Horin Ramen + Sake opened on Robson along with all the other ramen shops late last year. They feature Fukuoka style ramen, which is the thin straight kind, and one of my favourites. When we arrived, the shop was not too busy on a Friday night. We were seated immediately, but the shop did have a bit of a wait as we finished our dinner. The interior is modern with the seats along a narrow space. However, seating is pretty comfortable compared to many other ramen shops.

They have a paper placemat which describes the back story of the restaurant. Apparently, their secret recipe is based on adding spicy chili peppers in their pork based Tonkotsu soup. Also, their noodles are made fresh in store. You can even see the machine and the workers making the noodles at the front of the store.

Their menu is very simple with only tonkotsu pork broth ramen available. The four variations are just customized with different toppings, but the broth is the exact same. Like many ramen shops, you can also customize your bowl with texture of noodles (soft, standard, firm), amount of dashi (less salty, standard, extra salty), amount of chili blend (less spicy, standard, extra spicy), and amount of lard (less fat, standard, extra fat).

Ajitama Ramen

Both S and I got the Ajitama Ramen which is their original but comes with one whole soft-boiled egg cut in half. The noodles come with chashu and green onions. As S does not like spicy, he opted out of the housemade chili blend. The bowl was clean with the focus really on the broth and noodles.

Ajitama Ramen

For myself, I also got the Ajitama Ramen but with a standard amount of housemade chili blend. I found this style of ramen with the chili very similar to Ramen Danbo and Ichiran but I prefer the latter two over Horin. I found the broth to be lighter and not as creamy. This might be more suitable for others though as many have said Ramen Danbo is too salty and heavy for them. The chashu was pretty good here though as the ratio of fat to meat was just right. I asked to have the noodles firm and they indeed met my expectations although I found they felt a little soft near the end. You really need to eat this quick! As for the chili blend, I much prefer the ones from Ramen Danbo or Ichiran as they have more kick to it. I found the flavours at Horin to be milder in general. However, given the line ups at Ramen Danbo can get a bit ridiculous during peak hours, this is a good alternative if you’re looking for a similar style of ramen.

Niku Mazesoba

Last year, a new ramen restaurant opened up and it definitely found itself having long lines as expected. Kokoro Toyko Mazesoba is located just next to the Downtown BCIT campus which makes it a popular spot for all the students. If you come during peak lunch and dinner hours, expect to wait, although it is quite spacious and food comes out fast, so the turnover is quite quick. Mazesoba is essentially a mixed noodle or soupless ramen. I first tried something similar to this when I was in Tokyo.

I decided to try the Niku Mazesoba which seemed to be their most popular mazesoba. It features slow braised pork chashu, spicy minced pork, raw egg yolk, green onion, seaweed flakes, chives, minced garlic, grinded saba fish, and multi-grain noodle made in house. Noodles sit below all the ingredients and you mix all the ingredients and noodles together while breaking the yolk. It reminds me of a dan dan noodle with each noodle strand being coated with some sauce. The noodles were toothsome with a nice al dente texture. They are right when they say not udon but also not ramen as it is really something in between.

Shio Mazesoba

S didn’t really want that raw egg yolk so he got the Shio Mazesoba which featured slow braised pork chashu, bamboo shoot, green onion, spinach, seaweed flakes, minced garlic, grinded saba fish, and multi-grain noodle made in house. Instead, he added a soft boiled egg on the side. His mazesoba was definitely less saucy without the egg so he actually did not have much sauce leftover. If you find the noodles a bit too heavy, you can also try adding vinegar to break the grease and saltiness. They also have chilli flakes on the table if you want to add some kick to your noodles.

Although S’s bowl didn’t have much sauce left, my Niku bowl had plenty of sauce and ingredients left. The waiter will come by and ask if you’d like a free small bowl of rice which you can then drop into your leftover sauce and mix. It surprisingly tasted really good! But I could really only eat half the portion of rice after a whole bowl of noodles. If you’re hungry, then definitely go for the free rice!

Mentaiko Cream Mazesoba

On another occasion, I came back during lunch hours to try their Mentaiko Cream Mazesoba. This featured mentaiko, slow braised pork chashu, raw egg yolk, seaweed flakes, spinach, green onion, minced garlic, japanese cream sauce, grinded saba fish, and multi-grain noodle made in house. I actually preferred this over the Niku Mazesoba as I found that the Niku was a bit heavy and salty for my liking. I found the mentaiko cream helped cut the grease a bit even before I added vinegar.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the mazesobas but like ramen, it’s not something I can eat often as they are more on the heavy side. Plus, the prices are quite steep with most bowls going for $15-16 each. Definitely not a spot I could come for work lunch all the time. They do offer classic ramens with soup and a variety of appetizers and desserts, but I have yet to try those.

Pros:
– Mazesoba noodles are nice and chewy
– Extensive menu so there is something for everyone

Cons:
– Prices are steep for ramen
– Some of the bar seating isn’t very comfortable with the low backs

Price Range: $15-20 per person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 3.5 Ambiance: 3.5 Parking: Paid street parking/ paid BCIT parking lot Overall: 3.5