Benkei Ramen

slurrrrrrp slurrrrp...gulp!

Food:

Onigiri

Everything we ordered here was beyond satisfying.  As a first timer here at this location (Main St./E. 5th Ave), the standards were up to par, if not better.  Between my dining companion and I, we shared an order of their Onigiri - a sticky-rice ball sort of thing with bits of 'chasu' (pork) molded into a triangular shape with a piece of seaweed as the base.  We also shared an order of their Pork Gyoza, which was very fresh-tasting - I especially liked the thin gyoza skin. 

Chilled Ramen

For my lunch entree, I had the Akaoni Ramen - a spicy miso-based pork bone broth.  It was quite rich in taste, wasn't too spicy, had a light miso taste with a hint of garlic flavour.  The ramen was cooked just right with alongside it plenty of bamboo shoots, green onions and minced pork.  I really enjoyed it and have only ever tried the Akaoni.  I give the Akaoni three thumbs up!

Akaoni (Spicy Miso) Ramen

Luckily for me, my dining companion decided to order their Chilled Ramen (regular).  As usual, I was having extreme difficulty deciding whether to try the Chilled Ramen or, have my usual Akaoni Ramen.  All went well.  Of course, I was able to (more than) sample my d.c's Chilled Ramen and quite thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was basically a soup-less bowl of ramen, topped with an abundance of ingredients including: julienned cucumbers, boiled prawn, sliced mushrooms, red ginger, julienned strips of imitation crab meat, shredded pieces of fried egg and boiled pieces of pork.  Of course, there had to be some sort of liquid flavouring: sweet soy sauce.  It was very refreshing, and I thought that all the ingredients meshed well with one another.  Downside is that it's only available in the summer :(

Service:

Friendly, polite and prompt!

Value:

$7.80 for the Akaoni Ramen. $2.50 for the Onigiri.  Reasonable pricing, I believe.

Ambience:

Don't expect the Guu-type izakaya experience here - this is your typical sit-down, eat and leave ramen joint (albeit they do have a tv installed here).

Overall: 8.2/10

Yay:  They've got 3 locations, with one more coming soon.  Imho, this location is more favourable to the one on Robson for the quality of their food and location-wise (parking).  Benkei is also my number 1 go-to ramen joint out of the ones I've been to - Kintaro, Motomachi Shokudo, and Menya (worst one).  Prices are reasonable and you even get a stamp card for every bowl of ramen purchase! :)

Nay:  Limited seating.  Seats aren't the most comfortable either (wooden squared stools).  Not ideal for big groups.



Posted by: J