Good ramen is almost the exclusive provenance of the West End, specifically the lower blocks of Robson and the 700 block of Denman. Around these parts one can slurp up the addictive Japanese noodle soup at nearly a dozen restaurants. Tiny Motomachi Shokudo is widely considered to be the best among them, its owner Daiji Matsubara being the undisputed local master of the milieu. He also owns the wildly popular (but less attractive) Kintaro, which is only a few doors down the street.
The geographical concentration is fine, but Ive always (selfishly) wanted to see the soups available in other neighbourhoods, particularly my own. Given that I live on the edge of Chinatown, however, the likelihood of a ramen house opening up shop within stumbling distance of my front door has always seemed remote.
But then the unlikeliest of things happened a few weeks ago. Ramen really good ramen came to Chinatown, specifically (if surprisingly) to a little locavore grocery on Union Street called Harvest Community Foods.
My family has been big fans of the place ever since it opened some six months ago. The produce has always been fresh; they make good steamed buns and always interesting vegetable soups. And it is one of the only places in town where we can score the oh-my-god-its-so-good salted caramel ice cream from local upstarts Earnest Ice Cream.
There was much to love about the wee place, but a couple of months ago owner Michael Leung started casting about for a chef to come in and take the food concept to the next level. Never in my life would I have expected him to get chef Andrea Carlson, one of BCs top culinary talents, to come in and take the helm.
Carlson, who has cheffed such ships of representative state as Denmans Raincity Grill and at West 4ths celebrated Bishops restaurant, might be punching well below her weight class at Harvest, but that will hardly matter to her new customers. Neither will the fact that her miniscule kitchen is so woefully under-equipped that calling it a kitchen is pretty generous. What matters as always is if the food is any good, and since Harvest is now a Carlson joint, quality is a test it doesnt have to take.
But back to the ramen. How good is it? Its up there with Matsubaras, and thats saying something. The noodles are made locally at Toko, the pork is from the Fraser Valley, the mounted greens are from SOLEfood, and the accompanying smoked chili oil is made with chilies from Klippers organic farm in the Similkameen. Matsubaras finessed soup bases are dizzying in their excellence, but hes had years to perfect and fiddle. Carlson has been at it for just a couple of weeks, and shes doing a better job than most.
Like most ramen houses, there are two pork (tonkotsu) base options: regular or fatty. The latter is cloudy with the promise of unrelenting porkiness. Its (naturally) much tastier than the thinner format, but both have that distinct, warming, comforting quality that makes ramen so endearingly attractive. There really is nothing quite like it, especially in Fall and Winter, when both body and mind crave heartier supping.
Carlson adds fatty slices of pork belly to the noodles. These are marinated in soy, garlic and ginger, and they are leaps and bounds more impactful than the dry slabs that one gets at places like Kintaro and Gyoza King. And as a personal touch, Carlson caps each bowl with a delicious strip of mirin-candied bacon. Ive had three bowls in two weeks, with each being an improvement on the last. The only thing that could make it better would be a cold bottle of Sapporo beer. (Alas, Harvest doesnt have a licence to sell alcohol).
There are other noodle soups, too. Carlson does an udon in an organic shiitake mushroom broth that comes loaded with smoked Saltspring Island tofu and shiso (in a nod to Japanese umeboshi, its finished with unripe, salt and shiso-cured Similkameen plums). Theres also a version with FarmCrest organic chicken from Salmon Arm uniquely marinated in Sake Kasu (the lees left over from sake production at Granville Island Sake Co.) and a spicy Dan Dan-style noodle dish made with hazelnuts instead of peanuts.
In addition to the noodle soups, shes added a Banh Mi-style sandwich made with pork shoulder, pate, pickles and fresh herbs. The steamed buns regular and gluten-free are still on the menu, though their innards will rotate through various meaty and vegetarian options.
The response to the changes to date, Carlson says, has been fantastic. Ive seen it with my own eyes. Harvest has been noticeably busier since word of her ramen started to trickle out, and though I hope for my sake that I never have to suffer a line-up for it (as one invariably must for good ramen in the West End), I wont be surprised to be confronted by one soon.
