Rockin' ramen
The heat is on for soup samurais in HK's broth-and-noodle battle, writes Vanessa Yung
ALTHOUGH THE RAMEN trend started in Hong Kong a few years ago, local appetite for the noodle soup is heating up again. And if the Oishii Japan Ramen Fiesta held last month in Diamond Hill is anything to go by, vendors will be competing even harder for customers.
Hong Kong was given a taste of the many ramen varieties in Japan, some of them still novel to the city, courtesy of five masters of ramen.
Ichiran – a popular Japanese chain serving Hakata-style tonkotsu (pork bone) broth with thin, straight noodles and topped with a secret red sauce made from more than 30 spices – is set to open its first overseas branch in Causeway Bay this summer.
Ichiran promises an intimate experience between diner and their steaming bowl of soup, especially those who are a bit embarrassed at asking for a refill.
“The Hong Kong shop will be the same as Japan, both in terms of taste and ambience,” says Masakazu Igarashi, who runs Ichiran’s overseas projects. “It features high-privacy, booth-type counters so that the diners can focus on eating their ramen. It also avoids the embarrassment which some may feel eating alone or ordering a noodle refill (kae-dama).”
Another shop that participated in the fiesta was the Toyama prefecture’s Ramen Iroha, a four-time Tokyo Ramen Show champion known for its thick, dark, seafood-infused broth. It recently opened an outlet on Haven Street in Causeway Bay.
