Kane Tsuru Ramen Shell Street 金鶴拉麵 蜆殼街 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I found myself in unfamiliar territory tonight. Fortress Hill ain't exactly what you call a foodie's haven but I did enough research to make sure that I have a couple of places under my belt. I decided to check out Kane Tsuru Ramen on Shell Street (金鶴拉麵 蜆殼街) since I was longing for Japanese ramen noodles and from what I've seen on Openrice, they look like a very good option. They've got five branches in Hong Kong and two already in Fortress Hill and North Point.

The first thing I notice about this ramen shop is that they are one step ahead of everyone in the technology department.

I was asked to scan my personalized QR Code (with my top number) with my iPhone and that instantly brought up the food menu.

Placing an order won't get any easier than this.

Creamy Supreme Chicken White Soup Ramen (極濃雞白湯拉麵) ($138) - I won't be doing my job if I didn't order Kane Tsuru's best seller, their creamy supreme chicken white soup ramen. That's a very long name! Thank goodness I don't have to repeat it to my server.

The ramen noodles soaking up that creamy chicken broth.

Soft-boiled egg, not bad.

Crispy burdock root. I was instructed not to soak these into the broth. I am a sucker for a lot of things including burdock but these were a little too flaky for me (Burdock is at its best when it's a little chewy but sadly these weren't chewy enough).

The ramen came with two types of meat, first Japanese chicken fillet which wasn't bad.

Less successful was the barbecued pork. I won't mind a little more fat to it.

Of course, the key here was the creamy chicken soup, which was brimming with collagen. Sure enough, it was thick and really rich but an extra bit of umami would really help.

$138 is a pretty steep price for a home-grown white soup ramen but obviously, there's a market for it in the residential side of Fortress Hill (more like Tin Hau).

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop E, G/F, Po Wing Building, 6-16 Shell Street, Fortress Hill, Tin Hau, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Fortress Hill
Tel: +852 3460-2398
Website: www.kanetsururamen.com
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Fri); 12:00pm - 3:30pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Sat - Sun)