Menya Kanki 麵家金鰭 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I didn't expect the show to finish so late into the night but it turned out to be the case and everyone including yours truly was thinking about skipping dinner altogether. But not so fast, said little nugget. He's not about to forget about his dinner, at least not without a fight. So, I decided to grant him his wish. After all, I did promise him a meal at the newly opened Menya Kanki (麵家金鰭) at Elements Shopping Mall.

Taking over the space vacated by the now-defunct Ramen Jo, Menya Kanki is a Japanese ramen shop best known for their signature rich sea bream fish ramen which immediately reminded me of my favorite ramen shop in Soho, Maru De Sankaku (鯛白湯らーめん○de▽).

Rich sea bream fish ramen (濃厚鯛白湯拉麵) ($138) – The rich, thick soup made with sea bream fish with chunks of torched sea bream had me thinking about the creamy sea bream broth at Maru De Sankaku again. This came with less cappuccino foam but the same creaminess and satisfying texture.

Floating on top of the foam were ingredients like purple onions, mitsuba Japanese parsley, bamboo shoots (lots of them), garnished beautifully with colorful Arare glutinous rice pieces.

Slightly disappointing was the thin slice of wood smoked pork belly charsiu. It looked and tasted more like bacon! On the other hand, the slice of wood smoked pork shoulder charsiu was fine.

The sakura wood smoked Japanese egg was a little soft and musty.

Japanese clam soy sauce ramen (日本蜆貝醬油拉麵) ($128) – Little nugget surprisingly took the shoyu ramen over his beloved fish ramen. I had a sip of the clam soy sauce broth myself and obviously, the fragrant clear broth made with clams came with great depth of flavors. The ingredients here were more or less the same. Slice of wood smoked pork belly charsiu, slice of wood smoked pork shoulder charsiu, bamboo shoots, purple onion and colorful glutinous rice but in addition, sakura gluten cake, clams. Not bad.

Having tried both broths myself, I thought the rich sea bream fish ramen was the clear winner thanks to its creamy, velvety texture and umami-rich flavors. The barbecued pork, particularly the belly and smoked egg could use a bit more work but they have the foundation for a very good bowl of fish ramen here.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 1030, 1/F, Water Zone, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kowloon

Tel: +852 2196-8208

Website: www.menya-kanki.com

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily