VanFoodies.com

We’ve been to Ramen Koika a few times over the years, to both locations on Davie and Robson. We always ended up ordering a ramen. The black garlic one was my favourite and Mr. fell in love with the beef ribs one. Little did we know the Robson location actually has a K-Pocha Menu, serving up their version of many Korean favourites. We were invited to sample a few items off that menu.

Food

We love KFC! As in Korean Fried Chicken!! Their crust is always lighter and when they fry the chicken it’s always less greasy. And moist chicken breast.

It’s no difference here at Koika. The Soonsal Chicken can be either in sweet chilli or soy garlic, and we went for the sweet chilli as it’s our favourite sauce for KFC. There was a decent amount of boneless chicken pieces. The meat was moist, the exterior still held its crispiness and the sweet chilli sauce definitely packed some heat.

Next, the Gogi Tteok-bok-ki was spicy rice cake with pork belly. When the plate first arrived, I could smell the sesame oil, which is quite common in Korean cooking. I was expecting the amount of pork belly to be scarce but there was plenty on the plate. Although the dish was spicy like the Soonsal Chicken, the sauce was soy based so the flavour profile was completely different from the fried chicken.

Side note: We had leftovers for both and when we reheat the food, the spicy level shot off the roof. It’s deliciously painful to finish the leftovers haha

Takoyaki at Koika was standard affairs but we enjoyed them. Five pieces of delicious balls and plenty of benito flakes at the top to add umami flavours. The size of the octopus pieces was decent; you definitely wouldn’t miss it.

Lastly, the ultimate comfort food on the menu, in our opinion. The Cheezy Egg Hot Pot. It’s served piping hot with bubbling cheese on top. When you scooped it out, it’s fluffy egg mixed with corn kernels and green onion. It’s perfect for this weather, or if you are under the weather. It reminded us of a steamed egg dish that we had growing up (蛋羹/蒸水蛋). The bottom was a bit burnt, though, but we weren’t sure if we took too long to take photos and it just kept cooking in the hot pot.

Final Thoughts

The Ramen Koika on Robson is definitely positioned as a hangout, drinking place. The K-Pocha menu is made up of a number of spicy or deep fried items and it is designed to be enjoyed over some beer or soju (Korean liquor). We quite enjoyed the few dishes we ordered and would consider coming back to try others on the Pocha menu. Or simply come back for the beef ribs ramen.

Disclosure: The meal was provided to me complimentary of the restaurant. However, views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Ramen Koika
1231 Davie Street, Vancouver
604-336-2779
www.ramenkoika.com