Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

"The legendary ramen brand that offers the same family recipe since 1988, enjoyed throughout Japan and in other international cities such as Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, USA and Canada is now open in Manila!"

Salmon Salad PHP 250
Not bad, but had too many onions and too little salmon. I think my mom was expecting something like a crunchy tuna salad, in terms of the amount of raw fish, when she ordered this.

Small Ramen & Salmon and Prawn Sushi Set PHP 510 (excluding the egg)
*with your choice of soup base: shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso (soybean paste), and kara-miso (hot soybean paste, + PHP20)

Aside from the ramen; the set includes salmon and prawn sushi, chawanmushi, salad and pickled vegetables. I ordered a side of Komi-Tamago (Japanese marinated soft boiled egg) PHP 50, which isn't included in the set menu. A bowl of ramen for me isn't complete without my ajitsuke tamago, and I'm very particular about it. The yolk was quite runny but all the flavors were still there - better undercooked than overcooked in my opinion!

I decided to go for a shio (salt) soup base, since it's the most popular among all the soup bases according to the waitress. The ramen comes with a thick slab of tender and fatty pork, and a few other things like fish cake.

What sets ramen bars apart from one another, are their noodles and bases which aren't necessarily better or worse, it's just different and unique from one another. There isn't really a way to tell what the best ramen bar is in a place; because it's all in the matter of finding what ramen bar's noodles, bases, textures and flavors appeal to you the most. 

Large Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Specialty Ramen) PHP 490
*with your choice of soup base: shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso (soybean paste), and kara-miso (hot soybean paste, + PHP20)

My parents chose a shio soup base for the large ramen they were going to split, since the waitress told us that it's the most popular among all bases. 

Roasted Pork Cheeks 
"Extremely valuable parts, only 200 - 300g / whole pig. Served daily in limited quantity."

Now this, is what I would come back for and what I think sets Santouka apart from other ramen bars in Metro Manila. This is the only ramen restaurant where I've tried roasted pork cheeks, and they're delicious. I was quite skeptical at first but gave in and tried it, and I'm glad I did! It's extremely tender and soft, not tough or dry at all like what it seems it would be like when you look at it. Full of flavor, too. If you haven't tried this yet I highly recommend ordering the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen or just ordering a side of this for PHP 250.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka 

Address: G/F Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City (beside Mercury Drug, across Forever 21)

Other Branch: Second Level Mall of Asia 

Website: http://santouka.co.jp/en/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RamenSantoukaPH

Telephone No.: 728-1381

Mobile No.: (0917) 847-6087