Hakkaku Ramen; Comfort Food

Sometimes when the load we are carrying becomes unusually heavy we need to hit the pause button in life and have a bowl of soup. Vietnamese pho has been my go-to for comfort in a bowl.

However, yesterday I found a new source of comfort – a massive bowl of ramen.

I was in Burnaby Heights and I needed a bowl of comfort. I recalled reading on Beyond the Rhetoric about a ramen joint in that neighborhood so I headed for Hakkaku Ramen on Hastings St just east of Willingdon.

Wow. What a positive experience! I opted for the “rich” broth and the more tender pork belly in a curry ramen. Seriously. Wow.

The broth was extraordinary. Rich doesn’t begin to describe it. I almost felt like it was 3-dimensional…if that makes any sense.

The soft boiled egg was beautifully cooked with a squishy soft yolk. Little heaps of green onions and a soft potato all added to the goodness of the bowl.

The noodles were cooked just beyond al dente with a lovely resistance to the teeth. And that pork belly – chashu pork. Tender. Pull apart tenderness.

Now admittedly I have not had ramen at any of the well known downtown ramen joints in Vancouver so I have nothing to compare the Hakkaku Ramen soups to, however, I will definitely be returning to Hakkaku Ramen and searching out more ramen joints to try more of this super comfort food.

• My massive bowl of curry ramen was $9.00
• Hakkaku Ramen is located at 4530 E Hastings Street, Burnaby