Sunday afternoon Came at 3pm, one hour before they took a break, in van not many ramen place have a vegetarian broth but this one does, its a tomato soup base with onion, garlic, cheese and some herbs. I order a spicy tomato broth, its a must try if you like spicy food. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Tomato broth cheese ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Omg! We love their Tsukemen noodle. It was so delicious! Can't get enough of it! Service here is friendly too. Every time we come here, we left with a satisfied smile :) Keep up the good work guys! Plz don't change a thing! Wish you guys would have another location in Burnaby. That city desperately needs a GOOD decent ramen. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Taishoken has given my stomach a new taste sensation I know I will want to repeat. I just found a new world of ramen eating - TSUKEMEN (dipping noodle)! My friend Andrea P. and I were lucky to be seated right away on a Saturday afternoon, we were greeted promptly and loudly. We instantly knew we were going to order tsukemen but there are options such as original or spicy flavour, cold or warm noodles and pork shoulder or pork belly as the meat. The waitress stated that cold noodles were the traditional route, but most people like the warm noodles, so I opted for the warm noodles, original soup and going all out with the phatty goodness with the pork belly. The noodles were noticeably thicker than regular ramen noodles and they were definitely chewier, which I adored! I enjoyed the gooey egg that came with it, just the right goo and rich yolky goodness. Now for the main dip, the broth was thick and had a layer of oil on the top. I'm not usually a very saucy girl but the thickness of the broth stuck to the noodles like a magnet, the noodles consequently had a taste that was very rich and salty. It was a saturation of flavours and along with the very tender and soft pork belly, that just took my stomach to another level of digestion. I was taking my time to eat and my broth cooled down, so it was very cool (or shall I rather say HOT) that they had a hot stone called a "yaki ishi" that they places inside your bowl of soup! It sizzles and heats up your cooled down soup - so fun to watch! In the end, I couldn't finish my tsukemen because they gave a lot of noodles (not complaining here) and the soup was just so overwhelming with its heavy flavours. So I had to pack it up and it made for a nice midnight snack, although the noodles lost its extra chewiness once reheated. Overall, very nice service with prompt help and waters were never half full. If I'm craving for a dose of coma inducing flavours and good chewy ramen noodles, this is where you'll find me! read more

See all

My first ramen experience and overall I was left feeling satisfied. The noodles were fresh and plentiful, but my ramen broth was lukewarm which quickly became cold. The broth was silky but very fatty which I found unappealing compared to a lighter broth like pho. Not sure ramen is my jam. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Pork ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I like how everything comes separated. That's pretty much it. Standard ramen to me. Spicy miso wasn't so spicy and I usually have a low tolerance. MSG loaded. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The ramen is tasty and the service is good, but the broth is SO thick that it made me feel quite ill, along with the other guests I was with. I love ramen and this is definitely the thickest broth I've ever experienced. Would recommend to ask them to use less lard when you're ordering. read more

Fast Enough space Tasty I come here usually before a movie or to just have a quick tasty dinner :) reliable and dependable, accurate execution. I'd go back if I was in the area :) read more

Taishoken Ramen - The extra noodle was part of my friend's friend order. - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Tsukemen is the only thing I order here, and they do it great. I went here today with a good friend of mine, and ended up being so hungry that I forgot to take a picture! Aha well better luck next time... The karamiso is AWESOME, and my only complaint is that the portions are way too small for the price. I barely got any bamboo shoot or chasu with my broth, which was disappointing. However they were delicious, and the chasu was juicy despite the fact I got the lean meat. A nice place to stop by for lunch if you're in the area. Service is okay-ish. Food is what you're gonna be here for. read more

See all

My friends and I arrived at a later time, 9:30 to try the dipping ramen. It's pretty good! I particularly enjoyed the texture and type of noodles they serve. The soup was good and was nice to be able to dilute and drink when you're done. I've tried doing this before when I was in Japan, and this is the first place I've tried here in Vancouver that tells you about it. I also tried the garlic ramen. When they say garlic, they mean business. So if you are a fellow garlic lover, this is for you. Note: This place is a chain, there is one in Tokyo. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Dipping Ramen - Original - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

One of my favorite ramen places around vancouver for tonkotsu ramen. Not as good as in Japan, but I can't complain. Soup - great. Not too oily or salty like some reviews described, but there is hint of..Fish?! I have no idea why --" Shashu and topping are pretty good amount and I love that I can have it leaner (shoulder) Noodles are really tasty and on the trickier side (even tho I personally prefer thin noodles). I'm only disappointed at the soft boiled egg. They should keep it longer in the soy sauce to get a bit more tasty. Also giving the whole egg (not cut in halves) would be a nice touch. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Nice topping and well sized shashu - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

They just opened a few weeks ago. Service was pretty good as it wasn't very busy. The server greeted me and my friends with water. I asked a question about the size of the bowls and what was the difference between a regular and large. Just more noodles. I ordered the miso ramen with a leaner cut of pork and corn in the side. She was very kind with my request. My friends both order shoyu ramen. The broth were very thick and flavourful in both soups. The waitress came over with a little pot of unflavoured broth and said to us: "If you wanted to thin the soup" - What a great idea. I actually liked the miso soup thick, so I didn't add any extra broth. I do have one criticizing comment - I wished the noodles were cooked a bit longer. Overall, I'm not glad there is a new place in the Chinatown area for ramen and am very happy for these guys. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

The ramen here is alright. I like the thick soup and really tasty pork, especially the lean shoulder pork. Love it how when I order spicy and it is ACTUALLY spicy. They provide unseasoned broth if you feel that the broth is too thick. Overall the noodle, the broth and the meat are all decent. Good place to hop if if you are in the area :) read more

Taishoken Ramen - Really good and actually decently spicy flavored broth - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

REAL REVIEW: 3.5 STARS I honestly can't say if I liked the food at this place so much because I was so hungry or if it was because it was actually so great. But either way, I definitely enjoyed my meal here. Unfortunately, my friends and I came here when it was getting near their closing time so they were out of 2-3 of their dishes AND out of rice, but what I ended up getting was the Torigara though my other friends all tried the Tsukemen. Service admittedly wasn't so great, it took quite a long time to get served or helped out throughout the night and food took awhile but I think I can safely say we all enjoyed our food a ton. Certainly a place I would come to again if I was in the area, but there are just so many other ramen places around as well that I need to try! read more

Taishoken Ramen - Torigara and Tsukemen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The boyfriend and I came on a Saturday night. To our surprise, it wasn't even busy despite the wonderful weather outside. It was a bit late, though - we walked in at 8. There was ample seating everywhere so we took a table. We both ordered the tsukemen (dipping) ramen. He ordered the spicy, and I ordered the original. We added sides to our noodles and got the chicken mayo don and the okonomiyaki gyozas. The food arrived in good time and the gyozas were great. They looked super dry at first sight but they were actually incredibly juicy. The chicken mayo don was too mayo-y so we could've definitely done without. The noodles were great. Perfect firmness with thick noodles = my fav! The soup was super thick, but I suppose it has to be so it clings onto your noodles. The soup base was decent, but being usually healthy eaters, both the boyfriend and I thought it was too thick and heavy for our liking, even though we got the leaner meat. We both required belly rubs after as we had eaten far too much. The noodles fill you up super quickly because they're so thick and dense. The service was great. Staff were attentive and helpful. I would recommend this place; I'd definitely come back and probably try a Tonkatsu ramen instead. read more

See all

I used to go here for lunch all the time when I worked in the Crosstown area and I still order from them now and then. I'm particularly fond of their torigara (chicken) ramen, which is nice and light and has peas and ginger and bok choy, and their tsukemen and their summer cold ramen (Hiyashi) are also very good. Pretty decent gyoza too (I usually get the ones with the spicy sauce). read more

In the midst of the plethora of ramen shops in Vancouver, I would say Taishoken is ranked somewhere in the middle. A huge selling point at taishoken is their thick chewy noodles. I will continue going there just for their noodles. The soup however is where I'm not the fondest of. Across the board, the soup is too salty and heavy, making it hard to drink when you are done your meal. I wish they would make the soup thinner so each slurpful of noodles isn't as salty. The tsukumen like many others have mentioned is a must try. This will make me sound like a fatty but the most exciting thing about the tsukumen is that they serve you a larger server of their noodles than in a regular bowl of noodles! The soup is usually served warm, not hot so if you are looking for a hot bowl of noodles this is not for you. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Gyozas. Not worth getting, skin was thick and not crispy. - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Straight forward ramen. it's not outstanding but tasty and a decent place to go to. Tip: order a bowl of ramen, add on the chasu don and share it with your partner. read more

Decent Ramen place. Loved the pork gyoza. I ordered kimchi ramen, which is only very mildly spicy to my taste. Broth is slightly richer than I'd like but the chashu is great! Place is quite small, so seating isn't exactly comfortable but expected for a ramen place. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Kimchi ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Oh.My.Gosh. So freaking good. The ramen slut is speechless. Sorry Benkei you may have to step aside as my favorite ramen joint. I came at 1:40pm on a Monday and I still had to wait in a line up so I was glad when it didn't disappoint. I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen and added bean sprouts to it for $1. The broth was on point 5/5. The noodles were great. I like how bamboo shoots and a half an egg were standard fillings. The price ($9.25+ $1 for my add on) was very reasonable. I'll definitely be back. My only complaint was I burnt my tongue on the hot soup because it was so tasty I ate it before it could cool down. The only thing you should be aware of is that this place is NOISY. Like I mean, NOISY. There's loud rap music playing and every time someone comes or goes the servers and the cookers scream thank you or hello. I could barely hear myself think. Once the food came I blocked it out though and the rest was fine. Might not want to come to this place yo catch up with a friend if you are planning on conversating. Update: went again and got the tonkotsu broth but with the creamy miso upgrade. Really rich and tasty. 5/5 stands read more

Taishoken Ramen - Tonkotsu with creamy miso 5/5. Super rich but that was good to me - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Came here two weekends ago. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen which comes with 2 slices of pork chasu, negi, memna, aji-tama, narut, and nori in a golden rich pork and chicken broth. I also added a veggie curry don for a few dollars more. I'm not really a ramen enthusiast but I felt the ramen was pretty good. I can't really say the same about the don. I personally thought the veggie curry son was a bit too spicy and masked the taste of everything else in it. Nevertheless, I would still recommend coming here. The service was decent and it is in a convenient location close to Rogers Arena and Stadium skytrain station. read more

Taishoken Ramen - tonkotsu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Come here for a no frills experience. The atmosphere is very much one of "come eat ramen, then be on your merry way"; the décor, menu, and service are all simple. Two additional elements I particularly liked: (1) that it's in a super convenient location, and (2) it has space to enjoy your food and not feel cramped like most other ramen places. Only gripe is that portions are small (or I was hungry, who knows :P). I will be back. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Tsukemen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Came here for a rainy day bowl of ramen. Decided to get the tsukemen because of the reviews! Now, most people like ramen cause of the broth, but I think noodles conquer all. In any case, the ramen was awesome - chewy and delicious. However, the tsukemen broth is a bit to salty for my tastes. I came with friends who had the tonkotsu ramen, which was rich but lighter and less salty than the tsukemen broth. Overall, the staff were very nice and attentive. Solid ramen shop! read more

Taishoken Ramen - Tsukemen with karamiso broth and warm noodles. - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The best ramen restaurant in Vancouver. I came for many times, even one of the waitresses remembered my face . Must try!!! read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Atmosphere: Small, hence why there's always a line up outside but there is a line up for a legit reason, they're good. Price: Market value just like all the other places. Customer Service: They were very well organized and the meals came out in a timely manner to work with the line. Food: I had the beef based Ramen which was really good. The broth wasn't too salty and there was a respectable ratio of meet and noodles. read more

I like heavy and rich flavour ramen but..i found there was too much chicken oil in the ramen. Taste is okay and a noodle was good. And you should ask them to give u a hot broth ...Because they gave me a 'warm' broth. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Recently I was speaking to a friend who usually takes my food advice and threw one at me in trying ramen cold with dipping sauce, and mentioned this place, as this is his 'go-to' in terms of cold noodles and dipping which is the benchmark, and with this info I had this bookmarked. Due to our first choice of restaurants being closed on a Tuesday, we decided to roll on over here at around 6, you can tell this place is pretty new from the look of the decor, also we were lucky, as we came in a group of 3 to get a spot. As like many 'ramen' joints seating is minimal, you get in, you order, you eat, and you get the heck out. I am counting in my head, but this place can probably hold a maximum of 30 people, and that maybe pushing it. So coming in groups you may... have to really wait for a seat. We were originally seated in the communal table near the front, and as people were sitting there already, we had two people sitting on the long side, and on sitting on the short side, eventually all 3 of us moved to the window seating, as someone left, and it just made more sense that they could split the remaining seating at the communal table 2 and 2.. instead of have that 1 seat dangling. We already ordered prior to moving to our new seats, the menu is one big page layout. We ordered the Tsuke-men Ramen (which I came here for), Spicy Ramen with extra spice (going with the three pepper scale) and the Cha-Shu Rice. The two noodle orders were also ordered in large variety, and with extra meat as we were all sharing the dishes. One thing I found odd, listed on the menu was.. if you wanted to go past the 3 levels of spicy.. you had to add an extra $1.00, little did I know how they did their spicy. We will start with the Spicy Ramen, standard issue big ramen bowl, with a few leaves of seaweed sticking out like a shark's fin coming to your table. When our server brought it to our table we noticed it was missing two more pieces of meat, which we told our server, and right away you went to the kitchen to reclaim our missing meat on a seperate plate. Your normal looking bowl of ramen, a few pieces of meat on top.. some bean sprouts, some sighting of noodles, and a broth that was murky, and also a ton of chili flakes on top (was this the spicy meter?). The first thing I did was take a sipping of the soup, this was extremely different from anything I have had, it was thick, like the gravy on a poutine thick... probably the best way to describe the texture. The noodles themselves were alright, but like any ramen joint, the longer you let it lay.. the softer it is getting, nothing too special in terms of texture or bounce. The spicy taste was weird, as it did provide the 'kick' but it was a seperate taste, you might as well as put the chili flakes on the side and let me mix it up, it just didn't bind right, where you had two seperate taste, the broth, and the spice, like eating something, then putting the chili flakes in your mouth and letting your molars do the work. The pork loin and pork belly were pretty good, with a nice light smoky taste, and enough fat to make it extra enjoyable. The real joy was the Tsuke-men Ramen, and if you are coming here do order this. I'm used to cold udon, and cold soba, so completing this triple-crown was definitely a must, and this place did not disappoint one bit. You get a distinct chew, one you wouldn't get from ramen noodles served in broth, as part of it has to do with the chilling process, and the other has to do with your noodles sitting in soup and soaking it up. The noodles are al dente, have a good bite, taste just right and with the meaty broth served on the side, it makes this dish just right. The dipping broth again was very thick, but as it was for dipping it kind of makes sense as it can coat the noodles like gravy, and you can kind of control it, eat it your way as they say. Savoury, deep, a little smoky and naturally oily from all the meats sitting in this broth, it was definently heavy on the palate. The last thing was the Cha Shu Rice, actually a bigger bowl than what I would have expected at other places, which was surprising, a good proportion of meat that was trying to mask all the white rice below, and topped off with freshly cut green onions. I felt the rice was a little overcooked, and it was a little over marinated, as it was more saucy than meaty, compared to other places I have tried this side dish (this could pose as it's own meal if you just ordered it). In the end, we had to pack this up as it was a little too much. Overall, the food, as in my review, the cold noodles, do come for that, if you like thick saucy things.. then have their soup ramen, be prepared to feel a little heavy, maybe some good clogged arteries. This place is hard to guage, and I feel they need a little more help on the frontline, as the server helping us felt like the only one running around the whole place. We eventually had to walk off the food coma.... be warned! read more

See all

My favorite ramen joint in the city. I may be a little biased because I live 20 floors up but Taishoken is probably the best. No ramen joint is without its lineups and Taishoken is no exception. That being said, the spot may be the only place that's worth the 20-40 minute wait. I'm not at all a fan of waiting for food but the service, flavours, and the sense of satisfaction once you've finished your mean makes the place 100% worth. Service in the restaurant stands out in comparison to other places. Having eaten at all the big named ramen restaurants such as Santouka, Marutama, Ramen Butcher, Gojiro, etc. etc. the spot definitely shines. The staff is constantly walking around to sure water is topped off. They lack a liquor license however so you wouldn't be able to crack open a cold one. read more

I came here with my Japanese friend who recommended this place. She had heard it was good and we wanted to try the Tsukemen ramen. It was good. Even though the menu said it wasn't available yet then. We were able to order it to our delight. Coming back, it wasn't the same. The group of us had different noodles. I had the tomato, she had the extra spicy and the others had the Tsukemen, miso and something else I can't recall. We all shared a taste if each other's soup. The spicy one was very spicy. I commented in a tip that it wasn't. I was wrong. I didn't sample the right soup!!! The tomato version of ramen was good, but it needed something extra...... More toppings. The regular sized ramen just looked a bit sparse. Tsukemen was about the same as before. She have it 2 stars overall. I give it a three. We've been coming back for the Gyoza and they're still not serving it. Why? My noodles were a tad soft, but that's preference. Still, I think it's a solid representation of how competitive ramen shops are these days. Ten years ago, I would have given them a four. Back in the 80's a 6 out of 5. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Tomato ramen like cambells tomato soup - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

I'm not sure what have happened but it was very different than when it first opened. The first thing I noticed is that none of the people working were Japanese anymore. Did they change the ownership? And I see the bottles of ninben tsuyu in the kitchen which is concentrated soup base from japan that has msg, like an instant liquid soup mix so to say. They were lots of them beside soy sauce and Sake bottles so they must use those. Well, it's kind of like cheating in making proper soup broth if they are adding that stuff. And although the staff wore those protective gloves, if they do everything in those gloves what's the point of wearing those gloves? Some staff were handling the topping with bare hands. After seeing that I made sure to submerge my toppings in the soup to make sure any germs would get killed. Then I notice the soup broth is not hot at all. I think that the noodle sat in the bowl for too long before the soup got poured so by the time it came to me the soup was already cooling. And it was like the first time ever that I left chashiu because it was very porky stinky and bad. The place looked relatively busy so they certainly have market for their mediocre ramen in the area but if you are ramen lover I don't recommend this place. The portion though was maybe bigger compared to other ramen restaurant. read more

3.8. The soup ramen at Taishoken is nothing to write home about. However, the dipping ramen is awesome! Make sure to order if you have never tried it before. The broth is thick with tons of flavour (both spicy and non spicy), and the noodles are chewy and bouncy. The pork and egg are excellent as well. We also ordered the gyoza, decent but tastes like Hon's gyozas. We would come back for the dipping ramen only. Prices are comparable to other ramen shops, and service is good. read more

See all

A little too rich for my taste. The mistake I made was ordering the fatty pork - it was too fatty. I was hoping to taste something like a pork belly marble like Santoku but as you can see from the photos, it's a layer of fat on top. The broth was too fatty as well, it's almost gelatin - like, thick like the consistency of almost gravy like. After a couple bites, I could not longer eat any more. Checkout how much I left... However, gotta say the noodles are cooked perfectly Al dente - just the way I like! They definitely have the one of the best noodles in town, but scores poorly on the soup broth. Also need to agree with other reviewers that the broth is lukewarm and could probably use more heat so it doesn't coagulate. I can't imagine what it's doing to my arteries!! read more

See all

Wow so you can get real cheese in your ramen soup? You're not in Kansas any more Dorothy ! A friend and I dropped by Taishoken for dinner. There seems to be a few of these Japanese ramen places opening up downtown. Taishoken is pretty darn good! I like the fact that they offer non standard ramen dishes. I can get average run of the mill anywhere! I had the cheese tomato soup ramen! A thumbs up from me! I have to admit finding hunks of melted cheese in my tomato soup was new to me, but once I dug in I found my bowl of noodles delish ! I'll have to come back soon and try some of their other offerings! read more

Taishoken Ramen - Cheese Tomato soup base - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I just landed in Vancouver. Walked several miles to rent a car. Several more to find place I've commandeered for the week. And in the process found this place. Ramen was just what a sista needed. The best ramen I've had in North America since leaving Japan. I had the Torigara with a side of Kim Chi that was pretty good too. Just the right kick and crunch. Highly recommended, with the Eletta B stamp of approval. Either that or I was just starving.... I'm going with it being quite good. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Tried Original Tsukemen and it was plenty good. Nice dip with perfect consistency for the noodle to grab onto and rich in umami. Yum.

Honestly some of the best tsukemen I've had since going to japan. The service is quick and polite. I didn't have to wait long for my food and it was absolutely delicious when it arrived. There's a line up outside the door when you show up so that's always a good sign! Since my friends and I showed up right when it opened we didn't have to wait. I worry about ever showing up when there's a line though as I can't see myself waiting over 15 minutes for ramen. There's not much room inside though so it's no fault of the business itself. I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu but will continue to recommend their tsukemen to all my friends and family. read more

The place seems very packed during lunch time. However the waitress was very good at what she was doing. The food is very good. Tip - if you ever go during lunch hours, try to make a reservation before hand or at least figure out what you order while you are waiting in the line. read more

My favorite ramen restaurant in the city. I eat here quite often - here's what you can expect: - An aromatic, complex and delicious broth. - A small, noisy dining room. - Quick and friendly service. - A short but well-executed menu. - Quality over quantity. - Good value. - The best Tsukemen in Vancouver. - A line-up around mealtimes (plan ahead). I'm yet to leave Taishoken unsatisfied. The menu is full of great options, but the star is the karamiso tsukemen. I prefer it with warm noodles, two slices of pork belly and an extra egg. Given it's location, this place is great for a meal before/after an event at the stadiums or a movie at Tinseltown. It's also perfect for lunch on a slow Friday - just show up a bit early or prepare to wait in line. Fair warning: if you're looking for a quiet spot to reconnect with an old friend, this may not be the best place to do so. This is ramen - it's loud, it's fast, it's in-your-face, and it's slurpy. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Karamiso Tsukemen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

This is one of my favorite ramen places even if it's small and quite hidden in the downtown east side area. I work just right beside this ramen bar and I frequent the place. They serve a fairly large quantity and I often need to take out whatever is left in my bowl. My favorite is their karamiso and garlicky tonkotsu! The staff are friendly and the place is clean. Since it's situated in the DTES, please just be mindful as there is much homelessness in the area. read more

Comparable in taste to my Robson St fave Ramen house. Egg is delicious. Seea weed is fresh. Broth is tasteful. They serve extra unseasoned broth. Pork is freshly cooked. read more

Taishoken Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I'm normally not a big fan of ramen but this place has the one of the only ones that I love! The tsukeman (which the unsophisticated me calls "dip in" noodles) in warm broth is wonderful. It's their signature dish so always a good choice. read more