Santouka Ramen

Great quality supermarket food court ramen! I’m half way kidding because I know Santouka is a renowned ramen place in Japan. Shio ramen is pretty damn good. Broth is nice and rich with the perfect saltiness accompanied with nice bouncy noodles and quality toppings. I always like to pay extra for the Toroniku cha-shu but the regular chashu tastes just fine. In the picture is the new spicy Shio ramen. Broth was great but I wasn’t digging the cilantro topping…I’ll just get the normal one or ask them to leave the cilantro out. Again, it’s not your average mediocre food court food. It’s restaurant quality!

Located in Mitsuwa markets food court is home to Hokkaido style ramen. They specialize in Shio(Salt) ramen and offer different sizes from small for amateurs who have small appetites to large for the pros. This trip I opted for a spicy large shio ramen with pork cheek. The broth is rich, fatty and rich and hint of buttery richness. I highly recommend this place. For more food content follow my IG: Newportboy91

Ordered the toroniku spicy shio ramen medium size. The broth is rich and creamy, and the noodles are chewy but don’t clump together. Good texture and the toroniku is to die for. Perfect ratio of lean to fat meat and very flavorful. I also loved the soft boiled egg, it was a treat when paired with scallions and a bite of toroniku. Overall a rich dish that can be a bit overwhelming on the savory side, so be aware if you have a light palate. Only downside may be that this location is very crowded and popular, so seating may not be guaranteed at busy times.

Santouka is a ramen shop located inside Mitsuwa Marketplace’s food court in Costa Mesa. I’ve only had their Charsiu Shio/Shoyu (I can’t remember the full name) Ramen and it’s the same thing I order when I come here. Compared to other ramen locations, the price is affordable. It comes with about 3 pieces of charsiu (chashu pork), woodear mushrooms, green onions, sesame seeds, narutomaki, and some red berry (?) - at first glance I thought it was a mini tomato. Seating is centralized in the food court but, during busy hours, you have to be quick to find a table and snag it right away. Anyway, the ramen at Santouka is delicious and it keeps me coming back.

4.5 stars. I thought it was solid. The menu is simple, there are four different kinds of soup base for you to choose: they are soy sauce (shoyu), salt (shio), soybean paste (aka miso) and spicy miso. Also, you can choose the portion size, which are small, regular (medium) and large. Also, if you like variety, there are a few combos for you to choose from. I honestly loved their bone broth and char siu pork belly, the broth was super rich and flavorful, and the char siu was tender and melt-in-your-mouth. Ramen was al dente. The biggest downside would be the portion size, it was probably the smallest medium I've ever had. Would recommend to upgrade to large or a combo if you have a big appetite. Another con would be the eggs, ramen egg is known for its custardy jammy egg yolk, but unfortunately, the eggs here are not soft-boiled. They tasted like normal hard boiled eggs. Some may think their bone broth is a tad salty, which I also agree, but I feel like they've adjusted the saltiness to the local tastes already. They also have simmered pork jowl, which is also a very good dish w/ a good layer of fat, would recommend to give it a try as well. Overall, it is a delicious ramen place!

This is my favorite ramen place ever! I come here maybe once a month and it’s consistently good every time!! It can be busy during the lunch rush, but the line moves fast. My favorites are the salt ramen & spicy miso. Get the toroniku ramen for better quality meat! The only thing I don’t like is their spoons and chopsticks. hehe

Its located inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace. There's actually a large Japanese food court in theback of the grocery store. Very authentic Japanese food vendors. This place specializes in Ramen soup. You need to pick which flavor of Ramen soup you want. Salt flavor is great it's a creamy pork broth. Soy flavor is average. Miso flavor is great. Minus a star because cash only.