Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen has opened in Melbourne! (Grand Opening Friday 15th August 2014)

We have been invited to its VIP Opening Event to taste their remarkable ramen. I’m trying to hold my excitement right now…… so let’s begin with the menu! As pictured above, such simple menu with just a few choices, but it’s ALL ABOUT THE RAMEN, it’s great to see the menu sticking to the basics! I was attracted to the Black Tonkotsu and the Signature Tonkotsu. For sides, we ordered Gyoza and Chicken Karaages. The order is placed using a small paper form, we just ticked the boxes – Easy peasy!

While waiting for our food, I noticed many bottles and jars on each table. I was surprised that they had seasonings available for eaters to add as they wish, such as sesame, minced garlic and something I have forgotten to try and still wondering what that is – the Ramen Sauce! Also in the two wooden jars are spicy pickled vegetables and pink pickled ginger. We enjoyed the buzz in this busy noodle/ramen bar, you kind of feel like you’re in Japan! The service was great, a true Japanese hospitality standard that conclude your experience with a loud Arigatou as you leave!

The chicken karaage is delicious! Crunchy on the outside, juicy in the inside. The special salt on the side gave a nice flavour life. The Gyoza was delicious too (we missed the photo, sorry!)

Then comes the BLACK TONKOTSU. It’s a Black Sesame & Roasted Garlic Pork Bone Noodle Soup. It tasted great!!! I felt the difference in the soup immediately, and thoroughly enjoyed the noodles! I selected normal noodles (other options are soft or hard) and normal soup (other options are light or traditional Japanese). I wished I had more Cha-Shu, so highly recommend that you get extra pieces for $3. Towards the end, I remembered that the ingredient of the blackness is black sesame, so I wondered why I didn’t get that “bang” of black sesame flavour – it was pretty subtle. A chef who is our fellow diners explained that the pork bone soup has been made so well that the flavour it’s quite strong and that’s what people want, if the black sesame is any stronger, it would have to be very very black. So the hero here is the pork bone soup – agreed! Chef also suggested I add the pickled vege (spicy) to my soup but I gave that a miss since I’m having a sorethroat today – will do next time 😛

We also had the Signature Tonkotsu Ramen – Hakata Traditional Pork Bone Noodle Soup. This is DIVINE! I thought mine’s awesome, but THIS one is out of the world! Highly highly recommended! The soup was insane.. I can drink it EVERYDAY! The flavours are blended so well, it’s not too oily and not too salty, it’s rich in flavour but not a thick soup. I somehow taste some kind of egg yolky flavour, I’m not sure if I described it correctly, but I love it! Our friend, Chef Ikuei Arakane told us that this is the BEST ramen in Melbourne! Supported by fellow dinner Aya, she said Chef Ikuei Arakane has never said a ramen in Melbourne is delicious – so this is a SERIOUS ISSUE! Chef explained to us the making of a good ramen, it’s all about the soup and the noodle. The soup goes back to the type & quality of pork bone used, and in Australia, it’s hard to get consistent quality, it’s even hard to ensure you get female pork bones supplied all the time, as that is the best ingredient to make a great Tonkotsu. This ramen shop has achieved a perfect balance in the soup, between the pork bone and the flavourings. The noodles are different too, and we found out later that they have 2 Japanese chefs from Hakata who are making the soup everyday, and 2 more Japanese chefs from the same prefecture who make the noodles from scratch everyday – hence they are so distinctively great, not the noodles from factories!

We would like to thank the team at Hakata Gensuke for having us with such warm hospitality and for accepting our feedback. We’ll surely be regulars and tell the world about Hakata Gensuke!