The Ippudo group has brought to Hong Kong a new ramen brand, Gogyo.  There has been a bit of mixed reviews on this new ramen joint out there, and I’ll let you know why later.

I’ll get to ramen in a bit, but the reason why I decided to post about Gogyo is the interesting dish we ordered as an appetizer, the Yellowtail Crudo.  This stunning dish was a medley of yellowtail, watermelon, avocado purée, radish, crispy burdock slices and a lime vinaigrette jelly.

For me, the hero of the dish was the watermelon, where the sweetness of the fruit complimented the freshness of the yellowtail so well.  The interesting lime jelly with the bitterness of the radish really got my taste buds going.  I thought the thinly sliced, crispy burdock added texture to the dish, but the bitterness overpowered the dish slightly.  [ok, I can’t believed I just rambled so much about this dish, I think I’ve officially watched too much Masterchef]

The Aka was a rich Tonkotsu flavor ramen topped with a special miso.  The salty pork bone broth was super rich and flavorful with a hint of spiciness, and the ramen itself had a bit of a bite to it.   The char siu was the highlight for me, having the perfect ratio of meat vs fat, it just melted in my mouth. What this small bowl of ramen lacked?  More noodles, a few more slices of cha siu and a Japanese soft-boiled egg!

Hubby decided to tried their signature Kogashi Miso.  When we placed our order, we were a bit confused when the server gave us a warning about the oiliness of this ramen, and advised to try other ramen’s if we didn’t like our ramen’s too oily.

Gogyo’s infamous Kogashi (burned) Miso broth is prepared by roasting their secret miso sauce (which has loads of lard) at high temperatures, which creates an intense and smokey flavor. You can actually see charred bits floating at the top of the soup.

I think the mixed feelings of this restaurant originates from their signature Kogashi ramen.  Yes, the rich burnt miso was flavorful and unique, BUT it was really really greasy.  Unless you love OILY soup bases, I wouldn’t recommend the Kogashi.  Consider yourself warned.

Will I come back?  Yes, I will.  For one, I thought my Aka ramen was pretty good and wouldn’t mind trying the other ramen’s (except for Kogashi, oily ramen isn’t my thing).  I am also eager to try some of their other fusion dishes and some yakitori.  The seating was comfortable and I very much liked the chic decor of the restaurant.  And lastly, there was no queue to get a seat, and if you know me, you would know how much I detest queues.

Be warned though, with an IFC address, Gogyo isn’t exactly wallet friendly for a ramen meal.

Cost: $462 (for 2 ppl)
Address: Shop 3020, Podium Level 3, IFC mall, Central / Tel: 2385 1366

The Bill
Yellowtail Crudo ….$158
Aka Ramen ….$98
KOGASHI Miso Ramen ….$128
Green Tea ….$36 [Yes, they charged for the tea!  Well, they did give us a pot]