Ichiran Tsim Sha Tsui Branch — Restaurant in Kowloon

I've been to this location twice so far and the quality of ramen never disappoints. It's worth the wait in my opinion.

Wait time: The wait may vary depending on if you're there during lunch or dinner time but otherwise it shouldn't exceed an hour. Also depends if you're sitting in a booth (way shorter wait time) or group tables. We went for the group tables on both occasions. The first time I waited for 45 minutes at around 7 and two days ago I waited around 20 minutes at 6:30. (The employees don't do estimates of wait times cause we asked and they had no idea)

Service: The service great. Very polite servers who are multilingual, very quick and efficient in bringing our your exact order so they won't mistake or have to ask which ramen is who's.

Environment: I went with friends on both occasions so I have never used booths. However the group seating area is nice. There's definitely enough space and they even use these dividers to maximize their use of the space. The dim red light is pretty comforting and decor simple. Sometimes they even let you use baskets to store your bags/belongings under the table.

Food: Always piping hot when served. Consistency in quality. The ramen is one of the best I ever had. From noodle texture to soup base to the pork slices that have a good meat to fat ratio. The slight self customization for the ramen is great. The eggs in Hong Kong are boiled to perfection with a slightly runny inside. Oh for water though, it's self service located in a specific area and they only have cold water.

Price: The price for just the ramen is very fair. Around 89hkd. However the toppings range from around 10-20hkd for a single thing like an egg so it's a bit expensive. The most worthy sideis probably the kae-Dama, or extra portion of noodles. They have a set you can get which comes with an egg, sliced wood ear mushrooms, 2 nori or seaweed, and 3 more slices of pork for 60hkd. Sides are still a bit expensive in my opinion.

Anyways, the conclusion is that it's definitely worth a try and I'll definitely...

After days of local HK food, we took a break and decided to dine at Ichiran. We had been craving for their signature Ramen since our last visit to their Shibuya (Tokyo) outlet. Although we can easily purchase their Instant Cup Noodles from Supermarkets these days, it cannot beat freshly cooked.

Almost everything including the decorations and furnishings were similar to their outlets in Japan, thus we were overwhelmed when we entered the restaurant. However, we were brought an open dining area with tables and chairs, instead of booth seatings with bamboo curtain. And so, thats one different in overall dining experience between both countries.

Ordering procedure was similar though. You get to select how Rich you want for your broth to be, Dashi Level (Seasoning Stock), Spicy level, Noodle texture and so on. I opt for a Bowl of their Classic Tonkatsu Ramen with Extra Rich broth, Strong Dashi Level, Medium Spicy, and Extra Firm Noodle (My preferred combo after trying out several options previously)

Well, my bowl of customized Ramen was served within 15 minutes and Wow, its was as delicious as what i had in Japan (as i can remember, unless my taste bud had changed).

Service wise, although the service staffs in this branch were not as enthusiastic as compared to their japanese counterpart, they were still attentive and efficient.

Overall, it was well worth the trip and queuing time of...

(1) Layout of the place: The place wasn't designed well. The person who greeted us at the door said to go down, turn left, and then sit down. So I did just that and saw two benches in a red-lit hallway. My friends, a couple of strangers, and I waited for 5 minutes, but nothing happened. As a person who doesn't naturally like to sit down, I got up and walked a bit to see where the nearest toilet was. I naturally went further into the building, where I saw a sign that said "go this way" and required me to take a left. Suddenly, I saw where the real restaurant was. I thought to myself, well, at least they could have had something brighter, like flashing arrows or something in the hallway!

(2) The atmosphere: After going in, we ordered our food and waited for another couple of minutes. The place was pretty packed and noisy. I could barely hear myself think.

(3) The food: It wasn't the best food of its kind, even at its price point.

(4) Final verdict: Unfortunately, I won't be visiting this specific place again, but I may give other branches a shot. Anyway, here are some photos to help you know where you're ultimately supposed to be if you go there.

Disclaimer: This is a review made months after the visit so some details in (1) are not clear. I just knew we were waiting in...