I’m getting fed up by this Japanese ramen storm past 12 months.

For those who don’t live here, it appears that Hong Kong is equipped with 4-5 ramen Japanese premium ramen shops in every premium dining districts: central, tst, cwb, and even Tai Hang (which seems to have tons of diners migrated from cwb now). They were definitely not the early adopters of Japanese ramen shops in hk such as  Ajisen 味千, or many called it 味精, nor shops that taste close to ones we eat in Japan but never get close enough, such has Sanpachi 八八八拉麵. They are ones that carry some sort of special background that acts as a gimmick: 1) they have chefs coming from Japan 2) the restaurant itself is a chain / franchise from Japan 3) they have worked many hours / years to create their own recipes. The amazing numbers of shops are good as it improves quality over the time. But then there are some sets of shops that I find it strange, those that usually have huge lineups, taking more than 1 hr to get a seat. We HK people get used to lining up so many find it ok. Once awhile I do line up for food such as an udon shop in TST.

My biggest complaint however is its false thought of reasonable eatery under super cramped space, pushy environment. My recent trip to one of these shops: 拉麵來Ramen Kureha in Tai Hang is one good example. This premium ramen shop, similar to others, uses up most of its space as kitchen, then only puts up less than 20 seats, each facing the wall. That eliminates people as a group to have chats, which wastes time, and focuses on its food. Okay! The key of the efficiency lies in few more factors. Round stools are used so customers never feel comfortable to sit for long time, and they can move in / out easily. When served, noodles are never too hot so one can start eating immediately. Hot drinks are rarely served for the same reason. Servers’ effective cleaning of finished dishes, plus yelling when new customers come, constantly alerts customers that others are waiting outside. That gives diners a sense to not sitting in the restaurant for too long, i.e. asking them politely to leave the hell out of the place as soon as the ramen is finished. One might argue that it’s a tradition, oh that’s what they do in Tokyo as well, but I personally have never been to one that packs people like the way we pack people in HK Cha Chan Ting, while charging one 2 or 3 times than them.

Yet such wait-long-for-noodle-then-eat-them-ASAP models work so well. People feel that they enjoy noodles more, maybe because the effort they’ve paid in lineup? But how one justifies the short time in the shop? Do diners blame themselves for eating too quickly? I can understand that having a HKD100 bowl of ramen isn’t sky rocket expensive. I just don’t understand by what reasoning we are not deserved to sit better, dine slower, chat happier while paying that same amount for food in HK. Even in the city-famous fastest serving HK cha-chan-ting Australia Diary Comp I can zip a cup of hot milk tea after having a 30-bucks daily set, toast, scramble eggs, and macaroni in 1 minute. Why can’t I relax in a ramen shop?

Coming out from Ramen Kureha I realize I never have such an urgent lunch before, lasting only 15min from ordering to paying bill. It’s not a matter of taste that intrigues me, but a sense of dunno-what-to-do emptiness that bothers me, for I expect to complete a meal at least twice as long.

I suggest Ippudo, which generally charges cheaper yet authentic, with more comfortable seats, or Wakayama / Mist that charges slightly more, but gives comfortable environment.