Finally! I made it to Kintaro after half a year of going without it (it’s smack dab in downtown Vancouver and it’s very hard to find free parking there. PLUS the line ups are usually insane). I had tried to line up for Kentaro a few months ago, but I was starving so went for Bentaro Ramen instead (which is down the block and definitely not as tasty). So without further delay, here is my review on Kintaro Ramen.
This is another MUST EAT if you ever come to Vancouver. Please do yourself justice and line up the extra 20-40 minutes it takes to get a seat in this hole-in-the-wall eatery. There’s only about 20 seats in this entire joint, so that’s why there is a wait. It’s just on the outskirts of Stanley Park at Denman and Robson (a major tourist attraction) so there’s really no excuse.
The portions are HUGE- the bowl is about 1.5x the size of my head (and my head is average sized LOL) and whenever I go there, I always get my favourite ramen, the Cheese Ramen (in the caption on the menu, it says “the ladies LOOOOVE it” and they are right!). Check out the picture of the cheese ramen I took- do you see that massive pile of mozzarella cheese? Can you say CHEESE heaven!? The huge bowl is about $8.50 (without the cheese, you’re looking at around $7.50 for a bowl). Kintaro’s is the ONLY ramen joint in town that offers cheese ramen.
You can pick how fatty you want your pork to taste and how you want “rich” you want your broth to taste (I usually order medium broth). They make their own noodles from scratch, so the noodles always taste fresh.
The downside is that they are closed on Mondays (usually it’s not busy in downtown, hence easier to find parking on Mondays) but open on other days between 12pm and 11pm. There is always a consistent line up (so if you ever drive by Denman street and wonder what that line-up is about, it’s for Kintaro’s!) no matter what time of the day you come.
The other downside (or maybe not!) is that because it’s so packed all the time, often you are sitting with other people at the same round table (kind of nice and communal, I suppose) so you can hear their conversations and they can hear yours. There are some private tables for two along the wall, and some bar stool tables (where you can check out the chefs).
The staff are always friendly too, and often you can order ahead of time, while waiting in line outside, so when you finally get to sit down- you’re ready to eat!
Readers, would you do a cheese ramen? Or does that sound kind of unappealing to you? Any visitors (or fellow Vancouverites) been to this joint? What did you think?
I highly recommend trying this place out too if you happen to be in Vancouver
There’s a lot of ramen places in downtown, but I still think Kintaro is the BEST!
My wife makes a great ramen salad during the warmer months.
What is your breakdown of brown bagging vs. eating out? How often do you try these places? I have seen 2 lunch picks over the past couple of visits here.
what is your weekly budget for food and how do you break down lunch? << and add in the coffee take a-ways and if you drink bottled water… $$$ this all adds up quickly
@question everything- let’s see…to answer your questions, I never go for coffee and I always brown bag my lunch. Occasionally (maybe once every two months) I have a $2 pizza for lunch or I go out with coworkers for lunch (maybe $10). For my cheap and good eats around vancouver, I’d say I go maybe once every two weeks to one month. These outings usually cost under $10. Hope that answers your questions, question everything
@question everything- oh and I never drink bottled water. That’s really bad for the planet anyways
Wil have to bear this in mind!
Cheese ramen BF would be down for (he likes weird ass combinations. Me, I’m not so sure)
nom nom nom!!!
Ohhh, it looks soooo goood!!!
I will have to bug you for a list of must eat the next time we go up to Vancouver!
The Mrs. would love love love the cheese ramen. She is like Wallace & Grommet when it comes to cheese.
@retirebyforty- I think me and your Mrs. would get along very well! Does she like garlic too? Garlic and Cheese (not necessarily together) are my kryptonite.
That looks absolutely delicious! Haven’t been to Vancouver, but will definitely keep this in mind!
Mmmmm… that looks great!!! I would defo go for cheese ramen!!!
Can I just say how delish that looks? YUM. I go to ramen every week with 3 ladies from work. It’s our “thing” to do. The place is small and packed to the gills with old Japanese men, so we get looks but now they consider us “Japanese” too.
@Sandy @yesiamcheap- That sounds like a lovely tradition with colleagues- networking and japanese food- two birds with one stone! It’s always nice to be the ‘regulars’ and be treated like family away from your home or work
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