped with roast pork, mushrooms, fish cake and pickled plum. I went with the combination meal, which comes with a side bowl of rice -- I selected the one topped with salmon meat and a generous heap of salmon roe. The combo also came with a marinated soft boiled egg on the side. If you are not a soda drinker, Santouka provides free plastic cups to fill with ice water, which I thought was a nice touch. I am so glad that I chose the Shio Ramen because it was absolutely delicious. The broth was simple, but creamy and packed with flavor. The roast pork was tender and delicious, and the other toppings complimented the soup perfectly. I love salmon roe, so the rice bowl, packed with plenty of it, was a great accompaniment to the meal. My only complaint is that Santouka is located 2,885 miles from home. Granted, it is not their fault -- But I am bitter because of it. If you find yourself in the San Jose area, be sure to stop in and give Santouka a try.

Somehow the fact that the legendary Santouka Ramen had opened up a branch in the Mitsuwa Marketplace had escaped my attention, but it was clear from the lines that the word is out and the other ramen shop in the food court has some serious competition. If

I have never heard anyone say they dislike the ramen here, which is shocking for a grocery store food court! There's almost always a line here, so the hype is definitely real. There's combo deals here, so I went for the B Combo (Miso Ramen & Salmon Ikura Rice Bowl). For about $22, it's a decent price. I wasn't a fan of the hard boiled egg... but the ramen itself was pretty tasty. Not too salty, very rich, and the noodles were cooked well. They gave me one piece of pork (for a small-sized bowl) and it was pretty good. Not overly fatty and seasoned well. Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here. However... all things considered, the meal was really good for food court food! Better than expected.

This is inside the food court of the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery store. There is display of the food items with number and that makes ordering straight forward. My wife and I ordered two different ramen. Both ramen came with very flavorful soup base and tasty chashu. We liked both ramen.

Been craving their Ramen and it was a perfect treat after my hike. Got me the pork based soup, medium for $15.95, Cha Shio with extra egg ($3 add'l). The meal was total $20.73. I can't remember what i got last time but i know i try each different soup base and they have never disappoint. Missing Japan ramen so this comes close.

Pretty good, ordered the B combo with spicy Ramen. The Ramen has a good tooth, the soup is good, they give lots of toppings and it comes nice and hot. It's only $1 more for the large. The ikura and sake don (salmon roe and salmon bowl) is good but they now put it in a plastic clam shell instead of a proper bowl. I much prefer the bowl. Seating can be problematic if you come around lunch or dinner time. The combo costs about $21 which seems a little over-priced to me. Maybe next time I'll just get the Ramen.

Classic spot within Mitsuwa for ramen. It's a very quick process of lineup, pay, wait till they call your number/sit in the food court, clean up after yourself post-meal. Wait can get long during peak hours. They still have the screens between tables which is respectful for covid. Food-wise, I love the deep flavor of the broth and the meat has great texture. Medium size wasn't as filling as I thought--the combos are great for that for a few dollars more.