Our daughter loves ramen, capable of finishing one bowl all by her lonesome, sans the toppings. She’s quite happy with just the noodles and soup. That is why I made it a point to visit Ippudo HK during our last trip to Hong Kong. Ippudo traces its origins to Hakata (Fukuoka) in Kyushu, Japan which is also known as the ramen capital. The founder, Shigemi Kawahara was crowned the Ramen King in 2005 and is also included in the Ramen Hall of Fame.
It was our first dinner in HK, and knowing the long waits when we passed by this place last December we tried to go there early.
They have a nice automated queuing system, that can even send you a reminder by cellphone. We were 15 numbers away but got out seats in less than 15 minutes. The restaurant is located in Silvercord in Canton Road so while waiting, you could browse around the mall.
The main seating area was not as crowded as I expected it to be considering this is Hong Kong and space is super premium. We even got a table in a cozy booth area on the side.
We got two bowls to share among the 3 of us, since we were not sure if Lauren would like the thinner Hakata noodles. The first bowl we got was the Akamaru Shinaji (HK$68 or around P380), basically a tonkutsu miso broth. The soup base was cloudy and fragrant, exhibiting lots of umami flavor. The noodles was something different but really good and chewy. You can specify the doneness of the noodles, we just went with normal but apparently their specialty is extra hard.
The other ramen we got was the Shiromaru Motoaji (HK$68 or around P380). This is the original Ippudo recipe, a lighter soup base thus making the flavors gentler. The soup was reminiscent of a nice chicken broth because of the color. Lauren liked this more than the previous ramen but I was lucky to be given that perfect piece of egg with a gooey and runny center.
There’s a sesame seed grinder on every table which Lauren got a kick out of adding to my ramen.
Lauren actually wanted to go back another time to Ippudo despite her initial apprehension but unfortunately we were not able to return, maybe next trip to HK. I was not expecting much of service, since HK is notorious for bad service but we were all bowled over by the attentiveness of the server, refilling our water a couple of times even without prompting. The great service coupled with the great bowl of ramen made for a memorable experience at Ippudo HK.
Ippudo HK
Shop No. 20, 2/F SilvercordCanton Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui
2957-8893
Ippudo HK Website
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