"Oh you know, ramen is all about regionality these days. If you don't know your Sapporo chicken and sardine broth topped with corn from your Kobe kombu and pork ramen then you're really behind the times" said some w*nky bearded hipster once. Probably.
Ramen is bit like one of those maps they draw of wars, where one side slowly covers more and more of the map in blue and, hey, before you know it, you're speaking their language, eating their food and discussing the finer points of boiling pork bones for 24 hours to make soup. Just like the burger before it, ramen has now helped colonise the world, just this time with calligraphy-fetishists and manga-enthusiasts. And, let's be honest, the world is a better place for it.
Sitting proudly smack-bang in the middle of Tang Lung Street (otherwise known as "Ramen Street" in Causeway Bay), is Tsukemen Mitaseimenjo, a Japanese chain specialising in tsukemen style ramen, bouncy cold ramen noodles which are dunked into hot broth, in this case an incredibly viscous and satisfying pork-based creation. Today I am that w*nky bearded hipster.
The queues are often imposing, but move pretty quickly. Pro tip: It is usually open until 2am, so if you are adverse to queuing, ditch the Tsui Wah and McDonalds and head straight for this place once you are bored necking beer on a weeknight. You will be rewarded with all the salt, fat and carbs you need to survive the following morning, or a medium-length winter of hibernation in the Japanese Alps.
There are probably a few food choices in the menu, but take my advice and zero in on the classic tsukemen (HK$108 a bowl) so that you can narrow your obvious menu-anxiety to just one choice - how much noodle do I need? In true Japanese-style, you can choose your noodle by weight based on how hungry you are, without needing to pay extra. I have never seen anyone take down the 400g bowl in one sitting, but (from an anthropological as opposed to a visual perspective) I would enjoy seeing how a person's digestive system deals with that. If I were to guess, I would imagine that the results would give the sinking of the Titanic and The Lost City of Atlantis a run for their money for the title "biggest man made thing ever to sink in water", but that is pure speculation and, at that, probably inappropriate speculation for a food blog.
W*anky bearded hipsters be damned. Good ramen is good ramen. And this is good ramen.