The first time we went here, the place was full of people. Seems to be famous, we thought. So we decided to try it another time. And a few weeks later, we did (at our usual late lunch hour). Located on the ground floor outside of Glorietta 2 (facing SM Makati), it may be hard to find for some. But a little wandering around and you will eventually find it. It has this big sign after all.
As is the common practice with many Japanese eateries, they have a window display of the items for sale. We just call it the "example" area. You can see here (besides our shadows) some of the individual items for sale (ramen, salads, ala carte dishes) as well as the sets (bottom row). I wonder if it's true that this is actually real food that's been immortalized in some sort of plasti-fying chemical process? I think it is... Just looks too real!
Anyway, to the eating! We had some of their roasted pork; I think this was the roasted pork cheek. Or was it just the regular roasted pork... The meat was good and tender, with a sweetish, sort of smoky flavor. Kind of like what asado pork would be like if it was softer and barbecued over coals. And not red. That smokiness probably got there because it was roasted (duh). It was a bit on the oily side but all that was easy enough to shake off. It even came with it's own burner to keep it warm. Ah, the Japanese really think of everything.
We then decided to just share a set of their chicken karaage ramen. You know, to get a wide range of tastes in one visit. I believe we decided on the miso soup base for ours (you can choose what soup your ramen comes with in your set). The set came with some rice, a small salad, a warmish sort of eggy flan, and a little tea cup (I think). We also got some boiled egg on the side, because eggs make things special.
The soup had plenty of stuff in it, bamboo shoots, something that felt like cloud ear fungus (aka tenga ng daga), narutomaki, green onions and another serving of pork. The pork here was the belly, and it was pretty nice, but a little on the fatty side to me. May be nicer for the fat-lovers out there. The soup was a bit on the garlicky side, as is the norm with miso soup bases in ramen. It was a nice bowl of ramen for a rainy day.
The chicken karaage sering size was small-average, but considering that it came in a set, it's pretty hefty for just one person. The chicken had a very savoury/spicy thing going on. The sweet chili dip it came with was a nice touch. I can see this stuff being a hit with the kiddies. Them kiddies with their love of anything fried. Mmm... fried chicken...
All of this cost us close to 900 bucks. While it's not cheap, the menu here is pretty flexible and the service is nice, so it's a decent once-in-a-while visit. If you ever need a quiet ramen place at the Glorietta area @2pm on a Saturday, this is one of the places to go.
HOKKAIDO RAMEN SANTOUKA
Ground Floor, Glorietta 4,
Ayala Center, Makati City
https://www.facebook.com/RamenSantoukaPH
HOKKAIDO RAMEN SANTOUKA
Ground Floor, Glorietta 4,
Ayala Center, Makati City
https://www.facebook.com/RamenSantoukaPH
