I just got back from Japan last week, I ate about 6 bowls of Ramen from various restaurants offering different types of ramen originating from different parts of Japan.
Name of the restaurant - 龍上海 (literally translated Dragon Shanghai) from the
Yamagata Region - Kara Miso Ramen is BY FAR HEADS AND SHOULDERS 10000x better than any ramen you will have EVER eat in your entire life!
I had the privilege to consume a bowl of this 3 years ago, and just to make sure I wasn't dreaming and prove that old adage of how your memory is better than your taste... I went to eat it again last week, and it was still just as damn good as ever, if anything it was even BETTER than I last remembered!... unbelievable awesomeness! Just drooling from thinking about it! ... ok I'm way off topic LOL ...
Back to Vancouver ramen, where it all taste like bleh now compared to that ... but of the good ones I would rank:
1)
Santouka - very tasty broth for the Shio base and the Kara is not bad either, noodle texture could be better.
2)
Kintaro - Delicious but even when I order light broth it still comes out pasty thick which literally feels artery clogging.
3)
Motomachi - Pretty good, noodles were good but the broth isn't as flavourful as Kintaro or Santouka
WAY below those 3 I would put
Benkei somewhere, infact it shouldn't even be in the same list. I've been there twice and both times have been very dissappointing. Soggy noodles and soup was very lacking.