AFURI Ramen + Dumpling 阿夫利拉麵 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

This pandemic thing is taking a toll on my mental health cuz I have not traveled anywhere since mid January! Not a single trip outside Hong Kong in almost 5 months! So starting from today, I will take half a day off from work to rest every other week. Hopefully, this move will help to boost my mental health as the fight against COVID-19 will likely last until the end of the year.

This half-day break thing is starting off great. I am making my first stop at The One for the first time in a long time and first up, it was AFURI Ramen and Dumpling Bar (阿夫利拉麵) located inside the spacious I.T. Orange Forest.

AFURI Ramen should be no stranger for most Hongkongers as it's one of the most popular ramen bars in Tokyo with shops in Harajuku, Meguro etc etc. Many of my friends can never get enough of their yuzu infused shio (salt based) and shoyu (soy sauce based) ramen but I'm more of a purist when it comes to Japanese ramen. Just give me a simple tonkotsu ramen, and I'm a happy camper.

Anyways, I thought AFURI picked a bad time to open their first shop in Hong Kong amidst the pandemic. Many of us didn't get the chance to try it out until most recently. For me, my first experience with them would be right about NOW.

The Japanese ramen experience won't be the same without a vending machine, right? But there was no ticket being issued; instead, just enter the table number before proceeding with the payment. Easy enough for me.

I thought the counter table was the only seats available but once I looked behind me, there was this incredibly spacious dining area that I thought was better suited for a chill-out coffee shop.

Tonkotsu Shio ($108) - Everybody sitting to my left and right was having AFURI's signature yuzu ramen so I was feeling a little uneasy with my choice.

The tonkotsu (pork bone soup) broth was smelling really good. It has this wonderfully creamy texture and judging by its color, it didn't have the same depth and volume as most tonkotsu broth thanks to the additional mix of a salt-based broth.

Can't wait to get started.

The ramen as a whole was pretty tasty. If there was one obvious area for improvement, it's probably the noodles. I thought it was a little thin to carry the broth and the bite wasn't quite the way I like it.

The soft-boiled egg was a little overcooked so the yolk wasn't runny enough for me.

There is always something about AFURI's smoky barbecued pork that had me longing for more. Could be the smokiness, I'm not sure. This slice had a little too much fat on it; otherwise, would be perfect.

When I was sitting there having my ramen noodles, suddenly for a brief second or two, it was feeling like I was in Tokyo. Yeah, it's been a while. Let's hope we can finally fly out in a few month's time so I don't have to pretend that I was in Tokyo.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: i.t orange forest, 2/F, THE ONE, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2815-2177

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:30pm (Sun - Thu), 12:00pm - 10:00pm (Fri - Sat)