Wo On Lane, an alley behind Yung Kee in Central (Hong Kong), is lined with anticipating customers every morning. There are easily seventy people in the line, queuing up for a bowl of boiling hot sparerib soup ramen. A solid proof that ‘Butao Ramen’ has become one of the most popular names on the scene. Japanese pop culture specialist, writer, translator and celebrity agent, resident in Japan, Meter Chen is a Ramen fanatic and his blog on the subject is hugely popular. It led to a series of publications and a beloved nickname ‘Ramen Chen’. After years of consideration, he finally opened Butao Ramen with friends, and co-founded the business with Nagi chefs Mr. Ikuda Satoshi and Mr. Sonoda Nobuhero. Countless customers flooded to Butao Ramen in the first week. The situation was so overwhelming that it had to be closed for a month in order to re-organise the way of business to cope with the huge amount of customers lining up outside every day.

There are only four varieties on Butao Ramen’s menu — ‘Butao King’ (signature sparerib soup ramen), ‘Black King’ (signature sparerib soup added with secret recipe oil), ‘Red King’ (spicy variety) and ‘Green King’ (fusion with Italian flavour). The richness of its flavour, texture of noodles and ingredients are carefully selected. Butao Ramen is by far the most authentic ramen restaurant in Hong Kong. The soup is the holy grail of Butao Ramen — the ‘creamy but fragrant’ signature recipe is created over a considerable period of time. As a policy, only two hundred ramen are sold every day – the chefs believe that the soup starts to lose its richness afterwards.

Although many may not be able to detect the difference, the chefs refuse to sell anything other than their highest standard. Since its opening, Butao Ramen has attracted an endless line of customers — although the average waiting time is over two hours on Saturday!

Text: BEBOP | Translation: dilettante
Edit: Carmen Lee
Photo: Chan Man Ching
Update: 14 Feb 2011

Butao King HKD$75
Black King HKD$88

BUTAO RAMEN
No. 11 – 12, Wo On Lane, Central, Hong Kong.
Start from 11am
Closed On Sunday
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