Ramen Ikka 麺処一家 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Ramen Ikka (麺処一家) on Hau Fook Street has been on my radar screen for at least a year now but I have struck out every single time I attempted to pay them a visit. My last attempted visit was a couple of weeks ago but at 8pm, everything on the menu was already sold out well before their closing time. So when I walked over to the highly coveted ramen shop in TST at 9pm tonight, I already had a few backup plans in mind.

But to my pleasant surprise, they still have their "Welcome" sign hanging on the door. Rejoice!

Chef's Choice Ramen – Ramen Ikka only serves one kind of broth which is a rich, tangy tonkotsu nibosgi shoyu broth. It's a tantalizing mix of pork bone broth and soy sauce simmered with dried fish (bonito?).

The three choices on the menu only differ by the ingredients on top. This came with aburi pork belly and slow-cooked pork shoulder loin, among other ingredients like soft-boiled egg, chopped onion, bamboo shoot and what I thought was diced black fungus.

I love the way the thick and rich flavored broth was clinging to the noodles!

The smoky aburi pork belly was pretty addictive.

The pork shoulder loin was very tender and it came with some extra (peppery) kick.

Well, it's amazing how fast one could finish a bowl of noodles when you're so enjoying it! 😝

The food scene of Tsim Sha Tsui has changed a great deal since the start of the pandemic. The eateries that used to operate well past midnight were long gone and because of that, you don't see people hanging around the area late at night anymore. Except for Hau Fook Street though. This street is still buzzing in late evening like COVID-19 has never come.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 11 Hau Fook St, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2360-1212

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:45pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Fri), 12:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat - Sun)

Five Guys Olympian City (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's been a long long day. We went back to little nugget's school early this morning and witnessed him snapping up a few awards at the boy scout's year-end award ceremony. As parents, we saw how he grows up as a person and matures (a bit) throughout the course of the year, and for me personally, I couldn't be happier with his transition from kindergarten, which was a huge step forward. By the time we were finished with the ceremony, it was already 1pm, so we ventured over to Olympian City for a quick one.



At 3pm, we were still hanging out at the mall (cuz we will be having dinner at Tsing Yi with the grandies). In order to grind it out, I suggest having a frosty milkshake at Five Guys just to kill more time off the clock. 

This guy probably didn't notice but I've ordered a Salted Caramel shake rather than the usual vanilla shake (boring!) this time around. As usual, this was so thick and creamy. Love it~!

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop UG03, UG/F, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Olympic

Tel: +852 3616-0493

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm daily

Heimat by Peter Find (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Things are heating up a bit at work these days like it always does in June and July. After surviving two important meetings in the morning, it was finally time for lunch. I was trying to think of a place for a decent meal and suddenly recalled a recent advice I got from my blogger friend Tony who has been telling me about his wonderful experience at Clarence and Heimat by Peter Find. It was toss-up between the two but at the end of the day, I wound up choosing Heirmat since time was again my biggest enemy and very likely, I won't have time to enjoy a full-course lunch menu at Clarence. 

I could never tell the difference between LKF Tower and California Tower but after going to the wrong address in the first place, I finally got it right.

First up, some homemade sourdough bread served with what looked like yoghurt to kick off the meal. 

Hummersülze – My starter was cylinder-shaped lobster gelee made with Brittany Lobster, with herb salad and quail egg served on the side.

This was like having chilled lobster soup with diced vegetables in the middle for some extra crunch. Not bad especially on a hot summer day like today.

Pfefferpotthast – Westphalia beef stew with onion ragout and yellow potatoes.  

The traditional German stew was an iconic dish that dated back to almost 1370.

I bet this one would work well with steamed rice, Chinese style.

Spätzle – At this point, Chef Find came over and offered me some complimentary cheese spätzle. The curly egg noodles were nice and chewy, just the perfect companion with the beef stew (forget about the steamed rice!) I thought. Thanks Chef Find!

Checking my watch, I was indeed right that I won't have time for dessert. So, I quickly settled the bill and started my trot back to my office.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 8/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Website: https://heimat.hk/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Sat)