Tamashii Japanese Noodle     魂  

With the influx of Japanese Ramen shops, Hong Kong have been privileged to have a higher standard of Japanese ramen. People craze over these delightful noodles, and we make all sorts of slurping sounds when we eat! I think when it comes to the more popular ramen shops, people will immediately think of : Butao Ramen and Ippudo. Therefore, my short review will mainly compare Tamashii's noodles with the two ramen bars mentioned above.

Noodle Texture

I selected 'tough' texture option. I found the ramen to be average. The thickness of the noodle was perfect, but I have to say there was absolutely nothing special about the texture of the noodles. it wasn't particularly 'bouncy/chewy', but the overall sensation was okay.
Comparing to Butao Ramen and Ippudo, I think their quality and tastiness is slightly worse.

Soup

A friend and I shared a green "青龍" and the regular "魂" .
Both were just 'okay'. Although the soup was full and not over heavy in flavors, I preferred a slightly thicker soup. Both soups did not have a wow factor to warrant the long wait in line. In fact, if the soup was stronger in taste, it would enhance the overall experience.

i much prefer Butao Ramen's thicker soup, and this soup is slightly worse than Ipuudo in terms of flavour.

Overall, I enjoyed the authentic Japanese ramen atmosphere in the shop (small and tight spaces, quiet customers solemnly eating their ramen) . But given the sheer amount of Ramen shops available in HK, this one is not worth the wait. If I were to wait for Ramen, Butao Ramen and Ippudo, it is.

Everyday I drive and seeing this super long queue shop and have been wondering what's happening to this shop.. and finally I could have chance to try their noodle
I ordered the black squid soup noodle they named it 'Taichi), when I first saw it, the presentation is very beautiful just like a piece of picture! Wow it's amazing noodle with some gold on top!

And Their soup base I can say it's unique it's the best in town as I have tried many many Japanese noodle in HK and their soup base are just soso. Besides, the barbecue pork on the top is also worthy to mention it! Yummy

I heard other guest talking with the waitress about the opening hour why so short and the waitress said it's all because of keeping quality of the noodle. They insist to sell 200 bowls of noodle for each day for the purpose of keeping the best quality for the customer. They do understand the theory of Best Quality is more important than the best quantity. It's pretty hard to find such sincere restaurant in HK nowadays! So I must write this comment to express my encouragement to this small shop! Add oil! I definately will come back again !

Went to finally try today this restaurant that's always has a waiting line outside it's door (and it's because a few seats are only available inside as I found out); expect atleast 5-20 mins wait depending on the line. Well atleast the lady offer cold tiny cup water while you sun-bathed outside.

I placed my HKD $ 69 soup order based on pictures on the wall as they do not have any English menu. The lady again was kind enough to explain what's the differences between the other 2 options as I wanted to try the most expensive HKD99 soup but only available during dinner.

So as I sit it the bar in-front of the people preparing the food, I notice this pimpled faced guy (whom I take is a trainee or assitant to the japanese looking old guy, whom I presume is the owner or atleast knows what he's doing). As I watch them prepare the bowl with my normal noodles selection, a teaspoon of some hot oil was added and what looks to be a sauce from the Pork bone stock is shaken while a finger of the guys is holding the other end of the container during this process. YUMMY..!

Presentation is nice and all. And the soup was really good as I was telling myself until I felt a HOT Sensation in my forehead to find out a something from the Noodle bar came splashing towards me. This is when the whole dining experience started to go south. As I look ahead to find the source, It only aggravates me to see this pimpled-looking-guy to pretend nothing happened. The lady server was again courteous enough to serve me with some tissue as she explains to the jap-guy what had happened. They come-up to me and apologies with a free refreshment drink which i used to cool-down my forehead with. I was upset to say no to a Free Drink

Should I stay or should I walk out now...? I was so hungry, the noodle and soup base was so good (probably beacuse I was infuriating mad + hungry at the same time), I decided to stay and finish my bowl of noodles as its a sin to waste food.
As I continue my lunch to find only one piece of pork meat, this is robbery!

Once I was done, I just wanted to pay (gave them HKD 100) and leave without leaving any comments or getting my change.

But then as I walk back to my office, it came to me that it was an injustice not to let other people know about it.

So here it is, my first food blog comment.

Waaa it was so hot and we had to wait outside..
Luckily the lady was nice enough to give us a cup of cold water and a hand held fan.

Hm.. I think I had high expection of this ramen place, but it was disappointing when I took my first bite.

I think the soup was so so. The BBQ Pork was way too small, not worth the $$.

Overall the ramen was okay. But I will not come again, not worth the wait.

The ramen on the bottom of the picture is 魂 (soul), it is the normal, bottom priced ramen out of the four choices given.

It's $69 and includes succulent pork (char siu), seaweed, an egg, corn, scallion, pickled bamboo roots, and a naruto.

The ramen on top is 火魂 (fire spirit), the second least expensive, at $79.

It is a spicy bowl of ramen with sesame, char siu, salmon, saffron, corn, scallion, asparagus, and a slice of naruto.

Both soups are good in the way that they don't make you thirsty after eating a bowl of ramen like the ones you get that aren't as authentic and itches your throat for water continuously afterwards.

The soup is also very likable because the temperature of the soup is hot and not lukewarm or cold when served, so that's a hit point for good quality.

The ramen here is special because the small shop gives a sense of the street ramen shops Japan has. On top of that, the ramen is made consistent to what you prefer in terms of the hardness or softness of the ramen, also they're always hot straight from the boiler when put into your bowl of ramen.

I personally like this type of ramen because the noodles are not too thick or thin, just right in between being chewy and good for slurping. They are very easy to swallow down as they are smooth and have a very nice curly texture, I also like the fact that the bowls of the ramen are relatively good for filling you up. The portions are not filled so much that you have to stuff yourself like a pig and regret trying to finish the great quality and effort, plus they are perfect as they provide just enough to make you satisfied.

I recommend these two bowls of ramen if it's your first time there because it will provide you a sense of what authentic Japanese ramen is like and help you choose more wilder options below the menu such as the squid ramen 太極 (tai chi), and the green soup based ramen 青龍 (green dragon).The drink is quite appetizing as the preserved berry's saltiness mixes in with the sprite creating a little more room for the ramen. I'd recommend trying it as it is summer, and the hot weather can be quite de-appetizing.