Motomachi Shokudo - Vancouver

Absolutely my favourite ramen place so farI have gone twice to date and have left very content.

Overall an interesting taste of dark charcoal broth ramen, but much too salty for my liking with way too little meat to go with the noodles.

I was disappointment at this place to be honest. I wanted to like this place, because it has that authentic Japanese ramen shop vibe - tiny place with a

It was raining, and we had been in it all day. Soggy socks and a drenched jacket, the result of traipsing around without an umbrella. So when lunch rolled around, we were within walking distance of Denman Street, and thought ramen would be the cure. Something comforting to help warm us up. With all the options in this “noodle corridor”, choosing is hard. My guest narrowed it down by refusing to visit any restaurant that was empty at 2pm this Sunday afternoon. I restricted our pool further, not wanting to wait for a table. So what cinched it for us, and had us stopping at “Motomachi Shokudo” was their menu. The menu opened and laid out, outside their restaurant showcasing their black charcoal ramen.

To my dismay, the chashu was piled atop a pile of bean sprouts. It wasn’t as egregious as the towering mountain that you get at places like Gojiro, but honestly, if I wanted to eat bean sprouts, I’d be going for pho.<br/ <br/ I’ll start with the broth. The miso flavour was present, but accentuated with a slight smokiness from the charcoal. It wasn’t particularly overpowering, and the smokiness was a nice addition, but it didn’t really blow me out of the water.<br/ <br/ The chashu was probably the one of the highlights in the ramen bowl. Like the appetizer dish, the slices were thin enough that it wouldn’t weigh me down on the walk back to work, but still heavy enough to feel like a substantial meal. I think the chashu had been seared a bit before being served to give it a bit of crispiness and texture, which I appreciated.