A Slurpy Surprise (S2)

By: Samuel Kwan

Tucked away in the corner of the bustling Ma On Shall Plaza, Ippudo is a humble-sized ramen restaurant and a relatively new addition to the busy mall. Oddly, unlike the majority of the other restaurants in the area which regularly have lengthy lines, the ramen shop was half empty on a Saturday night. Intrigued by such a rare site and not wanting to wait, I convinced my family to try out the ramen to determine whether its lack of customers came from its hidden location or its food.

Walking in, I immediately noticed the simplicity of the place’s design. The only decoration was a grid of red and white lanterns that stood near the doorway. The place consisted of seven tables for four and a bar in front of the kitchen that allowed you to observe the chefs cook. Not knowing what to order, I asked the waiter for an recommendation, and she kindly responded with a bright smile, suggesting me to try the Hakata Tsukemen, a dip ramen served with two-pieces of chashu and half a soft boiled egg, or the Special Shiromaru Motaji, a hot bowl of ramen in a tonkotsu broth with four pieces of the house-special smoked chashu. Being the hungry person I am, I attempted to order both, but I was stopped by the waiter who advised me to order the second bowl as I eat the first. That way both bowls of ramen can stay fresh. Her thoughtfulness did not end there. She even proposed that I could order a Kaedama, an extra serving of noodles for just two Hong Kong dollars. In disbelief, I quickly flipped through the menu, and sure enough, there was a large picture promoting the extra portion of ramen for just two dollars. I ended up going for the Hakata Tuskemen, Shiromaru Motaji, and the Kaedama. I followed the waiter’s procedure for ordering, of course.

It only took a few minutes for the dip ramen to arrive. To my surprise, almost immediately, a pleasant aroma with a briny tang hit me. Although it did not look spectacular, it certainly smelled like so. The broth was rich in flavour, but was perhaps leaned too much on the salty said. The crunchy garnishes complemented it well by providing an extra layer of texture. The noodles were soft and chewy, and it soaked up the broth like a sponge, allowing the umami and strong flavours to come through every bite. However, midway through eating, the fattiness of the broth began to disagree with my stomach while the saltiness of each slurp of noodles started to overpower my tastebuds. Because there was no taste to any component of the dish – yes, even the Chashu – but the broth, the only taste throughout eating was of the thick soup itself. Slowly but surely, my throat began to feel as if I was drinking a bowl of saltwater.

Fortunately, the next bowl of ramen, the Shiromaru Motaji, provided an immense contrast. Unlike the Hakata Tuskemen, the Shiromaru Motaji’s broth had a light and refreshing flavour. It was no where as oily or salty as the one before. The ramen was extremely thin but was not mushy by any means. The house-special smoked chashu was unlike any I have seen before. It was shockingly pink and looked more like a piece of boiled meat. Looks can be deceiving though, as to my delight, the meat was full of flavour and the smokiness in the pork made it all the better. Each mouthful of this ramen only invited me to take another bite, and I was slightly disappointed when I was finished. Luckily, as mentioned before, I was able to order an extra portion of noodles for only two dollars. The noodles itself from the Kaedama provided no surprise, and there was nothing spectacular to it, but when immersed into the leftover addictive tonkotsu broth, the two dollars worth of noodles increased exponentially in value.

For only 70 to 90 dollars for a bowl of satisfying ramen, a measly two dollars for a whole extra potion of noodles, and virtually zero waiting time on a Saturday night, the experience at Ippudo was no doubt a slurpy surprise. While the restaurant definitely has its imperfections, the humble ramen shop’s delicious food, undeniable value, and kind service definitely makes it a quick and better-than-average place to satisfy your ramen cravings.

Location: Shop 2135-2139, 2/F, Ma On Shan Plaza, 608 Sai Sha Road, Ma On Shan

Restaurant Website: https://www.ippudo.com.hk/

Reflection: Overall, this piece was definitely fun to write. I think it was my first time doing a restaurant review and doing this really helped me practice my descriptive writing. At the time of the writing, quarantine had already begun for a few weeks now and having to do this piece of writing was definitely a great excuse for me to be able to go out and eat some good food!