Benkei has a few locations in Vancouver, but we decided to go this one because we were in that area. It was hard for us to find parking, we ended up parking with the meter a few blocks down.
My visit was alright, but I was quite disappointed with their minimal meat portions (2 thinly cut pieces of chicken/cha shu), I don’t think the price of the ramen was justified when the bulk of it is just noodles and beansprouts.
When we first came in, the restaurant was probably 3/4 full. Their service here wasn’t as friendly as they used to be, they used to actually greet you when you walked in and smile.
They seemed very rushed and that they just wanted us to eat and leave right away. I noticed that their menu changed from the last time I came here, they added some different combo options depending on which ramen bowl you pick.
I decided on getting the shio ramen, $8.50. The broth was very flavourful and they gave a generous amount of onions and beansprouts. I thought this dish was alright except for the chicken, which I was disappointed with. Instead of having the cha-shu (type of pork) with your ramen, you can substitute it for chicken which is leaner and lower in fat.
I personally prefer chicken so I opted for this, however the two slices of chicken was small and really thin. I felt like they should have been more generous with the amount of meat in their dishes.
The boyfriend ordered the miso ramen, $8.50. Again, we felt that the cha-shu portion was really small and that they could have given us more for the price we were paying. Other than that, everything tasted pretty good. He also sprinkled sesame on his noodles which gave it more flavour, I used chili paste instead.
In conclusion, we enjoyed the broth and noodles of our dishes. However, their meat portions were really small which was disappointing and I don’t feel like the price of the ramen were justified.
I would probably go to Kintaro or Santouka for ramen since they have bigger portions and friendlier service.
