Jlovesssfood : Legit tonkotsu broth

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Legit tonkotsu broth - Hakata Gensuke

Ever since the super popoular ramen chain Hakata Gensuke has landed Perth, the queue outside the entrance has been constantly long. Now that the hype has cooled down a bit, I went there to see if their ramen lives up to the good reviews.

Arrived at Hakata at around 11:15 am and there was already a queue. Luckily we made it to be the very first batch of customers so we got in almost right after it opened.

It’s a lively little ramen spot with simple décor and bright red and white painted walls. Loved how it was so well lit too as it’s way easier to take photos that way :p

There are four kinds of broth, which are original tonkotsu, Black tonkotsu (with black sesame paste and fried garlic), shio tonkotsu and god fire in 4 levels of spiciness of your choice.

My ramen rule number 1: always order the signature flavour during your first visit so I ordered their tonkotsu ramen with spring onion, normal saltiness and slightly harder noodles (cause who likes soggy noodles?). My friend’s picks were shio tonkotsu ramen and a chicken karaage side dish.

Let’s have a look at each component of the tonkotsu ramen (AUD$12):

Broth: a creamy, rich and flavoursome one that left a gelatin gloss on the lips and not overly salty or oily. Finally a legit tonkotsu in Perth!!!

Noodles: thin noodles which is common for tonkotsu ramen, cooked to slightly chewy and the right hardness. Pretty much quite nicely done, just that I always like thicker noodles better.

Char siu: sadly a letdown as the meat was quite tough, not fatty, tender nor seasoned enough.

They got pickled ginger, spicy vegetables, minced garlic, ramen sauce, sesame and pepper as condiments. Feel free to add whatever amount to your taste.

I found the pickled ginger too salty and spicy vegetables a tad too strong though. Best to have just a little bit with some ramen to enhance the flavour.

My friend’s shio ramen was just super average as the broth was kinda thin and the flavour was one dimensional. Just lacked some depth that makes people ask for more.

Chicken karaage (AUD$5) actually looked more like typical Japanese char siu with their rolled and layered meat. It was crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Make sure you have them with their spiced salt cos it’s YUM!