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    Kawawa Japanese Ramen

    1.9 (260 reviews)
    ModerateSushi Bars, Ramen
    Open 11:30 am - 11:00 pm

    Kawawa Japanese Ramen Photos

    KAWAWA JAPANESE RAMEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Kawawa Japanese Ramen

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    Reviews With Photos

    Ayce aushi
    Munchica E.

    Hidden GEM alert!! You gotta eat here and you are missing out if you haven't! You can order any 30 items from a set menu for only $19.95! And these 30 items are like good filling items! It's remarkable because in any food court or any other restaurant, you cannot even get half the amount of food for this price! The salmon nigiri was very fresh and the chicken wings were amazing. The gomae was also tasty. Sure some items were meh but for what you pay you really can't complain. The service was good once you got it but they are understaffed for sure and the lady working there was scurrying around as fast as she could. Sometimes your orders are dropped but as long as you keep track and remind them they will bring you the food. Plus since it's any 30 items pseudo a la carte, you can pack the leftovers to go. It's a miracle feast in days of crazy inflation.

    Chicken katsu
    Paige H.

    The service was honestly terrible. My friend had his entree brought out and then we sat there waiting for at least another 15 minutes before mine so his unagi bowl got cold. My chicken katsu was unbelievably greasy and just low quality. The meat was clearly low grade and I felt sick after eating.

    Kawawa ramen. Broth is a bit bland.
    Carolyn L.

    I was in the mood for ramen or soup noodle when in Metrotown, and against my better judgement, I decided to give this place a try. Bad decision. The ramen was really really not nice, as what the reviews indicated. I decided to get the Kawawa ramen as I thought it might be better since it was more expensive. No difference. The broth was towards the bland side. I doctored it with the chili flakes. There were also fresh raw minced garlic and chili oil sauce on the table. That should be a clue --- not really Japanese ramen. The saving grace was the pork belly. That was flavorful but fatty. I scraped the layers of fat from the meat. The egg was also good. As for the rest, it was meh. The diners at the next tabled joked it was like eating instant noodle. I disagreed as at least the soup for instant noodle had more taste than this. I should stick to my go-to Japanese ramen places (from Japan) in future. Just so unfortunate they are only located in Vancouver itself.

    A la carte menu~
    Edward L.

    Dang. They got rid of the AYCE option. This really sucks. In return they now have poke bowls. Nice touch, but the cost adds up really quickly. $13-15 per bowl. They now have other dishes too such as hot pot, but the prices have gone right up. The poke bowl is decent but nothing special. In other words, not worth a special trip out. Looks like I'll be heading to Kingsway sushi instead for my AYCE needs.

    a bowl of ramen and a wooden spoon
    Andrew M.

    I think the food was just purely bad. Got the kawawa ramen and the original ramen and both of them were just super bland and super tasteless. It was very diluted and didnt feel like ramen. While i was there, had a lot of people were frustrated with the service of the restaurant. I think you guys should fix the issue of the service. Cheers!

    Kawawa ramen
    Tony J.

    Japanese restaurant on the upper floor of Metrotown. It's near the Winners/Homesense in one of the less frequented areas of the mall. The restaurant has a larger section that serves sushi, and a smaller space that serves ramen. This review is only for the ramen section. The menu is small, with a selection of ramen and some appetizers. Got their signature Kawawa ramen which had three pieces of roast pork, half an egg, some kimchi(?) in the darker, saltier soup base. Portion was pretty decent, the meat was good, and the whole thing tasted decent enough to me. Also tried the chashu from someone else's chashu ramen, and no complaints. Prices are not too expensive. If you are in a hurry, you can pay at the counter instead of waiting for them to get the check for you.

    Ivone K.

    I have been spoiled with great ramen in Vancouver and can't help that I would use these great ramen places as comparison. We lined up early and got our seats right away. The server was polite but she rushed us to get the order right away, rather than asking us if we have any questions or recommendations in regards the menu. Our order came out at a decent time. I decided to go with the original (like a shio ramen). I honestly was disappointed, the ajitama egg was overcooked at didn't have that lovely custardy yolk. The temperature was lukewarm, not piping hot. The broth was so thin and it lacked that layers of flavor that I crave from a good ramen. The noodle was not springy. I can go on and on but I think we got the point here. The server never checked on us on how our orders were, but she quite attentive in refilling our tea. Unfortunately I would not recommend this place for a bowl of ramen

    Shoyu ramen
    Kristie W.

    We had the Shoyu and Kawawa ramen. Overall, mediocre soup base, noodles and chashu. The soup base doesn't have much depth of flavour. The Roasted pork in the Kawawa ramen is super flavourful and tender, however. Also very affordable ($11-$13 for a bowl ramen).

    Kawawa Ramen
    Ira M.

    We ordered 4 Kawawa Ramen and we were not happy with the taste. The broth was salty and the presentation was not appealing. Service was slow. We were seated for 5 minutes before one of us had to ask for water and tea. Shouldn't it be automatic when eating at a japanese restaurant where they will bring tea right away. We don't recommend.

    Original, Miso and Shoyu Ramen
    Naomi T.

    This place is conveniently located inside the mall and prices are cheap. Those are basically the only selling points. The broth is SUPER bland and tasteless. The price includes 1 piece of chashu and you can add $1 to get 3 pieces of chashu. At least the chashu tasted ok. My parents thought it was fine because they didn't want something heavy and overly salty and fatty.

    Denise W.

    Because this place is inside Metrotown there are abundance of parking. The ramen is this place is not good. It tasted like instant noodle. You can tell its not fresh. As well the soup doesn;t have much flavor to it. Not to mention the Chashu mean doens't melt in your mouth. It was a bit dry. Also the egg was over cooked. (see picture) This place is ran by Chinese. Overall its ok but definitely not authentic. The price they charge is ok. But compared to the ramen places in downtown, they are no where near that level. As well, I ordered the gyoza and I have to admit, the gyoza is better than their ramen dish. The gyoza has lot of meat which is different. And the gyoza was very juicy. I see it succeeding more as a gyoza place than a ramen place.

    Negi ramen
    Winarni P.

    This place is inside metrotown mall (across the winners). They own two restaurants, sushi and ramen. We went to the ramen place. They have lots of choice on the menu, but then I decided to go with negi ramen. First of all, when the food come out, it is not HOT. it was like warm to cold which make me think... I thought the broth will be savoury but it turns out it goes to sweet side (probably of the corn). Noodle texture is good, but other than that it's a NO. The meat is so little(probably 1tbs), lots of green onion that I feel the green onion is not fresh. I rather eat fast food in food court rather than this ramen. Service was worst (0.5/5)! When we come, they didn't give the water right away and we have to ask few times. They were not that busy at that time (lots of empty seat, and 2table hasn't been clean). When we asked for the water (before she went to clean the table), she said "give me a minute". Then you know what, she chose to clean the table instead of giving us water. She can just do it later because the place was not busy anyway and she was not in the middle of cleaning the table. and service was super slow tooo! even when we ask for empty bowl (bcause my friend want to try mine, it tooks forever)

    Curry ramen

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    9 months ago

    Took us 1 HOUR just to get the salads and 10 minutes just to get 3 sushi would not recommend unless you have lots of time to spend

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    Page 1 of 7

    Kawawa Japanese Ramen Reviews in Other Languages

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    Ramen DANBO - Robson

    Ramen DANBO - Robson

    4.4
    (764 reviews)
    11.5 km
    $$

    I recommend going early! Since I was having a solo party, I was able to be seated early at the…read morecounter if there were any available seats! The guy in front of me, Deng, looked at me with such envy as he cut in line. This place is incredibly popular! Every time I pass by, there's a long queue. Even on rainy days, people are willing to get soaked in the rain just to have a bowl of hot tonkotsu ramen. While you're queuing, the staff will hand out menus. The ordering system is similar to Ichiran Ramen; you can choose the noodle firmness, broth consistency, spiciness, green onions, oil level, and MSG amount . The basic ramen is only $13. I added a soft-boiled egg and pickled cabbage for $2 each. Although the pickled cabbage is really expensive , I can't help it, I'm a pickled cabbage addict! The pickled cabbage paired with the rich tonkotsu broth was refreshing. The broth was flavorful but not greasy, the noodles were chewy and springy, and the portion size was just right. Overall, it's incredibly good value for money; no wonder there's always a queue. After eating, you really get that "Ah~ this is the taste of happiness" feeling

    Coming from Hawaii, I had high expectations. This is my 2nd time visiting Vancouver, and the 1st…read moretime had a long line that I walked away from. This time, still a line, but it went faster. This is definitely not a sit down and enjoy your meal w anyone. Order your food from a slip of paper you're given so that by the time you sit, they collect it and place the order. Seats are hard and it is devised where you and then leave. I had the goma vegetarian and my brother the tonkatsu. We both had thicker noodles. However, one could not tell. The vegetarian was loaded with sesame seeds. Now i love those seeds but it was way too much for my liking. Too much seeds to chew on. They also do not put any vegetables on like Hawaii does. Everything is ala carte and that adds up. I simply chose the ramen version without all the add ons. The broth was yummy but again with the loaded seeds, it made it challenging to just drink the soup. I will say, Hawaii has by far better ramen, but this place was ok too. Pricey for for what you get though.

    Photos
    Ramen DANBO - Robson
    Ramen - most delicious!!!
    Ramen - most delicious!!!
    Classic ramen with chashu nori soft-boiled egg

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    Classic ramen with chashu nori soft-boiled egg
    Hokkai Ramen & Sushi

    Hokkai Ramen & Sushi

    4.3
    (294 reviews)
    60.8 km
    $$

    The food was GREAT! I came here with my family and I'd say they all enjoyed eating their food. The…read morewaiters were VERY nice. The overall vibe of it is just great. They have elevator music in the background. (The food also came out about 10-15 mins after order) I would come here again and highly recommend it.

    After finishing up my shopping at Trader Joe's, my family wanted to grab a bite for lunch. I…read morechecked Yelp, and this was the highest rated place nearby. And it helped that it was within walking distance. Upon walking in, the staff let us pick an empty table. The place is rather typical looking for a family-run Japanese restaurant. It was clean, which is the most important thing for these quick lunch stops. - Takoyaki: OK. Good size, covered in bonito flakes. It was quite well presented and tasted fine. My only complaint was that it was close to lukewarm not hot, so it didn't seem freshly made. The greens seemed unnecessary. - Vegetable Tempura: OK. Nothing special. A good tempura batter is very light and airy, but this one was a bit bready. - Shoyu Ramen: OK. Good size, and flavors where there. The pork was the thickest piece I've ever had in a ramen bowl, but very tender, so no real complaints. - Chicken Teriyaki Rice: Not recommended. Chicken was tender enough, but I prefer chicken with skin. Plate was drowning in sauce. Edible, but not enjoyable. Service was simple and nice enough. Food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Overall, we were satisfied. The food here caters to what locals want and expect, and they generally do a fine job with it. If I was hungry and was in the area, I would certainly consider it.

    Photos
    Sushi counter
    Sushi counter
    Nigiri Combo and Rainbow Roll! IG - @bilalandjesseatfood
    Nigiri Combo and Rainbow Roll! IG - @bilalandjesseatfood
    Hokkai ramen, salmon nigiri, spicy tuna roll, pork tonkatsu

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    Hokkai ramen, salmon nigiri, spicy tuna roll, pork tonkatsu

    Kawawa Japanese Ramen - sushi - Updated August 2026

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