One of my favourite ramen places in Vancouver. The tonkotsu shio ramen I had was delicious and reasonably priced as well. Been here a few times in the past and will definitely come back.
Great little ramen spot with lots of options and good quantity. I had the spicy miso and it was all around good. The egg was a little over cooked. Definitely want to try some of the other ramen, such as the tonkontsu and the black garlic. Also the smoked chasu sounds good too.
Eat Sleep Eat Repeat
+3.5
Word of mouth puts Koika amongst the top ramen joints in the west side and after taking down a couple bowls here I can see why. My first visit I had the chicken tomago ramen with their signature smoked chashu. I have to say it was one of the best bowls I've had in Vancouver, the broth was rich and bursting with chicken flavour, the smokey chashu was over the top and it came with 2 delicious eggs. My second visit I had the triple black tonkotsu with no add ons. The broth was good but it was nothing special, the chicken was much better; however, I enjoyed the steamed spinach topping, not something you typically find in ramen but it should be. The service here is good and food comes fast, just what you would expect from a ramen joint. I definitely appreciate the variety of ramen types offered here, but the chicken tomago will be my go-to from now on.
You shouldn't have to worry about a line here unlike other spots(santouka..) both times I visited mid-afternoon on Saturday and there were only a few other customers. The restaurant is set up with a few smaller tables as well as bar-type seating so best not to bring large groups.
“Ramen Koika” is home to the only ramen challenge in the city. Here, the goal is to finish one of their “Big Bowls” of ramen in under 10 minutes. Also making it the only challenge that you have to undertake in such short amount of time. And when you layer on the fact that it is served piping hot, we went in knowing we had a slim chance of winning. However, there are apparently six individuals who have attempted and succeeded in their challenge, and the seventh we witnessed during our stay. A victory earned them their photo on the restaurant’s wall, the challenge for free, and a gift certificate for another bowl on the house during their next visit.
They always have fun promotions going on, came in here during the summer for their tsukemen (cold noodle) ramen promo, and they have some sort of Trick-or-Treat promo going on right now? They also have a variety of ramen compared to other places around the area. Food wise, it's pretty ok!! Not the absolute best, but its still very yummy. Enjoyed the food here. It also didn't give me the runs. 4/5 stars.
YUMMM! Decided to try this spot after passing my it many times, and dragged my boyfriend in even tho he doesn't like ramen. I ordered the panfried gyoza to share, the spicy Queens Ramen with shredded pork for him, and the kimchi ramen for myself. Both broths were on point with big portions and the Gyoza was tasty. Also, for someone that disliked ramen, he ate it all ;p
Ramen Koika is located on Davie Street opened by Caleb Lee. He traveled to Japan to learn how to make ramen in Chiba, Tokyo and Osaka. Did you know he also was a banker before getting into the restaurant industry? Vancouver Sun has a pretty good article talking about it how they began their journey into creating Ramen Koika.
I find that with some of the ramen, it has a lot of toppings that didn't add too much flavour to the ramen. Perhaps it's just a style that wasn't what I liked at Ramen Koika. My personal preference for ramen is very rich and fatty with less amount of toppings.
It's good that they offer more options than just ramen, so if you are with friends that don't want ramen, they can find other types of items on their menu.
Ramen Koika has been on my list of restaurants to try since forever... finally got a chance to try it!
I got drawn to this place from their spicy ramen challenge thing that have. But being it was my first time, thought I wouldn't go so extreme yet.
I got the Shoyu Ramen with soft noodles and Lean Cha-shu. My boyfriend got the Black Ramen with hard noodles and Fatty Cha-shu. Both broths were quite flavorful. Their eggs are perfection. I always add corn to my ramen, which they give a more generous portion than other ramen places. There wasn't much difference between the soft and hard noodles.
Overall, I really enjoyed it! My next challenge will be their spicy ramen!
May 29, 2016
Met up another foodie friend of ours for dinner. I've been craving Tsukemen, so that's why we came here. We were here around 8PM, the place wasn't very busy.
Ugly Onigiri - Very plain. I like how it had lots of seaweed flakes and seasame on top. The rice was warm. The tuna inside tasted like it was from a can.
Pork Gyoza - Homemade. Full of pork. Never had a gyoza so meaty before. It was delicious.
Tokyo Tsukemen - I got the spicy option as the lady said it wasn't too spicy. Mind you, I love spicy, but my stomach gets upset easily nowadays. It came with a big plate of ramen noodles made fresh in the house. I ate it pretty quickly. I even order extra noodles for $3 extra. It was 10 minutes wait, but it was worth it to me.
Service - Pretty good. Lady checked up on us a few times. Very nice. She even heated my dipping sauce back up for my extra noodles.
I really liked the chicken broth. It was not too greasy and not too salty ( i am also all about healthy tasting food too) there was alooot of vegetables which is also why i really liked it. Me and my friend actually came here to try the spicy ramen challenge. But at that time, they actually ran out of the spicy ingredients to make that ramen. My friend was also disappointed with his humble prince ramen though. He didn't find it spicy enough. I'll be back when the challenge comes back!
While the West End is home to many ramen eateries, mostly in Robson and Denman area, there is only one ramen house in Davie Village. Located by the Rainbow crosswalk, Ramen Koika is a place where ramen aficionados can get their noodle fix in this neighbourhood. It has been a year since I last reviewed Ramen Koika; I visited them as a regular customer on a few occasions. This time around, I attended a media event where I sampled newer items that have been introduced to the menu since then.
Yaki Soba was so good!!!! It's an authentic Yaki Soba!!
Sadly the ramen was not so my taste :(
I'm definitely going back for the Yaki Soba.
Recommend :)
One-liner: Great ramens from all over Japan in one trained restaurant
Highlight: King’s Ramen
Recommended for: Ramen lovers looking to try a bowl from more than one region of Japan
Would I go back? Yes.
Check out my blog post for the full review!
Some of the best ramen in town! I got the king's ramen. Broth was not overwhelmingly smoky, and super flavourful and not full of salt like some other ramen places (ahem, Benkei). Service was great and the atmosphere was relaxed and felt authentic.
Absolutely my favorite Ramen restaurant! They offer variety of ramen from wok Ramen to traditional ones, Light broth to rich, hard noodles to soft and so on. Super friendly staffs and fast service. Always recommend!
Ramen in some ways is a serious sport, definitely not to be taken lightly. I was very fortunate to meet the owner and to learn his journey on how he ventured off to follow the passion that is ramen and to learn the technique and art of ramen making from the place that started it all – in Japan and to now having owning his very own shop in Vancouver. From the ramen dishes we tried, you were able to see the passion and quality behind the ingredients that make up each dish. I definitely learned a lot on my short visit here.
Simply the best ramen that I will probably try in my life. I first got here because I was trying to find a place where they made their own noodles, after i saw that several of the packed places in West end had their dry noodle boxes piled up. I wanted something fresh made from scratch. And I wasn't wrong. This IS a ramen experience. I got an addiction to Koika's shoyu ramen. Tasty, thick and comforting. I have to try to make them myself now that I'm in another town! :(
When I met one of my now closest friends our reason for bonding was over Ramen noodles- and Ramen Koika is the best! The ramen bun on the burgers is nothing to be shy of. Buckle up for a ride to your taste buds.
My Ramen adventure continues with Koika on Davie. This is not your normal Ramen shop in that it is proudly Korean owned and more of a fusion style Ramen stop. Ramen is really popular in Korea as well and even though it was hard to to order Chasu, I went with the smoky Ramen signature fish with ground pork, however caved and ordered a half boiled egg. It was really delicious. More on the rich side, but loved the broth noodles and flavors. The service here is extremely friendly too. They have traditional Japanese style Ramen, but I'd recommend trying their signature dishes.
I came here with high expectations of tasting a delicious and flavorful ramen burger. The ramen part of the burger (buns) were very disappointing. The top layer was crunchy but the bottom was just soggy and mushy. The flavor was bland with no seasoning whatsoever. By the time you hold the burger right side up, the sauce has already sunk to the bottom, leaving your hand oily and wet. Everything else was good, the patty was thick and juicy, lettuce was fresh, and cheese was gooey. I think it would be better if tomato, it really felt like something was lacking and tomatoes would give it that real burger taste. Their special burger sauce was also quite bland. Maybe if I decide to come back, I'll try the spicy or teriyaki version and hope there would be more flavor. Their hurricane potato was an original flavor, like fries with salt.
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This was a new ramen place and we must all think - what? Another one? Well, this one has the infamous ramen burger that I've always wanted to try... and guess what?
IT SUCKED!
I didn't enjoy the sweet sauce in the ramen burger. I didn't like how the noodles were kind of cold. But I guess they didn't want to burn my hands? Or maybe it was done to hold the burger together. I mean, you can't exactly have hot runny noodles as the bun, right? Regardless, it felt like way too much carbs even though the burger patty was quite thick. I would've liked it more if the noodle patty was toned down a bit - perhaps by 50%. Also, being a noodle bun, it was quite filling... all in all it wasn't enjoyable and the novelty wore off pretty fast. The tornado chips didn't help either because it got cold very fast. I should have ate it ASAP. The ramen was good though but I had to work on my ramen burger so I couldn't really enjoy it as much :( Come here for the ramen but stay away from the ramen burger. If you must, order it and share it between 4 friends.
Ramen Koika makes their own noodles and has no MSG in their ramen. Their ramen options are quite extensive: chicken-broth, pork-broth, wok-fried, vegetarian broth, regular cha-shu, non-cha-shu, salad and last but not least, burger! On my first visit, I had the Nagasaki Champon seafood ramen. It was pork-broth based and consisted of black tree fungus, bok choy, onion, cabbage, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chili, prawns, scallop, mussel, and squid.
When I heard that there was a restaurant serving a version of the infamous ramen burger that was a culinary invention by Keizo Shimamoto back in 2013, I knew I had to go and try it out. Ramen Koika opened last summer on Davie Street and it was a pleasant edition to the restaurant scene in the area which includes Fritz European Fry House, Stephos and other local favourites. Outdoor sign The Flavour Hunter team are all lovers of Japanese cuisine and specifically ramen restaurants. However, ramen is a tough sell to those who expect perfection in each bowl. Patience and practice is required in order to master the art of ramen and the chefs at Ramen Koika were trained in Chiba and Osaka, which should indicate their devotion to the craft. Ramen Koika’s website states that the noodles and broth are made fresh in the restaurant everyday.
I had been to a few ramen places near Robson and Denman lately (Santouka, Marutama, Hida) and wanted to try somewhere new. I passed by Ramen Koika on Davie and was attracted to an ad posted of their new ramen buger. Curious about this creation, I ventured to Ramen Koika for a new ramen experience. This post reflects two occasions when I went to Ramen Koika.
Solid bowl of ramen, rich broth, thick slices of cha siu (pork), and good amount of ramen. They also have a ramen burger on the menu which the bun is made from ramen, very unique! I like this place and would definitely come back!
Lovely ramen. The King's ramen is quite outstanding. Looking forward to trying the black garlic when I come back!
Good price good food~♡. I try many ramen place in Vancouver.
Koika is the best~!!!
Compared to the other ramen place the food presentation is not really good also price is little high.
Koika~ always making new menu every season and fresh noodle and soup everyday. Don't just wait go take a look and compare with the other ramen. The best I'm telling you guys. ☆☆☆☆☆ for you Koika~!!!
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What's neat about Koika is that they have "wok fried" ramen, meaning that they wok fry the ingredients on top which imparts a smokey flavour into the final product! They also have this thing called the Koika Red Ramen challenge, if you slurp down every last drop of their spiciest ramen, you get it for FREE!!! And you get your picture immortalized on their wall of flame LOL. Get it, Wall of Flame?? Pretty clever eh? harhar. *slaps knee* - (Wow you sure are easily amused Selina) Why yes, yes I am ;) But it's no easy feat...you have to finish the entire bowl, including the soup in 15 mins flat!! I would rather eat 3 bowls of regular ramen then down a bowl of their level 3 ramen...I have a very low tolerance for spicy food lol. My mom was thinking about doing the Level 3 challenge but backed out at the last minute, she was like "If I did it I would probably need an ambulance after!" LOL Red Ramen - Level 1 Spicy Fever $9.95 Pork Broth w/ Char Siu 3.5/5 stars My mom chose the red ramen, and she really liked it! It was just the right amount of spiciness, tolerable but not mild either. The broth was smooth, with a strong pork bone flavour. She commented that there was depth beyond the initial spiciness, so it wasn't one note! The fatty pieces of char siu pieces were semi-tender and they were torched which imparted a strong smokey flavour. The noodles were al dente The dilemma of fatty or lean char siu? Who are you kidding, there is NO dilemma, FATTY ALL THE WAY!!! Shot of the noodles!! :D Wok Fried King's Ramen $11. 3.5/5 stars This was a huge bowl, a lot larger than my mom's red ramen!
Love you, Ramen Koika!. I love every single wok ramen they have and it is really distinctive from other ramenya! The smokiness of the wok fried ingredients is just right and the texture of the fresh noodle is fantastic. I didn't like other ramenya much because they are sometimes way to heavy from excessive pork fat they put. Oh seemed like they don't put MSG? I was shocked when I went to Ramen Jinya and saw a pile of chicken stock. I don't taste MSG and they are still sooo tasty so I feel like having ramen from back home in Japan with a little bit special smoky taste. They taste just right. Truly authentic and heart warming. I can't wait for winter to come so I crave ramen every night.
Shio gentleman. Chicken broth meets light creamy milky butter with fresh vegetables and BBQ chashu, very typical northern Japanese style enjoy it
Cute new restaurant on Davie street. flavourful pork broth! my favourite is the the spicy ramen. Glad to have a ramen place that isn't in its usual congested spot of robson/Denman area. it is currently offering $6 ramen - worth to give it a try at that price!
Loved it!. I've tried almost every menus here at ramen koika. The noodles are freshly made in-house every monring when most of the other ramen places serve ordered ones. All were surprisingly tasty and also they have the best service. Can surely tell this place is the best ramen place in Vancouver.
Shoyu ramen with thick pork broth. Noodles are made in-house to perfection! Soup are tasteful and not too salty! Great service!
Tasty! 6$ opening special.... Tasty!
6$ opening special for all Raman on the menu right now. We each chose a different one, and all were delicious! The spicy chicken veggie was certainly hot, nice chili flavor and full of vegetables and noodles. I sampled the cheesy miso (akin to a Japanese chowder?) and the Shio (much meatier and thicker than the chicken). Great service, cute set up, will be back!
Grayson and I stumbled upon Ramen Koiza on our post dinner walk downtown a couple of weeks ago and upon seeing the menu we said that we would go try it the week after because I REALLY wanted to try the Matcha Men and well, Grayson is always up for ramen. So like we decided, we went the week after. Now getting there was quite the adventure…because I sort of forgot where it was and I told Grayson that it was either on Denman OR Davie street. And because I said that…we spent 45 minutes walking up and down Denman street trying to find it before Grayson finally decided that he would look it up because he got too hungry.
A newly opened Ramen-ya on Davie street. The interior is similar to other ramen-yas in town with the wooden interior and open concept where you could see the staff cooking up the noodles. Sheepie and I sat at the table at the back and the area was stacked with pop bottles and boxes. I ordered the Shio ramen $8.50. The men (noodle) weren’t the kind I liked, but it wasn’t too bad. The broth was pretty good. Service was satisfactory, a bit tight in terms of space at the back. I’d prefer to site elsewhere away from all the kitchen ‘storage’ and bathroom. I think I’d like to come back to try their other flavours, though a bit pricey.
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Hi everyone! After talking to a travel agent on Davie, me and Phil decided to go grab some food within that block. We came across to this Ramen place across the street and thought might as well give it a try. At first Phil was going to check out the rating on Urbanspoon, but I thought we should just give them a chance without being influenced by a rating shown on Urbanspoon. With no expectations in mind, we were very pleased by the quality and the amount of variety they have. Within the menu, there was a page highlighting their restaurant challenge. They have 3 different levels of spicy noodles: Level 1-SpiceFever, Level 2-Caboom, Level 3-Burning in hell. If you manage to down all that noodle within 15 minutes, you get the Ramen for free, your picture will be shown on the wall of fame & you'll receive a certificate for completion. I thought this is such a fun and interesting feature they have, but I'll never try it, I'll just watch :) We just went there for lunch and I was not planning to down spicy noodles that day, so no, me and Phil did not take on the challenge. :P Phil ordered the Blackened Miso Ramen (approx. $9-$10) He thought the soup consistency was extremely thick and was pretty disappointed. Overall, flavor is good but the soup was too thick.
There was an ample helping of garlic chips which gave the broth intense garlic flavour! For the cha-su, you can choose to have it fatty or lean.
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