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2012-04-17
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Hakata Ippudo 博多 一風堂 has been a pleasant addition to the local ramen scene. It might not sound as sophisticated and artisanal as other shops, but somehow registers as being a cleaner type of ramen. The owner might be a 5 time National Ramen King but sometimes you wonder if they are opening up too many shops to fast and diluting the experience by becoming a chain store, but at the end of the day, to me only the taste matters - always. I've previously had some very satisfying ramens at
Hakata Ippudo 博多 一風堂 has been a pleasant addition to the local ramen scene. It might not sound as sophisticated and artisanal as other shops, but somehow registers as being a cleaner type of ramen. The owner might be a 5 time National Ramen King but sometimes you wonder if they are opening up too many shops to fast and diluting the experience by becoming a chain store, but at the end of the day, to me only the taste matters - always. I've previously had some very satisfying ramens at the Japan and TST stores, but a last visit to Causeway Bay store wasn't entirely great and I had to return a bowl as it was too weak in taste! Meanwhile this Central new opening seems to have kept up with the standards so far. Note: This is from my private visit to the store myself despite having received an Invitation to their opening party, I just wasn't available on the day. So hopefully this can reflect more of their normal operating quality !.
Lemon High Ball -A popular Japanese drink at many izakayas, you can always tell it's a Japanese version by the largish glass it is served in rather than in a narrow Collins glass as per tradition.. This was done recently and quite a refreshing alcoholic drink.
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Coke Zero -The saltiness in the ramens make me drink a lot. Look, no fat !
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Ume High Ball -This is made with Ume apricots aka plum, but the apricots flavour wasn't too apparent. Prefer the lemon one much better.
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Poached Egg on Hamburg Steak - $38This is one of the Central store only special items and a new signature offering. The hamburg steak is called a Char Siu Tsukune in Japanese, it's made with pork but no cartilages. The egg is all runny and gooey it is addictive. Can also be ordered over rice for $10 more.
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Tsukemen つけ麺 -This is Ippudo's latest addition. The noodles are expectedly different and of the much wider 激太 ストレート麺, which carries quite a bite and very likeable. The dipping broth is served strong as a dip by default, also just LUKEWARM as per tradition, which means it cools down quite fast. The flavours are mostly 鰹節 Bonito and 昆布 Konbu dashi with a hint of 豚骨 Tonkotsu broth. I instantly thought the Bonito overpowered everything a bit. I liked the noodles more than the broth. Finish the concentrated soup off with more Konbu soup added. The floating bits in the soup are not 背脂 but 天かす.
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All Toppings 全部のせ 具 -The Char Siu comes as 2 different cuts, the belly was surprisingly lean. I like leaner meats though so it's totally a personally thing, as long as it is not tough.
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Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen -This is my favourite ramen at Hakata Ippudo, which is quite ironical for a shop originating from Hakata, because this style of Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen with a thicker noodle than normal Kyushu ramen (here it's 中太ストレート麺) is a Yokohama style 横浜家系ラーメン. I like the broth being more soya sauce influenced and with a slightly thicker ramen, and everything is more balanced up a bit in the equation. Having lived in this area before might have affected my judgement though, as I'm not the most dedicated fan to those in your face full-on Tonkotsu ramens that has pork smell. I prefer balanced ramens which I can eat everyday!
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- One of the strongest points about Ippudo is its noodles, which I think is one of the best available in HK bar the exception of 周月 Sugetsu Ramen. The soup is balanced but probably a bit generic and feminine for ramen purists.
- Other foods are not bad but seems to be missing some spirits and passion, I suspect the shops back in the hometown of Hakata are better - having said that this will still be my to-go ramen joint, just because everything is balanced and I don't need to drink the sludgy tonkotsu soup from other places and seal my lips together with collagen... (苦笑)
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其他用餐以外的補充資料、著數用餐優惠、菜式參考資料甚至飯後有感而發不吐不快？請將食評以外的「題外話/補充資料」放在這裡。
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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