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2012-06-02
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Hakata Ippudo could be considered as one of the leading Japanese ramen restaurants worldwide. As the frenzy ramen craze hit Hong Kong, it expanded its stores in Hong Kong as well. With all this ramen craze, it made me wanting to go and try out the various restaurants to figure out the best ones. Obviously I'm putting this restaurant on my list. Just as many other ramen restaurants, I was expecting a queue. To my surprise, there wasn't a long queue outside on a Wednesday lunch time. Me and my fri
With all this ramen craze, it made me wanting to go and try out the various restaurants to figure out the best ones. Obviously I'm putting this restaurant on my list.
Just as many other ramen restaurants, I was expecting a queue. To my surprise, there wasn't a long queue outside on a Wednesday lunch time. Me and my friend took our waiting ticket and waited for people inside to finish dining. After merely about 15 minutes, we got a table.
After the shouts of welcome from the staff, a waiter came to pour us a glass of water and gave us the menu.
I picked the Akamaru Shinaji ($68). It actually has an intense pork bone soup base, topped with miso, garlic oil, lean slices of pork, black fungus, soybean sprouts and scallions.
To me the pork bone soup base wasn't really intense. It was flavorsome but it's not exactly rich in flavor and texture nor is it heavy in taste. Something pleasing about it was that it's pretty much MSG-free as far as I could tell. The pork slices were pretty lean and soft, which I find that really nice. The noodles used were rather thin, non-curly and resilient ones. The texture of the noodles was good, with a hint of al dente.My friend picked the Spicy Tonkotsu ($58), which is basically also known as the Red King at many other traditional Japanese ramen shops.
It consists lean slices of pork, soy beansprouts, black fungus and spring onion as toppings, as well as the yuzu spicy miso to bring out the flavor. My friend allowed me to have a sip of the pork bone broth, i.e. the tonkotsu. The broth is flavorsome, and pretty much MSG-free too, but I think it's not rich enough as well. As the spicy yuzu miso gradually melted into the tonkotsu and blended together, the spiciness was brought out. Nevertheless I still think the soup base was still not rich enough. It's just flavorful yet the overall texture and sensation of the soup were obviously not rich enough. The spiciness was not exactly exciting either, which might be a dismay to some spice-lovers.When we both had finished the ramen, we both agreed that it was merely mediocre, and we both also agreed that it didn't give a sense of fullness. A bowl of ramen is supposed to give a satisfying fullness to your stomach, yet those here failed to do so.
After trying the ramen here, I sort of held my doubt for this restaurant. It was not bad but it lacked authenticity. Even with the setting of the restaurant, it doesn't feel exactly traditional either. The setting is indeed a very smart and bright setting, but I think a smaller crowded and a dimmer environment may probably give a better ambience and authenticity. Being modern is definitely not one problem but perhaps they should have made it modern in a way that still keeps many traditional details to give authenticity. Maybe this is the effect of becoming a chain store, and I can only say it's a pity then.
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