Sansotei Ramen – 179 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8 (Several locations)
Country: Japan  
Seating: Only indoor seating
Must-try dish: Ramen
Dinner guests: Pornstar Sam & Ry-Hy
The high: It was difficult to decide on what ramen dish to order as they all sounded amazing. 
The low: They won’t seat you until your entire party has arrived at the restaurant. 

Empty bellies and damp nights are the perfect storm for a ramen dinner. Sansotei is a modest Canadian chain with several restaurants in the Greater Toronto area and Montreal, that specializes in tonkotsu broth from the Hokkaido region of Japan. Ramen is a rich noodle soup with a broth base made with pork and sometimes fish and a number of toppings such as thinly sliced meat, marinated boiled egg, nori, and scallions among other things. 

At Sansotei, ramen is the highlight of the menu, with a few small plates to accompany the soup. There are three primary broth bases (tonkotsu, miso, and shoyu) and more elaborate versions of them with black garlic, truffle oil, and chillis. There’s the option for either thin or thick noodles, and depending on the place, the choice of meat and vegetables to go inside it. However, Sansotei does most of the thinking for you with eight ramen options: one vegetarian in a tomato base, five with thinly sliced pork in the original broths, and two specialty options for the adventurous types. 

Since soup isn’t the most sharable dish, the gang ordered their own bowl according to personal preference. The Miso Black was the fairest of them all as it’s served with a gorgeous edible flower on top of broth swimming with spicy braised pork (kakuni), shitake mushrooms, a seasoned boiled egg, and garlic oil. 

The Tonkotsu Black is a twist on the traditional ramen soup as it’s made with the classic broth, but it’s doctored up with black garlic. Similar to the Miso Black, there are thinly sliced pieces of pork and a seasoned boiled egg to account for the protein. The Tonkatsu+, on the other hand, isn’t for the faint of heart between the pastrami, meatballs, pork slices, radishes, and mushrooms. But to top it off, the broth is enhanced with a generous portion of truffle oil. 

Unfortunately, the Spicy Tantan wasn’t available that evening but sounded like a tasty alternative as it’s built with pork, egg, and bamboo shoots. 

The sides were shared among the group, and it was easy to order the majority of the menu seeing as there are only five options. We opted for the Seaweed Salad, Negi Shoga Gyoza (pork dumplings topped with ginger and scallions), Zangi (deep-fried chicken pieces), and Gyudon (cooked beef on top of white rice). 

As far as desserts go, the Mango Cheesecake was enticing and was worth every bite. The creamy base is filled with mango pieces that taste fresh without being too sweet or sour. The lack of crust was a winner in this case. 

There are multitudes of ramen options across the city, and it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the quality of one from another, but if you see a Sansotei and are looking for a meal, we guarantee you’ll be impressed. 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)