By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

The miso ramen broth was rich and lightly creamy.  There was a balanced saltiness to the broth due to the miso. I'm not a huge fan of ground pork in my ramen, but it worked. As for the spicy miso, it was creamy and thick with a lingering spice with an Earthiness.

Of the miso ramen, the Chiba Black Ramen was the best. The black garlic oil took the spotlight. It wasn’t too salty. The ajitama egg and tender chashu were on point. The King's Ramen had carrot, cabbage, mushroom, green onion, spring onion, bean sprouts, shredded pork, seaweed, bamboo shoots, kamaboko and egg. The ingredients diluted the chicken broth.

The Okinawa Umi Ramen featured fresh mussels, garlic, green pepper, red pepper and green onion.  The chicken broth was mild, briny and peppery. Too many green and red peppers overwhelmed the broth. The Nagasaki Champon Ramen had black tree fungus, bak choy, onion, cabbage, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chili, prawn, scallop, mussel, squid and bean sprouts.

The Kimchi Ramen featured shredded pork, kimchi, mushroom, onion, green onion and cabbage in a chicken broth. The kimchi was too dominant while the broth was spicy, almost sour. The house-made noodles were firm and chewy while the pork was melt-in-my-mouth tender. The rest of the bowls featured the same chewy noodles.

The Tako Wasabi had tako that was tender while the pickled veg added a crunchy tang. The nori strips were too small. The Pork Gyoza filling was meaty and succulent. Overall, the ramen at Ramen Koika were pretty solid featuring flavourful rich broth and were well-portioned. Stay away from the complicated versions.

Ramen Koika

1231 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Large bowls of ramen

• Interesting array of options

• Flavourful broth(s)

The Bad:

• Some bowls contained far too many ingredients which diluted the flavours

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.