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2012-02-17
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I initially wanted to try my luck with "Tamashi" or "Buta O" but was not too positive about getting a seat since I left work at 7:45p.m. Nevertheless I went to Tamashi first. The queue wasn't too long and I saw the Japanese boss and a pretty staff waiting outside and apologizing to customers as they were about to close ... so next.I found Buta O and was surprising to see the shop opened but with no queue! Well, it's because they've stopped their daily supplies of ramen ready. Being in ramen mood
I found Buta O and was surprising to see the shop opened but with no queue! Well, it's because they've stopped their daily supplies of ramen ready.
Being in ramen mood, I decided to find something random but eventually decided to try the Ippudo at Causeway Bay. The location is easy to find even for those who don't go to CWB much - it's directly across Times Square, where Kaya is located.
Once I got out of the lift, I almost queued for the wrong shop, i.e. Genki sushi, right next to Ippudo. For the reader's information, before you approach the staff, you'll need to input the number of persons (guests) on the touch screen and then take a ticket - a bit like queuing for bank services. I couldn't manage that and asked the staff for assistance. Perhaps sensing that I was a hopeless case, she just gave me a seat for 1 instead. - well, that's an advantage of dining alone.
Since I've been trying to compare different spicy ramens, I ordered the "Akamaru 赤丸新味"
I've requested the noodle to be extra soft plus a soft-boiled egg.Having tried kimchi ramen and spicy ramen at different shops, this wasn't spicy enough for me. It's also less spicy than the TST branch which I've tried awhile ago. It's basically a pork bone based ramen with a tablespoonful of spicy miso. The pork bone base was quite good and on the thick side. Actually, it's not terribly different from the one at Daruma or Hide-chan. The char-siu was really good though. It was meaty and definitely marinated with sake and soy sauce. The egg was pretty good too - very soft inside and perhaps 1/2 cooked.
Anyway, I had to put some chilli oil into mine after I've finished 70% of my ramen (which might be considered blasphemous for the ramen "connoisseurs" out there - well, at the end of the day, it's about how you enjoy eating it and the condiments were placed there for a reason. So just be flexible. I'd recommend adding some sesame into the soup too. There isn't one strict Japanese formula of eating ramen you see.
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I've also ordered a fried pork cutlet just for the fun of it. It's too fat - not recommended:
All in all, it's a good experience if you don't need to wait more than 20 minutes. The pork bone based soup is delicious. However, with so much competition around, I can't say Ippudo stand out too much. It's still a "Good" for Ippudo but when it comes to spicy ramen, I prefer Tatsuya at Tai Hang so far. The search continues....
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