Santouka Premier (Mitsukoshi BGC, Taguig City): The Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Branch That Serves A5 Wagyu Ramen

Wagyu simply translates to “Japanese cattle”. Its beef is one of most expensive meats in the world and is considered one of the best, if not the best, as well. It’s also known for its high level of marbling. It’s graded accordingly to determine quality, with A5 as the highest grade a Wagyu beef can achieve. I can’t wait for my first visit to Japan to try the Wagyu there!

While I wait for that trip to happen, I will have to settle with the Wagyu beef imported here in the Philippines. Recently, I had the opportunity to try my first A5 Wagyu beef at Santouka Premier.

Santouka Premier is the premium branch of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Philippines, the Philippine franchise of the Japanese ramen chain. Located in Mitsukoshi BGC, it serves A5 Wagyu ramen and other premium dishes.

We got the Wagyu Roast Beef Ramen, which has slices of A5 Wagyu beef. We had the option of choosing our ramen flavor: Shio (creamy salt), Shoyu (soy sauce), Miso (soybean) and Kara Miso (spicy soybean). We got the basic Shio.

The broth is thin, creamy, and naturally sweet. The noodles could be firmer (although I asked for it), and the bamboo shoot and wood ear mushrooms add texture. And the beef? It’s beefy and tender. However, it’s not buttery and melt-in-the-mouth as I expected it to be. Maybe it got overcooked by the broth when I was taking photos of it, and that’s on me. LOL.

We also got the Iberico Belly Ramen, which has pork belly that’s fatty and tasty but lacks tenderness, which is really a shame. We got the shoyu broth for this, which is tasty. I kind of regretted my decision to get shio for the Wagyu ramen.

You can get their Executive Ramen Sets, which comes with a small ramen, a choice of side dish, chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), and Japanese rice.

Since they also serve Wagyu Roast Beef rice bowl, we ordered that as well (might as well try as many A5 Wagyu items as we can). It’s also beefy and tender. The bowl comes with a creamy egg yolk, pickled ginger which add acidity, and freshly grated wasabi which gives some kick.

For sides, we tried their Gyoza (Japanese dumplings) that’s filled with Iberico pork. It’s soft and super juicy, almost similar to a Xiao Long Bao (Chinese soup dumplings).

Another side we got is their Karaage, which are huge chunks of Japanese fried chicken. It’s crisp, juicy, and tender. While it has a nice ginger taste, it’s a tad sweet for me. Good thing that the lemon slice balances the sweetness.

For dessert, we had the Black Sesame Ice Cream, which has a nice sesame flavor. It’s the perfect end to a ramen meal!

I’ll be honest. I had high expectations for Santouka Premier’s Wagyu ramen. But the Wagyu slices didn’t make the cut (I began doubting if it’s even A5! LOL) and the ramen lacked an x factor. Still, we enjoyed our entire meal at Santouka Premier. I recommend that you give it a shot.

What dish above have you tried or would like to try? Have you been to Santouka Premier? How was your experience? Comment below!

P.S. Next time I visit Santouka Premier, I will eat our food right away and get the shoyu broth. Maybe that will improve my ramen experience there.

Address: 2/F Mitsukoshi BGC, 8th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines | Operating Hours: Daily, 11AM-10PM | Contact No.: 0916-6474306 | Facebook | Instagram