I have been wanting to try ramen ever since seeing the movie Tampopo. That was in high school. I don't know why I've never had ramen since. Anyway, a friend of mine has been raving about this ramen place in the city for some time. Two Tuesdays ago I had a day off and decided to finally try this place. I met my friend at Hakataya Ramen, and never having partaken of ramen before deferred to his recommendation that I try Char Siu-Men (Japanese pork noodle soup with extra pork). I was in the mood for one of the spicier dishes but trusted my friend's judgement. When my meal arrived I was disappointed. This was not because it tasted bad, but because it was virtually indistinguishable from the pork noodle soups that I have had at Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants over the years. For some reason I had it in my head that there was something unique about ramen that separated it from other Asian noodle soups. Now that I know this is not the case, let me explain my dining experience. It was a standard pork noodle soup: noodles, pork, and broth. It's pretty hard to go wrong with such a combination, and this occasion was no different. The bar at which we were seated was supplied with chilli oil and powder. I took advantage of this, but was not really certain how much of these condiments to add my dish, so I erred on the side of caution. Consequently, my dish wasn't as spicy as I would have liked, but that was preferable to ruining the meal with excess chilli.
It also came with a small tub of what looked like seaweed to me. My friend explained that it was used to cleanse one's palate. I'm skeptical of its palate cleansing properties, but whatever it was, it was tasty. Overall, this was a good meal, but as previously mentioned, I was hoping for something I've never had before. On a side-note, the plastic spoon they provided me with was a little sharp and I got a slight cut on my lip. This wasn't a big deal until afterwards when I had a ginger beer which really stung this cut.
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