My man and I decided to have Japanese ramen for dinner as we both just wanted something not spicy for change. We've been to Santouka before, but I personally didn't enjoy the soup much although their tonkotsu broth is the signature base soup for most of their noodles. I just found it quite smelly and salty that it wasn't something that I would try again.
Tonkotsu Soup
To make our signature tonkotsu broth, we simmer pork bones for about 20 hours until it is pearly white. Finally, after such a long, low-temperature cook, we add vegetables, dried fish, kelp, and other savory ingredients. The taste is exceptional, in part because it is never boiled. Touched with lighter-than-average seasoning, we pride ourselves in a bowl that can be drunk down to the last drop.
Regardless, my man loves the broth, so I decided to try the vegetarian version instead of their original broth this time.
It was busy dinner time, so we had to wait in a queue for a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. My man got the large Kara Miso Ramen in a complete meal with a choice of two side menus and I just got a regular sized a bowl of Vegetarian Ramen.
![Santouka review, japanese noodle, Ramen & Bellevue restaurants]
I was a bit surprised that the vegetarian soup was rather creamy and sweet. My man didn't like the vegetarian one, but I personally liked it. I actually thought it might taste better with a baguette instead of noodles >_<. Yes, it felt more like a fusion soup. If you generally likes pork and/or asian noodles, you might want to check Santouka.
