Deli Nippon

Deli Nippon
3913 Knight Street
Vancouver, BC

We all know the corner of Robson and Denman in Vancouver’s West End is the epicentre of ramen in Vancouver. In fact, a graph by fellow bloggers from Eat, Snap, Repeat best describe the noddle situation here. So, for today’s post, my visit to Deli Nippon, the most recent noodle shop in Vancouver, located in an area known for car accidents as well as some Chinese and Indian restaurants.

I arrived around noon on a Saturday and there was one other busy table, with some old Japanese folks there. Hey, that was a good sign. I sat on one of the other remaining three open tables and starting checking at the menu. Actually, that would be an overstatement: they only have a handful of noodle options, gyoza, okonomiyaki and, as a special for summer, hiyashi chuka.

Citation needed? ^_^

In retrospective, I should have ordered the summer special; however, I wanted to try instead the “normal” option, i.e., ramen. After all, in order to do a straight comparison with the other ramen shops, I ought to order something in common, right? So, that meant, I ended up ordering the ramen, specifically, the shoyu chashu/pork version. I should add that, unlike other ramen shops, there is no options for other toppings like corn, eggs, et al. To go along, I ordered some gyoza.

Skipping this shot? No chance!

First, the gyoza – six pieces for $3.50, though they have an option of a bowl for ramen plus some pieces at a “special” price. But, no, I wanted chashu so I went for the full order of gyoza. While it was done the way it is supposed to (pan-fried at the bottom then steamed), what I found odd was the filling. Specifically, it had a slightly sweet taste, probably from the vegetable mix. Interesting, nowhere near the best dumplings I have had.

And here is my order of shoyu chashu ramen. The only toppings it had were some bamboo shoots and green onions. I found the broth to be a bit too light for my liking. While I should have expected this, I did not expected it to be this way. Is it possible I have been spoiled by Kintaro/Motomachi Shokudo? As for the noodles, it still had a bite, which is good. However, otherwise, there was nothing special. Finally, while the pork was interesting, again, it is nowhere near the ones from Kintaro or the ones I can make myself at home.

Overall, I was totally disappointed. In a way, I did not find anything specia. This is despite their menu is small and other fellow Japanese diners were there, signs that usually mean good offerings. Unfortunately, Deli Nippon failed to deliver.

Tagged under: Japanese • Lunch • Ramen • Soup • Vancouver