Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂, Vancouver: Not really worth the wait

Ramennnn!! Been craving this for a while, so when I finally have the chance to be Downtown, how could I pass this up? =D I've been to a few of them, and some others had crazy lineups, so EC and I ended up here because the lineup seemed "reasonable" (It ended up to be around 30 minute wait)







Restaurant: Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂

Location: 740 Denman Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Ramen
Price range: $10-15




Date of visit: July 4, 2013
Atmosphere: 5/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

There's a good selection of items on the menu but mainly your stereotypical items found at ramen places. The one that stood out to me was their Bamboo Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen ($10.55) mainly because of the "healthy" benefits of bamboo charcoal explained on the menu =P The soft boiled egg was amazing. Center was so gooey and delicious!! Chasu (pork) wasn't too fatty, but nothing exceptional. I felt the soup base was far too salty and oily. The ramen wasn't much of a "wow" factor either. Overall, only the soft-boiled egg stood out to me.

EC told me he was going healthy, so he ordered a Shio Ramen with Natural Salt and Seasonal Vegetables ($10.50). Indeed it looked much healthier than mines. Not too sure about the taste, but it was packed full of veggies on top (like half the bowl) and the broth had barely any oil in it.

With such a small store, their turnover rate is quite high. I really liked the seating due to its novelty factor for me, and probably set out to feel like an actual ramen store in Japan. They also don't let people wait inside, so customers inside don't feel pressured by those waiting in line. Other than that and the soft-boiled egg, I really don't see much luring me back here.