“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.” — Martin Buber

Sorry to say Martin ole boy, I definitely know the destination. What can I expect to see on my journey, you say? Well, that’s another story.  In my continuing search for the hidden Ramen treasures of Vancouver, I had a wicked flashback on this stop of my quest.

“Hai, oiishi desu”

Ramen Quest – the search for Vancouver’s hidden Japanese Ramen.

You can download the this week’s PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 2 – There’s goodness outside the centre of the universe too!

Image cutline: Menya’s Nagahama Ramen – the closest thing to Tokyo I’ve tasted in a long time. Next time I’ll have to try their special ramen, subject to change at the whim of the chef.

If you talk about Ramen to anyone who dines out on the delicious Japanese noodle-dish in Vancouver, inevitably, they’ll tell you that the best place to go is to the West End where there’s a plethora of shops that seem to be thriving with just that product on their menu. Of course, there’s got to be good Ramen outside of the centre of the universe! Similarly, it’s just plain wrong when someone pipes up on the idiot box and says that Toronto is the best city in Canada. What? It’s probably because there’s less syllables in Toronto or perhaps the orator just has his head shoved up his posterior – either way, there’s definitely goodness out in the real world, and I have set out to find it.

Hopping on the Canada line and stopping at City Hall, I crossed West Broadway and headed to Yukon Street where I found Menya Japanese Noodle restaurant, which somewhat resembles a clearcut forest given that most chairs are tree stumps and the whole interior is varnished wood. Their menu is simple – they have four different types of Ramen on the menu, a couple of alternatives and some sides. On the occasion of my visit, I tried the first thing on the list, the Nagahama Ramen, their authentic pork-bone ramen with a special soy sauce seasoning, accompanied by Gyoza (pork and cabbage dumplings) and a rice ball.

The first taste transported me back to Japan – a place of fond memories where I used to enjoy Ramen almost nightly while living in Tokyo. I remember regularly sitting at the counter and being served by a trio I affectionately named the Brain, Iceman and Spaz. I suddenly surfaced from my little day dream, when asked if my food was good. I nodded my head and sounded a quick “hai, oiishi desu” and went back to daydreaming.

Menya may not be situated in the heart of Vancouver or Tokyo, but it’s good enough to capture my heart.

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Raj Taneja is part technologist, part entrepreneur, part social media juggernaut and part foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com, publishes a miscellany of his musings at raj.jp and can be found on twitter with the username ‘tinhead.’

A gift from the Land of the Sleeping Dragon to the Land of the Rising Sun has now reached the shores of Canada.

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish that originally came from China. The word ‘Ramen’ has several etymologies, one of which states that it may have been the way the Japanese pronounce the Chinese ‘la mian’ which means hand-pulled noodles. Another says that the original word was ‘laomian‘ or ‘old noodles’ while a third one states that Ramen was originally called ‘lumian‘ or noodles cooked in a thick, starchy sauce.

Whatever its origin, Ramen is definitely the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century, not to mention tasty as well.

Ramen Quest – the search for Vancouver’s hidden Japanese Ramen.

You can download the this week’s PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 1 – What legends are made of

Image cutline:Kintaro’s Spicy Garlic Ramen is loaded with garlic and spice and is accompanied by bamboo shoots, green onion, bean sprouts and a couple of egg halves – it’s only on the menu for a short while, until the chef decides he wants to serve something else.

It all started somewhere in the 17^th Century – Tokuguwa Mitsukuni (best popularized by Japanese TV series Mito Komon,) discovered Ramen which quickly became his favourite dish. It only took about three hundred years for the tasty noodles to take the world by storm. Today, dozens of variations have spawned from the original ‘Shio’ ramen which is made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish and seaweed.According to consumer trends, ‘Tonkotsu’ or pork bone ramen seems to be the most popular variety, so let’s start this quest off on the top and find the ever-revered Tonkotsu Ramen.

In Vancouver, ask anyone who knows about ramen where to go for the good stuff, and they all seem to point in one direction – the iconic Kintaro restaurant on Denman Street. The 26 seat diner is known for lineups out the door and a limited menu featuring several varieties of one main dish – ramen, and that’s it. They have their business down to a science.

Having eaten there many times since their opening ten years ago, I can say their rendition of Tonkotsu ramen is addictive and great value for the money. From time to time, they like to deviate a little from the master plan and offer a special variety of ramen, something to break the monotony. This time around, they had a Spicy Garlic Ramen which looked supremely appetizing and certainly didn’t disappoint. Loaded with enough garlic to keep the vampire population at bay and enough spice to burn any zombies another one, I didn’t have to travel to the Eastside tonight to get a fix. Thankfully, I’m not a creature of the night and not only did I satisfy my craving, but with all that garlic and spice, I surely boosted my metabolism and lifespan. If Mitsukuniis out there lurking as a vampire or decides to come back as a zombie, this one might be his undoing.

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Raj Taneja is part technologist, part entrepreneur, part social media juggernaut and part foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com, publishes a miscellany of his musings at raj.jp and can be found on twitter with the username ‘tinhead.’