Benkei Ramen in Vancouver has always been innovating their ramen to cater to those who love authentic Japanese ramen as well as those with dietary restrictions. I was invited with a friend to try their new Peko Ramen as well as some other items off the menu. As my friend has a seafood allergy, they have a few vegan options.
Interior
The interior is nice with wooden walls and bamboo. The staff are nice and friendly.
Green Tea
Start off with a hot cup of green tea.
Housemade Gyoza
You can order it as a side portion with your ramen or a full order for the table. They only have a pork filled gyoza but are working on a veggie gyoza to add to their menu in the near future.
The pork gyoza was a good accompaniment with a hot bowl of ramen. Great to share with a friend too.
Peko Ramen
Their Peko Ramen is a silky milk broth made of tonkotsu broth, milk, shio-dare and brandy. The broth is very clean, rich and not oily at all. It wasn’t salty at all and with the amount of veggies in this bowl and the slices of lean chicken meat. I slurped up the bowl.
This is back for a limited time until March 31.
Black Vegan Ramen
For those with dietary restrictions, it’s hard to enjoy ramen. Benkei introduced their 2nd vegan ramen – Black Vegan Ramen along side their vegan miso ramen.
Vegan black is deliciously rich. The broth is made with rich vegetable stock, black sesame miso, and drizzle with coconut milk and roasted red pepper. The noodles are also eggless.
More Vegan Ramen
A sneak peek into another vegan ramen they are in the process of creating. They introduced this to me as their white vegan ramen, but they are still tweaking the recipe and name.
I really do appreciate how they are expanding their menu to those ramen eaters with dietary restrictions.
Sauce
Raw Garlic and chili sauce is available for free, all you have to do is ask for it. It’s helpful to enhance the broth if you are feeling its a bit bland.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Benkei Ramen has a lot more to offer than just their usual ramen. I’m impressed they are continually trying new ramen creations.
We Rate Benkei Ramen:
Address:
545 W Broadway, Vancouver
Website:
benkeiramen.com
More food reviews on Foodology.