mindless ramblings

I know the title doesn’t really make sense, but that’s what the sign says and I’m sticking to it. I’ve been waiting for Kintaro to open their Richmond branch ever since I chanced upon the notice at their downtown store back in September.

In case you don’t know what Kintaro is, it’s a little ramen store on the corner of Denman & Robson that perpetually has a lineup of people eager to have some delicious ramen at affordable prices. A wait of 20 minutes or more is not uncommon, even during the coldest winter days, in fact that’s probably when a steaming bowl of ramen might be most effective!

Therefore when I noticed on Revscene that the second Kintaro store (now in Richmond) was finally open, I made it a point to visit it as soon as possible. The Richmond branch is definitely a step up from the bareness of the original; flowers greet you at the entrance while nice dark wood adorn the counters. However, the biggest improvement is the increased space. The original is notorious for being extremely stuffy as they keep the door closed except during summer, it’s almost like stepping into a sauna sometimes. In addition, the new store is probably 1.5 times bigger too, thus (hopefully) resulting in less lineups and faster service.

After ordering, Esther & me both noticed that both of the cooks on duty as well as several of the waitresses are transplants from the downtown store. That’s a good sign, especially for the cooks as it means that they are already experienced and aren’t new to cooking ramen right.

Despite not being too crowded, I counted 15 bowls of ramen being served to other hungry customers before ours arrived. Esther stuck with the classic Miso ramen (rich & fat combination of course!) while I decided to try the Shoyu ramen (yup you guessed it, rich & fat!) for a change. The Shoyu was surprisingly tasty and I dare say that I now prefer it more than the miso ramen! Although the broth is full of fat, the soup is surprisingly oil-free and remains light and drinkable to the end.

Oh yum!

Shoyu madness

A wonderfully unhealthy and satisfying lunch then, not something you could eat daily (even with light broth), but definitely a great way to clog up those arteries good!