Starving Shoppers Stop: Santouka at Glorietta
6:33:00 PM
Last week, Bubba and I went on one of our after work/basketball practice weekday dates. Before heading out for dinner, he took me shopping at Forever 21 (my version of Mecca) after months of me not getting to visit my second home the store.
After roaming around, fitting clothes and finally buying a few new things, we worked up a serious appetite (the Bubba had just come from practice and I'm just always hungry) so we headed on over to a new Ramen place that my sister had spoken to me about that same week- Santouka Ramen.
When we got there, the place was PACKED. As in SARDINES. There was even a waiting line outside for the tables (NOTE: They don't have a "listahan" system- you really have to PHYSICALLY LINE UP and wait for a table) I looked at the Bubster with sadness already thinking of alternative food places (despite our hearts being set on Ramen) but the kind waitress told us that it would be a maximum of 30 minutes waiting. She then took our orders and filled up an order slip which she then gave back to us. (Apparently, they list down your order and then when you're finally seated you can hand the slip over to any of the waiters/waitresses so that your food will be freshly cooked). We looked at each other and agreed- we had to try the place now. So after 30 minutes of
If there's one thing I could suggest to the Santouka owners (uyy Master Chef much?) it's to figure out how they can maximize their small space without it being too cramped. I honestly felt that we were so close to the tables beside us (we were seated on this long couch on the side) and we could practically hear the conversations of the tables around us (not that we were really trying to listen in... I mean, we're not super chismoso Hehe). But overall the experience was good- the couch was comfortable and I was just happy to be seated inside the air conditioned restaurant after standing outside in the heat for half an hour. :)
Bubba ordered the Small Ramen with Chicken Gyoza and Small Rice Bowl set from the Santouka Set Menu. This included a small size bowl of Shio Ramen (the SALT flavor Ramen- this is what they are known for), a plate of their chicken gyoza, a small bowl of rice, kimchi, salad, steamed egg pudding and a cup of tea. He had the Ramen upgraded to a Medium bowl (for only P40 pesos) just to make sure he'd be full. Good choice if you ask me! :)
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| Bubba's Awesome Ramen Set (Gyoza not pictured) |
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| The yummy Chicken Gyoza |
What I loved most about this set was that the Chicken Gyoza was very light and tasty. I liked how it tasted "healthy" and seemed to go perfectly well with the lightly salted Ramen without overpowering it. It wasn't oily either which was another big plus for me! I hate it when food is served way too oily! Ick. The Kimchi was also very good and added that extra kick of spice to the meal- I just wish the serving size was bigger, it seemed too little for me (but then again, I'm a Kimchi lover so of course I would want more). The Japanese salad was also very good and very refreshing. Again, I just wish the servings were BIGGER. The steamed egg pudding tasted weird, honestly. There were veggies inside it and the Bubba got dizzy after a few spoonfuls. I didn't really give it a try as I found it to be weird. I guess it just isn't for everyone?
As for me, I ordered the Kara-Miso Ramen which is a spicy soy bean paste Ramen. Since I LOVE spicy food, I was really excited to give this a try. I got the medium size as well oinkity oink oink.
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| Medium Kara-Miso Ramen |
One thing I have to commend Santouka for is the quality and TASTE of the pork cuts in their Ramen. Not being a real fan of pork (aside from the Katsu in Yabu and BACON, my first love) pork isn't really for me. I was pleasantly surprised though with how good and soft the pork was in their Ramen! It was so tasty and went so well with the soup! If I could suggest anything (again, feeling Master Chef ba? Daming suggestions HAHA) it would be to put more pork in their Ramen. Even if the Bubba and I ordered Medium sized bowls, we each only had two thin slices of the yummy pork Huhu :( Come on now Santouka, WE WANT MORE PORK! Hehe :p
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| It's a cute little tea pot!!! Aww!!! |
Since we had time to walk around before dinner, Bubba and I decided to bring our own little dessert for after- we got the famous Vanilla cupcake from the Vanilla Cupcake Bakery in Glorietta! The place is too cute and the packaging was every little girl's dream! I wanted to bring it home but I spilled some Ramen on the box Huhu :( This pink cupcake was DELICIOUS! A must try!
Overall I'd say our experience in Santouka was good. We definitely plan on going back to try the other Ramen flavors (hopefully by then we won't have to line up for too long). I really suggest that if you plan on trying this place out now, especially during this "Ramen crazed" season, you go extra early- try to have an early dinner (6PM) or a late lunch (2-3PM) to avoid the waiting line. It's quality Ramen and definitely a yummy food adventure! :)
I'll leave you all now with a few silly shots (since we're cam whores cute like that) Hehe
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| While waiting for our Ramen |
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| Silly Bubba :) |
Hokkaido Ramen SantoukaGlorietta 4
G/F Glorietta 4, Hotel DrAyala Center, Makati
Vanilla Cupcake BakeryGlorietta 4
2/F Glorietta 4, East DrAyala Center, Makati
6 comments
I love how you put your pics together at the end of each food entry. You make the best descriptions of your meals in every restaurant you go. They should hire you in advertising. Hihi. :) can't wait to try the ramen there. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Krystyna! Yes, we're such camera hams Hehe... Aww thank you so much! You're too kind. I'm just really a food lover and (very) matakaw so I try as much as possible to be very honest with my descriptions ESPECIALLY when it comes to food. Whether a blogger is sponsored or not I think they should always tell the truth. Sana they hire me noh! Then I can blog for a living Nyahaha :P Thanks again and YES, definitely visit Santouka when you can! :)
DeleteI always look forward to reading your blogs...This made me crave for ramen! More power to your blogs ate Karla, hope to meet you again sometime. This is my first time to comment, I just thought it would be good if you know that there are people who waits for your entries. God Bless always. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jean! THANK YOU FOR LOOKING FORWARD TO MY ENTRIES! Ahh... it feels so good to know that they make sense and people enjoy them. Thank you thank you thank you! :) I hope you do come back for the other entries this week. God Bless! :)
DeleteI just saw this now! My best friend and I did the same thing... We ate at Santouka Ramen and had dessert at the Vanilla Cupcake Factory. Maybe we're soulmates? Hahaha! And I also ordered the spicy ramen. It was so good! We were lucky enough not to wait for 30 minutes because we were there around 2:30PM. Can't wait to go back! :)
ReplyDeleteUyyy... soulmates tayo? Luveht! Haha :P That's great! I'm happy you guys didn't have to wait! I agree, if you don't wanna line up you should go at an odd hour :)
DeleteThanks for reading my entry! I hope you enjoyed it. :)