I'm Only Here for the Food!

G-Men Ramen
1101-3778 Sexsmith Road
Richmond, BC

After the hard drive of my main computer died two weeks ago, I spent some time working off my backup/traveller computer. While it was workable, it simply does not have the apps I need. After going back and forth, I finally got a replacement hard drive (though technically, it is not a replacement at the same time; won’t go into details). The “catch” was that I had to go to Richmond and, after picking up my hard drive, I was looking for a spot for lunch. One place I wanted to go for some time, specially after some raving from some fellow bloggers, was G-Men Ramen. OK, since I was in Richmond, I might as well make the best out of it!

When I arrived, I wasn’t sure what to think. I mean, do they really need to cover everything outside? How can you tell it is busy or empty without poking your head? While there is a board for you to write your name, in the case there are lines, I was by myself so, it was a matter of walking in and hope there is a table open. No need, in this case, there were tables open but was seated on the “bar” instead. That works for me… Looking at the menu, I was partially disappointed the full menu was not available. Instead, they had two ramen and two sans-broth noodle dishes. And then dishes like the nattou dish which Mijune tried. Since I was there for the ramen, that pretty much “solved” the what-to-order dilemma… However, I started with…

A side order of gyoza. Now, here is one small detail: G-Men is from the same people who runs Gyoza King in Downtown Vancouver. If this is the case, that means their gyoza should be pretty good, right? Well, unfortunately no. While it was cooking quite well, the problem was that the filling was tasteless and without any texture. Somehow, I have had better frozen from T&T. To make it even worst, the dipping sauce did not add anything. Had it had some acidity (in the form of rice vinegar) or heat (in the form of chili oil), it might have partially saved it. But, it did not. It is technically possible there was some but I simply couldn’t taste it.

Here is my order: Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen – “Authentic light “TORIGARA” chicken soup THIN noodle seasoned with housemade SHOYU flavor, topped with BBQ pork, half ajitama, yuzu, seaweed, black wood ear mushroom & green onion”. From an ingredient perspective, it looks quite just that some parts were not as expected. In the case of the slices of pork, they were sliced quite thin. Had I known it, I might have ordered a side of pork. And, on that topic, I did not think the pork was too flavourful. Heck, I think I can do better! The broth was… Disappointing. I thought it was too mild, though I am not sure if it was because it was a chicken based broth rather than pork.

The noodles were a bit too basic to me, not much to comment about. If I had to put it in perspective, I falls way behind Kintaro, Motomachi and even Benkei. Maybe on par to Donburiya but you must keep in mind Donburiya is not mainly a noodle place. One thing that threw me off a little bit was the presence of yuzu (which, originally, I confused myself with yuba – tofu skin). Yuzu is a citrus and, in this case, it is used in the form of the peel. Tastewise, think something similar to a sour orange (though this description is not that accurate). However, in this case, that citrus-y taste was a distraction rather than enhancing the other flavours. To make a comparison, it was quite different to the effect of the lime wedge served with pho; here, it felt as if it was fighting against the savoury taste of the soup.

After I finished my bowl, the waitress was asking me how it was and how it ranks compared to the ones in Downtown. I could have given her my thoughts on the spot but didn’t. For one part, the comparison is a bit unfair because of the broth type. Still, I can’t stop wondering why the pork broth isn’t available at this time of the day. Sure, I have heard of reasons why (they ran out during the opening days and had to close the following ones just to be able to prepare new batches); however, this gives me instead some odd vibes – why you can’t prepare enough for the whole day?

If I had to make my assessment, my answer would be “I don’t like it”, with the caveat the broth was chicken-based. If it had been pork based, most likely it would have fallen in the middle. Of course, that is what I speculate would be my final thoughts. The only way for sure to find out would be a re-visit, specially if I manage to drag somebody along. Until then, it is a pass.