Ramen Noodle Remix

Before I moved to Hong Kong, I would never have thought about eating soup when the air conditioning was on. But over here, soup is not an exclusively wintery food at all, which is actually a good thing because it helps warm you up after being in a freezing office.

A new Japanese ramen restaurant opened near my work, and of course we had to try it one lunchtime. It is a tiny little shop with no English signs nor English menu, so I can't recommend it by name. But this ramen is different to any I have ever had before (not that I've had that much, to be fair).

To place your order, you use a piece of paper to select the amount of noodles you want. Then you select a small, medium or large order of the different ramen toppings: seaweed, pork, green onions, bamboo shoots. You also choose if you want a preserved egg in your soup.

Instead of the noodles being served in soup, the soup comes alongside in a separate bowl. You are meant to dip the noodles in the soup first. After you are finished, you can ask the waitress to pour hot water into the thick broth, and then you should drink it.

The broth was delicious, but I decided I didn't want to drink a watered-down version of it. Actually, the whole meal was very good, though I was slightly sad that the toppings did not include corn or snow peas, which are often served in ramen as well.

The storefront of the restaurant on Shell Street in Tin Hau