Lunch at Ippudo Hong Kong

I’m not a ramen fanatic so I didn’t even know about Ippudo until my friend Deb informed me that I MUST try it since it was famous in Japan and even had branches in New York, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei .

Ippudo (一風堂) was located in Silvercord in TST which was a short was a short walk from where I was staying.

I was scared of long lines that’s why I arrived a few minutes before they opened at 11:30 am. We finished lunch around 12:30 pm and it still wasn’t full. It’s safe to go any time before 1:00 pm which is the start of the lunch break of the office crowd in Hong Kong.

55 ramen bowls display the wall of the Hong Kong branch. In New York they have 110 bowls on their wall.

There was a sesame grinder on the table if you want to add ground sesame to your ramen for a nutty flavor which I did. I was able to buy this grinder in Jusco’s HK$10 plaza.

A hand-sized white bun stuffed with a thick slice of pork, lettuce, IPPUDO’s secret BBQ sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and mustard, creating a tantalizingly sweet taste. source

Ippudo BBQ Pork Bun HK$28

Ippudo offers 4 kinds of ramen, 3 using tonkotsu pork bone broth and 1 with kasane broth. The thin Hakata-style noodles can be ordered regular or extra al dente (katamen).

ramen menu (click to enlarge)

The 25-year old recipe requires the slow cooking over long hours to achieve a perfect emulsion of oil and liquid, creating a rich and powerful Tonkotsu that enhances the flavour of pork–bone topped with IPPUDO’s secret miso, garlic oil, lean slices of pork, black fungus, soybean sprouts and scallions. source

I chose the ‘red’ Akamaru ramen which promised a bolder flavored broth.

‘red’ Akamaru Shinaji HK$68

It’s a good thing I remembered the term ‘katamen’ which meant extra al dente for my noodles since I didn’t know how to say it in Cantonese. Even to the last strand my noodles remained firm. I really liked the rich pork broth which wasn’t oily or salty. The pork was lean and I liked the addition of crunchy bean sprouts.

My mom ordered the spicy karaka and I liked it even better. I didn’t specify the heat level which goes up to 5. The heat was smooth and was perfect with the broth. I plan to order this when I go to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks. It would be perfect with the chilly winter weather in December.

spicy Ippudo Karaka HK$78

This set of chicken dumplings is an exclusive IPPUDO snack. The special minced chicken recipe gives each dumpling its delicious juiciness. source

The chicken and cabbage gyoza were just ok and nothing great. I appreciated the crisp bottom though. I did love the chili oil and soy vinegar dip that came with the dumplings.

Ippudo Gyoza Dumplings HK$38

new dishes (click to enlarge)

For those who don’t like ramen they have several salads, sides and a la carte dishes you can order.

sides & rice (click to enlarge)

a la carte menu (click to enlarge)

While I’m still not a rabid ramen fan I finally realized the joy in eating a big bowl of noodles and hot soup. When you have really good and well made broth it hits home like true comfort food does.

Ippudo Hong Kong
Shop No. 20 Silvercord
2nd Floor, 30 Canton Road, TST Hong Kong
telephone: 957 8893
11:30am to 11:00pm (Monday to Sunday)
website