Danbo on 4th: Rich broth, great ramen!

Azota Photography and her husband came up from the States to visit, so what other place to bring them than a ramen place in Vancouver!

Restaurant: Ramen Danbo (visit their website here)

Location: 1833 W. 4th Avenue, Vancvouver
Cuisine: Ramen, Japanese
Price range: $10-$15



Date of visit: August 27, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

I ordered the Blazing Hot Rekka Ramen ($10.95) at level 5 spicy (I believe they have 5, 10, 15, 20). You get to customize your noodle thickness and firmness, as well as broth thickness, amount of lard, and spiciness. Like many traditional ramen joints, they offer Kaedama ($1.00 for half order, $2.00 for full order), which is an extra order of noodles. I got the thin noodles firm, and standard broth with a little lard. I like the rich flavor of the broth and how I can customize the amount of lard. The noodles were the perfect firmness I liked them at. The chashu pork had some bite to it but was still tender and so delicious! We even ordered an extra serving on the side ($2.25). I found the spiciness was at a good level for me, but did drown out some of the umame flavor of the broth itself.

I got the Classic Tonkotsu Ramen ($9.45) for Adorables, which comes in their signature tonkotsu pork broth. This was amazing! I could fully taste the richness of the pork broth, even though I only ordered standard thickness. It comes with a lot of scallions and two pieces of chashu pork. Thoroughly enjoyable!

AzotaPhotography's husband ordered an extra half order of noodles halfway through the ramen, and it came quickly-- and disappeared just as quickly! It was definitely a wonderful meal, although the wait is usually quite long since it's a small location. A little stuffy inside, especially because we're eating hot noodles!

Cactus Club: A Good Staple to Canada Place

Located conveniently near where we were shooting for Anime Revolution Summer and offering seating with reasonably-priced food for downtown, we found ourselves seated shortly in the outdoor patio area, ready to satisfy our growling tummies.

Restaurant: Cactus Club Cafe (visit their website here)

Location: 1085 Canada Place, Vancouver
Cuisine: Gastropub, Canadian
Price range: $25+ per person



Date of visit: August 7, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

Since we were seated outside and it was a pretty chilly day, we grabbed a couple blankets draped over the chairs to keep warm. Unfortunately we were never supplied with one more blanket after I had asked for it, so I just froze :c Nevertheless, food was on the way, so I survived!

One of the staples I always try to order here is their Ceviche ($15.25). Composed of Louis Lake Steelhead, prawns, red onions, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, nuoc cham and limes on the side. I love the tart sauce intermingling with the salmon and prawns on a crispy tortilla shell. It's very appetizing and refreshing.

For my main I ordered a Short Rib Pappardelle ($22.50) because I had pasta cravings since forever for pappardelle (don't know why but I do). This totally hit the spot. Made with slow-braised short rib with porchini mushroom cream sauce topped with grana padano-- delish! The rib was moist and flavorful, it melted in my mouth. Pasta was cooked al dente and soaked up the sauce well. Began being delicious but does get a bit heavy after a couple more bites.

Thought I'd need to order more food for Adorables since I thought I could finish all that pasta by myself . . . so I got something "smaller" which was their Baja Fish Tacos ($14.50). Ocean wise lingcod was beer battered and topped with shredded cabbage, chipotle aioli, fire roasted tomato salsa, pickled red onions and guacamole wrapped in a soft tortilla shell. The cod was fresh and moist inside with a crispy exterior but the batter was too oily and dense. Guacamole didn't wow me either, rather bland and tasteless.

Overall it satisfied my starving tummy, and waitresses were friendly in general. I really wish I got that blanket though. Otherwise they were quite accommodating for us cosplayers and photographers with all our gear!