Keisuke Tonkotsu King

For a tiny tiny island, we sure have a sizable ramen store per capita. Before leaving for Hong Kong, I made a lunch date with mum to have lunch at Keisuke Tonkotsu King (1 Tras Link, #01-19 Orchid Hotel), a pigeonhole ramen store near her office.

The queue at 11:53am

5 minutes before they opened, there were about 10 people queuing up outside Keisuke Tonkotsu King and we sipped on some soothing cold roasted barley tea while waiting for the store to open.

Keisuke Tonkotsu King aims to please the fussiest of eaters by democratization the soup base, noodle stiffness, overall oiliness and more.

Going beyond that, they also hope to placate the most impatient of eaters by offering free brown and white hard-boiled eggs, presumably for folks to pick on while waiting for their ramen. What a good distraction. However, our ramen were served even before I was done peeling my first egg (Note: I was never good at the piano).

And if the eggs weren’t enough, there was a jar of tasty pickled bean sprouts for one to nibble on. Loved it! It’s hard to dismiss anything with sesame oil after all.

I KISS-ed or rather, kept it simple and safe by ordering the predictable Tonkotsu Ramen. Rich, creamy and less oily than say, Miharu, it had the sort of broth that would make you incredibly satisfied and quite thirsty afterwards. *Reaches for roasted barley tea*

What I liked about the overall dish were the char su kimono-sleeve-slices that were tender but still retained some bite to it; the seaweed sheet which softened into a pleasing mound after being submerged in the broth; and “Normal” noodles that were suitably al dente.

Mum had the black spicy ramen, which was more peppery than spicy. It was interesting but the richness of the dish got to her and she couldn't bring herself to finish her ramen. That, well, led us to second lunch and another story altogether.