The Prince and The Hawker

I’ve been contemplating a while whether or not to include reviews of ramen shops in the ‘hawker’ part of this site. Some people dedicate a large portion of their time to seeking out the very best ramen, comparing elements down to a science. I have to admit that I absolutely love a good bowl of ramen but I am not a self-professed expert. I like to think I’m a simpler critic. Tender noodles, flavourful broth, and fresh ingredients are all I’m after.

One lazy summer afternoon while visiting Vancouver, my mom and I were discussing where to have lunch. Even though it was the middle of a (rare) hot summer in Vancouver, my mom fancied some sort of soup noodle. So we decided on Japanese and I set out to find a ramen shop.

Based on where our plans were after lunch, I selected Marutama Gaiden. Marutama has many different outlets in Vancouver and its suburbs. It was originally started in Kawaguchi over 20 years ago. Marutama founder Tetsuya Kudo’s signature is a creamy chicken based broth as a opposed to the more common pork-based tonkotsu ramen broth.

In addition to a regular menu, each branch of Marutama in Vancouver has items specific to that location. At Marutama Gaiden, there was tsukemen on offer. Tsukemen is a type of ramen where the noodles are served with a separate bowl of broth. The noodles are dipped in the broth before eating. The broth tends to be richer than in regular ramen.

Time to Eat

I’m a sucker for specialty menu items so I decided to order the “Tsuke-Men -Makka-kka-“. This dish was served with a red chili and white sesame chicken broth. The broth was very concentrated as it is meant for dipping.

The bowl of cooked noodles included an abundance of ingredients: half a soft-boiled egg, chicken cha-shu, pork cha-shu, spinach, menma, and green onions. The noodles were nice and tender, and I liked that there was a bit of dashi stock at the bottom of the bowl to help loosen the noodles as you eat.

Having both chicken and pork was interesting. I liked that there was spinach as I sometimes feel ramen lacks vegetables.

After finishing all your ramen, you have the option of asking for soup wari. This is extra dashi stock served in a teapot that you can use to dilute the concentrated broth down so you can drink it. I definitely recommend this. You can control how salty the final product is by using less or more dashi stock. The spicy broth diluted down had just the right amount of spicyness and was a warming finish to the meal.

Final Thoughts

As a self-proclaimed ramen non-expert, I really enjoyed the tsukemen at Marutama Gaiden. The service was quick and friendly. The food was full of flavour and the portion was decent for the CA$16.50 price tag. I’d definitely visit the other branches in the future to taste their respective specialties. I also look forward to visiting their locations around the world.

I remember in high school, a Japanese friend told me that he was brought up to always drink all the broth in a bowl of ramen. While I know the custom differs from region to region, I tend to at least drink part of the broth. I feel like this gets me a well-rounded experience of the “DNA” of the particular bowl of ramen.

Or maybe I’m just over thinking it. At the end of the day, when it’s perfectly cooked noodles, flavourful broth, and fresh ingredients, you should probably just enjoy ramen in whatever way you want to!