If you’ve been to Hakata Gensuke on Russel street you will understand why I love love love their ramen. The pork bone broth is insanely delicious and their noodles have the perfect chew. Master Chef Kousuke Yoshimura brought us this dish from Hakata in Japan which is the actual place where pork bone base originated from (the O.G. of pork bone broth) which explains why it’s so damn awesome. It’s been open for a decade and it still has a line out the door. Just goes to show if the food is good the people will come.
The signature tonkotsu is my fave. When I tried it for the first time I was so in love that I went back every-day for lunch for the following three weeks. It has an intense porky, rich, fatty flavour but somehow tastes so light and well balanced. The pork is sliced thin and I get the spring onions, fungi, seaweed and a soft boiled egg which make it even better.
They put a lot of care into the preparation of the dish which is what makes it stand out. The noodles are made in-house in a control room with perfect climate and humidity to make the perfect noodles and the stock is created using ‘yobimodoshi’ (master stock) to produce the blow-your-mind broth. This was the black tonkotsu which is the pork bone broth with fried garlic and black sesame paste. It has a lovely sesame undertone with a charred sweetness from the garlic.
The ‘god fire’ flavour is, as they put it, ‘a secret blend of spicy fire.’ You get to choose how hot you like it starting from one chilli to four. I started at two chillies which had a nice kick but wasn’t too spicy and moved to three chillies the next time which was a little more spicy. I found the heat is more of a building heat and it gets hotter as you eat the ramen rather than an initial spicy flavour. I will try the four chillies next.
They have some good sides too. I like the gyoza. The skin is so thin and soft and the meat filling is flavoursome and delicate.
The karaage is another tasty side. It’s three large sized round pieces of chicken lightly battered and deep fried.
Hakata Gensuke is definitely one of my favourite places for ramen in Melbourne.
I heart Hakata Gensuke!
Olives x
Hakata Gensuke
Address: 168 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: http://www.gensuke.com.au
Phone: (03) 9663 6342
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 11.30-10pm, Sat-Sun: 12pm-10pm, Public Holidays: 12pm-10pm
