Jika Udon

While Manila is basking in the influx of ramen shops I’m happy to report that Hong Kong has seen the light and is starting to open udon restaurants. 

I may be in the minority but I prefer udon to ramen. There’s something so satisfying about biting into thick chewy noodles that the thinner ramen noodles can’t match.

My first (of three) udon finds was Jika Udon right in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s located in the basement of Woodhouse which is part of Chungking Mansion on Nathan Rd. You won’t miss it since it’s neighbors are Bonjour and Holiday Inn Golden Mile. 

Save for a few interesting restaurants Woodhouse was a boring arcade.

This ramen place looked interesting. You order and pay for your noodles using a vending machine. 

You can see from the wide range of unique udon preparations from their plastic food display.

You can also watch them make fresh udon noodles if your timing is right. 

For the traditional udon soup there were 5 kinds of soup base to choose from – curry, pork, shrimp, spicy and tomato.

 

The noodles were very al dente. Biting into each strand and chewing the silky noodles was so fulfilling. I just didn’t like the thick curry soup. It wasn’t bad at all I just wasn’t used to curry soup.

I much preferred the rich, milky pork broth. The pork cartilage was super duper tender that it doesn’t take more than a few teeth action to eat it. I would order this again and again! 

 

We also ordered a few small dishes to complement our meal. 

 

This dish was one of those “one bite and I’ve died and gone to heaven” things. Two large, plump Hiroshima oysters smothered with cream, cheese and bacon was crazy good. You should have seen how clean the plate was. 

 

The hamburger was too tasty for me. If you like your burger seasoned with soy sauce and other umami flavors then you’ll probably like this. I like my burgers with only salt and pepper.

Jika Udon is a good place to get good udon and other Japanese goodies at a very affordable price. It’s a place where there’s something for everyone in the family. I’m already planning which udon to try next plus of course an order of oysters too. 

Jika Udon (closed)
九龍尖沙咀彌敦道36-44號重慶大廈地庫活方商場23A及25號舖
Shop 23A & 25 Basement, Wood House, 36-44 Nathan Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
telephone: +852-2366-6718
Hours: 11:30 ～ 22:30
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