Going to shopping for Japanese groceries at Mitsuwa and get some Japanese food while we are there has become one of our fun weekend activity. We don’t do that every weekend, but when we do, the first thing we talk about is “from which place are we going to get food from this time?” We tried out food from most of the eateries in their food court (You can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/mitsuwa-marketplace/ and http://www.foodlovergirl.com/mitsuwa-marketplace-2/ ), except for two spots. It was time to pop our cherries and try some dishes from those two places.
The first one was Ramen Santouka. We somehow didn’t really pay attention to this spot, because we kind of had to be in a mood for ramen, and also, they always had a long line. Being busy at all time is a sign of its popularity, and ramen is becoming more and more enticing with the cold weather. So, one weekend, we decided it was our time to get in the line for their ramen!
They had some of their featured items on the window display, all made of wax. The skill of the wax food maker is pretty amazing. I have never even looked at their menu until this day, and I was pleasantly surprised with their set offerings. We decided to get the ramen set that comes with different kinds of donburi.
Just as most other eateries, this spot is CASH ONLY. They had few drink items, but we always just get the complimentary water that is located next to Wateishoku Kaneda by the windows. Ordering process was fast, but then the wait time for the food to be ready was a bit long. You can take orders as fast as they come in, but you can’t make so many ramen bowls at once. So, while waiting, we went to look for an empty table. It is usually very competitive to get a seat here…
I went with B Combo, which comes with Salmon & Ikura Rice Bowl, and a choice of Ramen. I chose Spicy Miso Ramen ($14.95/set). I was expecting the rice bowl to be rather small, but what I received was of a nice size! I was so happy. It had lots of grilled salmon flakes, topped with a good amount of salmon roe. It was sooo good!
My hubby went with D Combo, which comes with Char-Siu Rice Bowl, and a choice of Ramen. He chose the same Spice Miso Ramen ($14.95/set). I wanted to taste both Salmon & Ikura donburi and this Char-Siu donburi, so by ordering one each, we get to taste both of them. And this one was a pleasant surprise. It was really, REALLY flavorful! The pork was tender and juicy, the sweet and tangy sauce was tasty, seeping into the rice to make the entire donuri delicious. This donburi had more flavor than the Salmon & Ikura donburi.
Both sets also came with flavored egg. It was cold but nice. I put them in the ramen bowl to get warm and to soak up the broth flavor into the egg. My eldest sister can make THE BEST flavored eggs… And this one was nothing compared to hers, and it was hard-boiled instead of soft-boiled egg. But, it still was a good side dish to have with ramen.
Now, the main dish, their ramen! The Spicy Miso Ramen came in a bright red broth, with a nice amount of toppings. char-siu pork, scallions, kikurage mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.
The amount of char-siu that came with the ramen was quite awesome. Each sliced piece was large, and I think there were two of those large pieces in the ramen bowl. It was spicy but not too spicy, enough to open up your sinuses. The noodle was cooked just right, and with nice texture. I was pleasantly surprised with their dishes, no wonder they are popular.
The other spot, and the last spot that we haven’t visited at Mitsuwa food court was Tokyo Hanten. Here, they seem to have all of their offerings made into wax food. It is really nice to be able to what the food you are ordering are going to (or supposed to) look like. It is kind of Japanese-style Chinese food in my opinion, and again, we had to be in a mood for this kind of food.
Their drink offerings are shown right below the ordering counter. And yes, CASH ONLY. I can’t wait for everyone at the food court to start accepting credit card… So far, Washokutei Kaneda has moved on to the current time, and they accept credit card. Hopefully, others will follow soon…
I chose Hamburg & Gyoza with Rice ($9.49). There was an option to substitute white rice to Fried Rice or Rice Porridge for additional $2. The waxed version of fried rice looked so good, that I decided to swap my white rice with fried rice. This made this set to become $11.49.
It came with four pan-fried gyoza, and they were pretty good. Crispy bottom, thin wrap, and tasty filling. Not bad!
Hamburg Steak was nice and big, plump and juicy. Another pleasant surprise. I somehow had low expectation from this place, since they don’t usually get much of a line. But, the food was pretty good, very comforting and filling.
The fried rice…well, it was just ok. It didn’t have the strong flavor…or much flavor at all… I don’t think it was worth the extra $2. Since Gyoza and Hamburg Steak were flavorful, it would have been fine with plain white rice.
The dishes came with a small cup of soup. Some kind of consommé soup? It was simple with no ingredients in it, but certainly tasty. I liked it.
My husband went with Crab Omelet & Gravy over Pork Rice ($9.25). It looked similar to Omurice, a typical Japanese comfort food, but kind of Chinese version of that.
The egg omelet was good, bot great, but good. The crab meat seemed like a real crab meat, and not imitation kind, which was nice. The gravy gave a nice creamy texture, with a but of sweetness to it. I didn’t see much of “pork” in the “pork rice” though.
The salad that came with both dishes were pretty great. Possibly a daikon radish or similar veggie, topped with seaweed salad. It had great crunchy texture, super fresh and very refreshing.
Our first visit to Ramen Santouka was very successful, we enjoyed it very much. We would most likely try their food again. I really liked the donburi and ramen set. The Tokyo Hanten was ok, it didn’t blew my mind in any way. It was good but not great. The price point was nice, very affordable. Maybe we will try something else again, but it didn’t make the top of our list. I am glad that I can finally say I tried all the eateries at this food court! I would say my favorite out of all the eateries remains to be Wateishoku Kaneda, followed by Hannosuke. The Ramen Santouka is making its way up on my list though. It is so great to have so many affordable Japanese food options available at this supermarket!
Mitsuwa Maketplace – Mitsuwa Marketplace – 595 River Rd, Edgewater, NJ 07020