Ramen and Instant Noodles

Few days ago wife and I went out for lunch at our favorite ramen place - Motomachi Shokudo - somewhere in the Downtown area near Stanley Park.

In case people don't know it is a Ramen place

We haven't been there for a while and wife wanted ramen so bad that day and there was nothing that could've held her back. Not to mention that day was cold and gloomy; a good excuse to fill our stomach.

Those wooden chairs remind us of Chinese noodle shops

It is rather small inside, I believe the maximum capacity is about 20 people. Because of such limitation, we always try to be the first guests - lining up 5 minutes before it opens.

For some reason, wife was in the mood for their Cold Ramen instead of the hot soupy version.

While I ordered our usual favourite - Nama-Shoyu Ramen.

Motomachi Shokudo is the sister "Ramen Shop" of Kintaro, which is located about 4-6 shops down the road. While Kintaro is known for its sinful pork fat (not so healthy) and a budget-friendly menu, Motomachi is the total opposite. It's more expensive, uses organic ingredients and chicken broth (instead of pork), and is not as greasy Kintaro. Still sinful though, but it's probably the place to experiment with some mod style Ramen.

VanMag wrote an article about the chef/owner behind both Ramen shops back in 2008: http://www.vanmag.com/Restaurants/Chef_Profiles/Mr_Noodle

We saw these funny looking mopeds on our way back to the parking lot. This shop rents out bikes for people who want to enjoy a day in Stanley Park without the hassle of bringing your own bike from your home to Stanley Park. Solid business model I'd say!

Speaking of Ramen, not too long ago we replenished our stock of instant noodles for the rainy days in case we were running out of food. We normally don't eat them unless we really really have to (which is very rare). I have been reducing my instant noodles consumption probably since a few years ago while wife isn't big on them except on a few rare occasions when she had a sudden craving.

This time around, we decided to get some of the unusual flavours of our favorite brands.

We also bought a few more because Ramen Rater had asked us to send him a few exotic flavors not available around his neck of woods. I was a little bit hesitant to do this at first due to the strict rule of U.S. customs and to know that there was a big chance that they will be confiscated but no pain no gain I suppose. Luckily he received them all.