My first visit to this place was back in early Nov 2010, a few days before its prime time TV feature which created the recent hype on this little ramen joint with about a dozen seats. M (from eatshowandtell) and I waited for about 10 minutes only back then instead of the average 1 hour or perhaps 2 hours wait nowadays? It took me this long to blog about it because I wanted to give the rest of the ramen selection a try first. However, any queue for food that requires more than 30 mins wait and less than 10 mins consumption time will likely skip. Therefore, I might as well share my experiences now in the middle of the hype. If you require a more detail insight into the different selection during this hype, please check with e_tingfood.com (also Facebook Fan Page) and tomeatsjencooks.com, both who recently went an hour before it opens on a Saturday morning for its first bowl of ramen. Based on my latest information, the y have limited the supply of ramen per day to 200 bowls ....
Showing posts with label Japanese - Ramen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese - Ramen. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Butao Ramen 豚王
My first visit to this place was back in early Nov 2010, a few days before its prime time TV feature which created the recent hype on this little ramen joint with about a dozen seats. M (from eatshowandtell) and I waited for about 10 minutes only back then instead of the average 1 hour or perhaps 2 hours wait nowadays? It took me this long to blog about it because I wanted to give the rest of the ramen selection a try first. However, any queue for food that requires more than 30 mins wait and less than 10 mins consumption time will likely skip. Therefore, I might as well share my experiences now in the middle of the hype. If you require a more detail insight into the different selection during this hype, please check with e_tingfood.com (also Facebook Fan Page) and tomeatsjencooks.com, both who recently went an hour before it opens on a Saturday morning for its first bowl of ramen. Based on my latest information, the y have limited the supply of ramen per day to 200 bowls ....
Monday, May 31, 2010
Toronto - May 2010 - Day 5 (Special Date with Hot Dog and Pho!)
It has been 4 years since I last returned to Toronto and even during my years in Toronto, taking the subway to downtown wasn't something I would do regularly for many reasons. This time around, I took the subway to downtown for a day trip with my mom and I realized that nothing and i mean nothing has changed over the past 4 years with the subway.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
MIST? - Rahmen Fine Dining
Ramen (or "rahmen") and Fine Dining never crossed my mind as two words that can be associated with each other in one sentence; now "MIST?" proved me wrong this evening. This new establishment in Causeway Bay put itself right amongst the fine dining scene in Hong Kong with its specialty: Ramen of course. Ramen to me is something hearty and down-to-earth, just like burgers which is soul food without costing a fortune. Perhaps my belief is already outdated?
The decor was upscale indeed with leather bounded chairs (I assume they were leather) and utensils were hiding inside the drawer in front of each diners. A nice touch indeed.
However, 2 things I noticed which I disliked very much: (1) the menu smells, literally of unpleasant leather smells odor and the staff admits it! & (2) with approx 26 seats including bar seats, there were 6 waitstaff around, always one nearby which was kind of intimidating for me. (even when their service was attentive and friendly)
It is a very bold move indeed for it to offer only 5 variations of soup to go with a single type of Ramen (or "Rahmen") noodles. Each bowl came with only one single piece of pork and everything else is extra. There were some cold / hot side dishes but limited choices once again. We ordered the "Rahmen" Sushi to start with and it was lovely in term of presentation with 4 metal spoons holding sushi like pieces made of ramen noodles topped with different items. Honestly, not overly spectacular or extraordinary at all, the flavors + textures were very predictable in a sense.
I ordered the ume shio "rahmen" (plum) with an extra boiled egg which looked very pretty. The noodles were relative thin and soft compared with those I tried before. According to the information leaflet provided, three types of flours were used to make this special noodles and over 25 ingredients for the soup as well. Personally I prefer the more chewy and thicker types of noodles. The soup on the other hand was wonderful with the right level of saltiness to it and hints of citrus flavor from the ume (plum). Two Thumbs up on the soup!!!
Thanks to my brother who held up the noodles for me to take this picture.
The one and only piece of BBQ pork was semi-fatty in a delicious way and the boil egg was good with yolk flowing out.
Likes:
- Great soup base, not too salty, just the right amont.
- (semi-dislike) very unique noodles but rather too soft and too thin for my liking
- Attentive service
- Rather costly for a bowl of hearty ramen.
- Although service was great, too many waitstaff within the limited space, privacy was a concern in my case.
MIST? Rahmen Fine Dining 創作麵工房
G/F, 4 Sun Wui Road, CWB
Tel: +852 2881 5006
http://www.mist.com.hk/
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Update 23 Feb 2010:
After my months of ramen quest in Hong Kong, there are only a few that I would return and (1) Noodle House Ippei-An 麵屋一平安 @ Miramar Shopping Centre remains to be one of my favorite joints despite the recent setbacks. I am yet to try its Elements outlet and will update the experience here accordingly. My other favorite ramen joints are (2) Sapporo Japanese Restaurant 札幌元祖北海道拉麵 @ Forum, (3) Yachiyo Ramen 八千代麵坊 @ Noho. Let the Ramen quest continues!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Noodle House Ippei-An 麵屋一平安
I am fan of Japanese ramen and I have been in search for great ramen in Hong Kong for a while; however, quality varies by a large margin based on experiences. Noodle House Ippei-An at the Miramar Shopping Centre @ TST is (or should I say used to be) one of my favorite ramen locations. Maybe it is just a coincident but ever since it opened its franchise at the Elements, the quality is no longer being maintained. Let me explain in more details.
(1) Baked Eggs 日式煎蛋
I think the name of this dish has been translated incorrectly but anyhow as long as it resembles Japanese pan-fried tamago or tamagoyaki, I would order it. However, it wasn't the quality I was looking for. It was fresh and soft but that was it. Not particularly sweet and it lacked the burn pattern / mark on the surface. Maybe that's why the dish name is not what it is called usually, which is tamagoyaki; but instead simply called baked eggs. (but why pan-fried eggs 煎蛋 in Chinese?)
(2) Higomonzu Ramen 特製什棉豬骨湯拉麵
The first thing I noticed was the smaller portion of ramen and ingredients compared with my previous visits. The soup base was rather weak and the ramen was ... humm ... very ordinary and overly softened; not particularly delicious or special in terms of texture as well. Very disappointing indeed. The stewed pork was overly salty as well. Sigh ... I think I need to find another ramen location to replace this one. (I wonder if the Elements outlet is any better or at least of same quality as before)
(1) Baked Eggs 日式煎蛋
I think the name of this dish has been translated incorrectly but anyhow as long as it resembles Japanese pan-fried tamago or tamagoyaki, I would order it. However, it wasn't the quality I was looking for. It was fresh and soft but that was it. Not particularly sweet and it lacked the burn pattern / mark on the surface. Maybe that's why the dish name is not what it is called usually, which is tamagoyaki; but instead simply called baked eggs. (but why pan-fried eggs 煎蛋 in Chinese?)
(2) Higomonzu Ramen 特製什棉豬骨湯拉麵
The first thing I noticed was the smaller portion of ramen and ingredients compared with my previous visits. The soup base was rather weak and the ramen was ... humm ... very ordinary and overly softened; not particularly delicious or special in terms of texture as well. Very disappointing indeed. The stewed pork was overly salty as well. Sigh ... I think I need to find another ramen location to replace this one. (I wonder if the Elements outlet is any better or at least of same quality as before)
Likes:
- Japanese ramen house decor
- happy hour beer discount.
- Crowded seating arrangement
- Disappointing Ramen (weak soup base and soft noodles)
- Portion seemed smaller than before
After my months of ramen quest in Hong Kong, there are only a few that I would return and (1) Noodle House Ippei-An 麵屋一平安 @ Miramar Shopping Centre remains to be one of my favorite joints despite the recent setbacks. I am yet to try its Elements outlet and will update the experience here accordingly. My other favorite ramen joints are (2) Sapporo Japanese Restaurant 札幌元祖北海道拉麵 @ Forum, (3) Yachiyo Ramen 八千代麵坊 @ Noho. Let the Ramen quest continues!
Noodle House Ippei-An 麵屋一平安
2/F Unit 11, Miramar Shopping Centre
132 Nathan Road, TST
Tel: 2375 5330
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