Tokyo Eats: Ippudo

On our first night in Tokyo, Hubby and I explored Ginza.  It was already late when we finished shopping, and we were both hungry and wanted something fast.  I checked the internet for something nearby, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw Ippudo pop up.  I've already tried Ippudo in Hong Kong and  Singapore, might as well try out the original, right?  

Thanks to Google Maps and our rented wifi stick, we got there after some time of going around the wrong streets.  LOL.  There was a line outside when arrived, but we were ushered inside after a few minutes of wait.  The Japanese are really efficient that way :)

Unlike their branches in other countries, Ippudo Tokyo's menu is very minimal.  Two kinds of ramen and a few side dishes is everything they have.  Makes it easier to order since the items are few.

Hakata Bite-Size Dumplings

 The first dish that arrived was our appetizer:  The Hakata Bite-Size Dumplings.  The skin was thin and crisp, and the insides were juicy.  We finished it in minutes and found ourselves ordering another plate, in 10s!

Shiromaru Special 

Ippudo's original tonkotsu broth served with ultra-thin noodles, pork belly, bean sprouts, black fungus and spring onions.  Classic Hakata-style ramen.  It's the original taste of Ippudo.

The Shiromaru Special comes with 5 cha-shus, 3 roasted seaweeds, flavored soft-boiled egg, scallion, bean sprouts and tree mushroooms.

The Shiromaru Ramen is their basic ramen.  In Ippudo, you can choose to either get the one with cha-shu, the one with egg, or their Shiromaru Special with everything and more.  This was my order.  Of course I had the Special!  *glutton alert*

What I noticed about Ippudo's tonkotsu broth was that it tastes lighter than what I've grown accustomed to.  I ordered my noodles to be very soft, but the one that was served to me was a bit tough.

Akamaru Special

Ippudo's original tonkotsu broth enhanced with special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil.  Served with think and straight noodles, pork belly, bean sprouts, black fungus and spring onions.  A refined, modern-style ramen.

The Akamaru Special comes with fragrant garlic oil, 5 cha-shus, 3 roasted seaweeds, flavored soft-boiled egg, scallion, bean sprouts and tree mushrooms.

Hubby's order.  Also the special.  And he too found the taste to be a bit lacking.  It was fragrant alright - with the garlic oil and all, but the broth itself was not that impressive.

Overall, both of us were a tad disappointed with Ippudo Tokyo.  We wanted the flavors to be richer, bolder.  We're spoiled that way.  But to each his own.  Some find richer broths to be too much.  So if you like a cleaner and lighter taste, then Ippudo is definitely for you.  I'd have to give a special mention to the dumplings though, they're superb!  2 out of 5 stars.

Ippudo Ramen is at Daiichi Nakayama Bldg. B1F, 3-11-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Hong Kong Eats: Ippudo HK

Remember Butao Ramen and Ajisen Ramen?  Here's one more ramen place to add to the growing number of good ramen restaurants in Hong Kong.  For those in the know, Ippudo HK did not actually originate from Hong Kong, but rather in the land of ramen, Japan.  It was so successful that it now has branches all over the world in the US, Singapore, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.  Wow!  

The first time I got to try Ippudo was in Singapore.  Before we went, I did a few searches about good restaurants in Singapore and Ippudo was one among others that popped up from the search.  Well, all I can say is, the recommendation was spot-on.  The moment we took that first sip of tonkotsu broth, we swore to go back to Ippudo every chance we get.

Fast forward to last month, indeed, we went back to Ippudo.   It wasn't actually our first time in Ippudo HK.  We already got to try it a little more than a year ago, but since the trip last month was with Hubby's family, we also wanted to share with them our yummy discovery.

Here's what we had:

Shiromaru Motoaji

"Ippudo's original tonkotsu broth served with thin noodles, rosu chasu (pork loin), kikurage and spring onions.  Classic Hakata-style ramen."

Akamaru Shinaji

"Ippudo's original tonkotsu broth enhanced with special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil.  Served with thin noodles, buta bara (pork belly), kikurage and spring onions.  A refined, modern-style ramen."

Both ramen we tried that day was still as yummy as the first time we had it.  And if given the option to choose one from these two, well... I can't.  They're both delicious in their own way!  And did I mention REALLY fragrant?

Codfish with Saikyo Miso Sauce

This one took us by surprise.  The codfish might look simple, but trust me when I say that one bite of this will send you straight to heaven, no detours.  It's THAT good.  If I could eat one fish for the rest of my life, then this is it.  This fish still haunts me to this day, and the moment I set foot in Hong Kong again, this will be on top of my list.

Aji Tamago

Another one that will send you to food heaven is their soft boiled egg.  As simple as eggs come, I don't know what they do but they manage to make the insides a bit sweet.  Research shows that the Ajitsuke Tamago is soaked in some sort of marinade to get the flavor.  Ippudo seems to have mastered the art of Ajitsuke Tamago because theirs is pretty good.  Would have stuffed my face with a dozen or so if only I didn't fear for my life.  Haha!

The verdict?  5 out of 5 stars!  If you could try one thing alone, go for the codfish.  It's 1000% good, great, fantastic, amazing... I don't think I can run out of nice adjectives to describe how superbly delicious that piece of fish is.  The ramen itself is pretty mouthwatering too.  Oh and don't forget the egg! 

Ippudo HK is at Shop 210, Silvercord Tower, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong