Vancouver, BC
Another ramen joint has opened up near the west end of Robson again! Why is it that all these ramen places like to congregate together in the same area?! There’s Santouka, Kintaro and Motomachi Shokudo all within walking distance. Too bad Benkei on Robson closed or else I would’ve included them in the list too.
This time, the new-comer is Marutama Ramen, located on the corner of Bidwell and Robson.
The interior is spacious and has this rustic wood-themed décor going on. In addition to some small tables that accommodate 2 diners, there are 3 separate counter seats – one facing the kitchen, one facing the noodle making room, one facing the window, and a large wooden communal table.
Before we get to the food, I just want to point out their washroom. No, it’s not something disgusting, don’t worry!
I think they did a really fine job of renovating and designing the washroom, the women’s washroom at least! The focal point has to be the sink because I think it’s beautiful! It looks so traditional with the small floral dots all over, perched on top of a natural-looking wood vanity, yet cool because of the black and red contrast paired with the brass faucet. Anyway! On to the food!
Marutama is a little different from the rest because they use their own specially-made chicken broth as their ramen soup. I believe G-Men in Richmond used to claim that their soup was chicken-based but I’m not sure if it still is right now when they merged with Nan-chuu. Ok, digressing again…
According to Marutama’s menu, “time, care and experience are put into the extraction of ‘umami’ from the chicken. Our ‘chicken only’ based broth is loaded with collagen which adds to the richness of the soup”. That is why they named it the Ultimate Richly-Textured Cloudy Chicken Soup!
Marutama Tamago Ramen ($10.50) - mild
Marutama doesn’t have a lot of variety on the menu (just variations of the same ramen) so W and I both chose the Marutama Tamago Ramen. W had the spicy version and I had the mild one.
The soup was true to its claim. It was milder than the broth made from pork bones but the essence of chicken was prominent and it left a sticky feeling in the mouth due to the collagen present in the soup. The ramen was the thin kind. I’m not a fan of the thin noodles but I think it matched well with the lighter soup. There weren’t a lot of accompaniments in the bowl; just 2 slices of cha shu (BBQ’ed pork), which was yummy and tender, and a pile of Aosa sea lettuce. Now, what is this “sea lettuce”?? It’s a mild kind of seaweed and it’s lighter in colour though it still does have a bit of slimy texture to it. It was not bad and unique in its own way but I still miss my favourite bamboo shoots.
The bowl of ramen also included their signature medium boiled egg. It's been marinated in a sweet soya sauce so a bite of the flavourful egg white with the creamy egg yolk blended quite well together.
Cha-shu gohan ($4.75) - roasted pork filet on rice
On our second visit the following week (W’s idea, not mine!), I wanted to try something other than their ramen so I went for their Cha-shu Gohan. This is basically a bowl of white rice topped with shredded cha-shu mixed with some onions and sauce. After taking a bite, I wasn’t fairly enthusiastic about the Cha-shu gohan. It could have used more sauce because the meat was a bit stringy and dry while the white rice was bland. The waitress dropped off a bottle of their house-made garlic chips and it added an oomph to the rice bowl but still, more sauce would have been better.
Dashiyaki ($7.00) - Japanese omelette
Thinking that their Japanese omelet would be similar to the one I had at Aki Japanese Restaurant, I decided to order Marutama’s Dashimaki. The dashimaki had a sweeter profile and the texture was springy-soft rather than melt-in-your-mouth soft. The egg at Aki still wins in this case.
In the ramen department, Marutama can be a good contender. The other items on the menu…well it could use some improvement. If there is a long line-up at the nearby Santouka, walk a few steps up the street and try Marutama. It’s not exactly the same type of ramen but it is still good eats!
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