Ramen (not Top Ramen)

Someone once asked me, if I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, what would it be? Of course, that's one of the hardest decisions ever, but one of the foods that would rank up there would have to be ramen.

No, not Top Ramen or Cup O' Noodles. I'm talking about the honest to goodness -- goodness. The huge bowl filled with fresh noodles and array of toppings. My dream is to one day have ramen in Japan -- I'm told it's fabulous!

Tonight, I went to Daikokuya, a Japanese restaurant I frequent, because it's relatively close, and because it's oichi (delicious). Daikokuya is known for their Daikoku ramen (Note: ya means store in Japanese), with its rich broth, perfect egg, and soft succulent chashu pork. At one point, you could order the broth to be extra rich and flavourful -- a friend and I discovered that this meant extra fat added to your broth. Either way, the line for this small shop on 1st St. in Downtown is always out the door. I went when dinner was just beginning and we still had to wait.

The restaurant has been around for ages and it's decorated with vintage Japanese ads for beer, banks, and just about anything you can think of. While I'll admit that the quality of the ramen has descended recently (according to my friend, the yakuza-looking cook is no longer there) -- the chashu isn't as soft, the egg is too well boiled, and the extra-rich-broth option is no longer available -- I still think they offer one of the best ramens in Downtown.