Hakata Gensuke Tonkotsu Ramen — Restaurant in Melbourne

My guide to (most) of the menu: I've been coming to Hakata since 2015. After 10 years and countless bowls, I made it back 3 times this month—once with a big group where I tried 6 different noodles! 🍜 About time to leave a review!

🏮 RAMEN - My Ranking: #1 Signature Tonkotsu Plus - $22 (9.5/10): Classic 24h+ pork bone broth, deeply flavorful and always my go-to. The Plus option (+$3) is a steal, with extra chashu, a soft-boiled ramen egg, and seaweed. Perfectly al dente noodles hold up till the last bite. Only con is that the broth can be a bit too thick and I feel full quickly! #2 Hiyashi Tonyu Tan Tan Men (Cold Noodles) - $21 (9/10): perfect for summer ❄️. Stunning presentation, rich sesame flavor, and tasty mince. No Plus option but still excellent. Love the mince. #3 Black Tonkotsu Plus - $23 (8/10): Signature broth with a boost of black sesame and bold garlic 🌑 #4 God Fire Plus - $23 (7.5/10): Spicy Tonkotsu with customizable heat levels 🌶️ (standard Level 1 is good; Level 2+ for the spice lovers, Level 0.5 for beginners) #5 Shio Tonkotsu Plus - $22 (7/10): Milder, less salty broth 🌊—ideal for those with lighter palates. I find a bit too bland especially as limited toppings if you don't get the Plus - so highly recommended to add on. #6 Miso Ramen - $20 (6/10): a bit too salty and no Plus option. However, the generous chashu cubes are nice.

Still to Try: Vege Ramen Blackfire: the ult combo of Signature broth with half Black Sesame & half Godfire spice, plus Miso Ramen toppings. Tori Ramen (Chicken): at QV branch

🍗 SIDES Karaage Chicken (3pc): Hot, crunchy chicken thigh in perfectly wrapped batter 🔥 Gyoza (10pc) $14: Crowd-pleaser 🥟! Juicy, pan-fried dumplings with great flavor. Karedama: Spicy minced pork 🌶️—very hot and best paired with rice.

🥤 DRINKS Ramune: Marble-sealed Japanese lemonade 🍋, fun to open Lipton Ice Tea: can't get past this classic 🧊 Oi Ocha Green Tea: Light and unsweetened 🌿, but a bit bland Calpico: milky canned drink Also available: Pepsi, water

📝 Tips: Queues: Around 7-8 PM but move quickly. Visit at 5-6 PM for no wait. Used to have longer lines before Mensho opened next door. Discounts: Liven branddollars ($200 + $50 bonus) for ~20% off—great for big groups. Desserts: no options but try Kariton across the road for Asian-flavoured gelato

Overall: Hakata Gensuke remains one of Melbourne’s best ramen institutions. Whether you're a ramen enthusiast or new to Japanese noodles, this is the place to experience a true taste of Japan! 🍜✨ A great plus is that the staff are friendly and helpful, and the bowls are always...

We caught up with friends coming from Sydney close to midnight and they're staying around CBD. Since they're craving of ramen, we've decided to go to Hakata Gensuke in Russell street as it's opened till late. Also we could order the same dish to compare which one is better between pork or chicken base.

The ramen bar situated in a fabulous location close to China Town which is always busy street all the time which would drive potential customers. For some reasons, the customer service in QV (Hakata Chicken Specialist) was friendlier and better compared to Russell one. The vibe and atmosphere were very cosy and Japanese authentic.

Anyway, We ordered: God Fire, level 2 for $15.00 We chose the normal noodle texture, normal saltiness and with spring onions.

Signature Tonkotsu for $14.00 + eeg for $2.00 We chose the normal noodle texture, normal saltiness and with spring onions.

The ramen was cooked perfectly, so did the protein. The pork meat was smooth texture, tender and well seasoned. Personally, we loved the chicken soup base ramen compared to pork base because the pork base was too creamy, oily and too strong taste.

Don't get me wrong, the taste of the soup was still great and flavourful. Since I'd like something that's lighter taste say that Hakata chicken soup base ramen is better than pork base. For those who like strong, creamy and tasty soup base, we'd recommend to go to Hakata Gensuke in Russell.

We all kept drinking water and felt dehydrated after eating the ramen as it had strong taste.

Overall, we still had great time having supper in this ramen bar and considered this ramen bar as one of the best in town so far though the price is little bit pricey compared to other ramen bar.

Service : 2.0 Taste : 4.0 Price : 3.0 Speed : 4.0

Yay: Can't go wrong on any ramen you choose, open till late Nay: Customer service was...

Ordering your perfect Ramen – Ramen that is exceptionally made and tailored to you perfection! So; let’s break it down…

Atmosphere: ** Excellent and welcoming greeting by all staff when you enter in such a welcoming traditional style. The Beachwood settings, the outstanding decor, the literal multi-facet seasoning trays with fresh garlic, ginger and so many others to run with for your order. They do have a toilet for customer use – but my only gripe is that it is so amazingly tightly packed for customers with the small venue, you feel like strangers should be part of your conversation.

Customer Service: ** We are all use to the QR Code ordering system by now and ordering is through your mobile; I didn’t even ask about alternative payments. As this place is very small, they only have a very limited amount of customers to service, so once ordered your selection is cooked within 5 minutes and delivered promptly. Well Done!

Food (Why we are here): * Ramen Bowl: God Fire I have to admit, the amount of options for my perfect Ramen bowl was almost bewildering. I could choose how hard or soft I wanted my noodles. My spice level, 0.5-4 (I love spicy but needed an average – 2 was spicy, and for chili lovers this is a great starting point) - I could add or remove any part of the dish I wanted. It was exceptional & so was Ramen that was delivered – it was so tasty! Everything I ordered was exactly to expectation.

Overall: * The only thing that is holding this place back is the location and how many they can seat. It’s the only disappointing thing about this place – with a larger venue, their dedicated staff would own Melbourne Ramen. Hope to see them expand with the same quality throughout Melbourne...