Noodle in the Mist

After visiting Japan twice and trying a lot of ramen there, I have lost nearly all my faith in any Japanese ramen in Hong Kong because nothing here is comparable to that in Japan. Really, none of the shops in Hong Kong can bring back the same taste I had in Japan, but of course, you may think this is too harsh as it is just impossible to transfer the exact flavour of ramen from Japan, since it is the wonderful ingredient in Japan that makes the excellent ramen.

With that in mind, ramen in Hong Kong is just Japanese-like. However, it looks like there are more and more picky food finders like me in the town, and recently several interesting ramen shops arrived in attempt to bring true Japanese ramen to the city. One of them comes from Hokkaido and is located in iSquare, called link ]">Ramen Santouka, which has some really delicious ramen I must say. Tonight we visited MIST, which is originated from Omotesandō Hill in Japan and just came to Hong Kong for two months.

MIST was started by Japanese French-trained chef Yasuji Morizumi, who won the award in 2002 for his "no-boundary ramen". The shop does not have any typical deco like the others. Instead, It is very modern with rock surface walls, satin chairs and aluminium counter. If you don't read, you won't figure out that it is a Japanese ramen restaurant.

Each table has a drawer housing a full set of neatly organized utensils, among which you can also find a note explaining the history and making of their special ramen. There are five types of ramen, and none of them is cheaper than 100 bucks. Yes, nothing is cheap here and so be prepared.

My ramen came and it looked a little small. However, the smell of miso soup is extremely strong with a thick layer of oil on the top. That is a great bowl of ramen should look like. According Morizumi, the edge of this bowl has the same thickness of the ramen, forming this interesting but secretive harmony in the entire dish. The shape of this bowl edge is also designed to bring out the aroma easily, though I am not sure if that is really true.

The excellent noodle is made with three kinds of flour from Nagano, Tohoku and Hokkaido (信州，東北及北海道). Morizumi explained that only by combining the three great types of flour can you then create such excellent noodle with the thickness, chewiness and smoothness just right.

Each of the ingredient comes from Japan, for instance, the pork is from Kagoshima 鹿兒島. Oh my god, this slice of roasted pork 叉燒 was extremely wonderful! The portion of meat and fat was one to one, and it melted in my mouth! That's really the best I have ever tried!

The egg was good too, but I guess the excellent noodle and pork already stole all the spotlights.

We added one more dish for the dinner, which is the oven-baked Japanese mushroom. This was so fresh because I could just smell the strong mushroom before it was just placed on my table. The best is that it was not dry at all. The water inside the plant was kept mysteriously even after the baking process.

This noodle place is really different from other places, but what sets it apart from others is not just the unusual modern interior design, but also its food quality. Everything is so carefully designed, from the salt used in the food to the utensil used for holding the food, to the thickness of noodle. I appreciate Morizumi's great effort in perfecting each aspect of the meal, and that gives me more confidence than enough to visit his shop again in the future. The food here is not just something to be consumed, but also a beautiful piece of art that you will appreciate, and that marks a place in your memory. That's truly wonderful food.