Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Now Cooking - Hakata Ikkousha (Rumah Bahagia Pertama)

Having lived around Pluit area have a counter effect on me. I probably know less about food in this area that most Pluitans. Its the thought that "I can always come back whenever I want to since its very close" that hinders me from trying many new places. That includes Hakata Ikkousha or Rumah Bahagia Pertama (literally translated as First House of Joy). Only after passing through this place for more than a month that my curiosity finally builds up.

I love everything in this place that mimic a Japanese atmosphere. Starting from the woody interior, the low ceiling, the real Japanese staffs, up to the lousy translation written on their T-shirts. Oh, a little hint for you Biters, the chefs are those with blonde colored hair. The owner is the one who go and talk to everybody.

I, myself had a pretty interesting interaction with him. When I took out my camera and start taking photos, he came up to me and said "Hey sir, you like photography? My two Japanese friend over there said that if you can take their photo naked, which would you choose?" I laughed right then and there. Probably they don't actually welcome cameras, but I like how they convey it in a fun un-condescending way.

We continued chatting, and when the Tam Tam Pork Ramen that I ordered finally came, he suggested me to go take a quick photo and eat right away. He said that food are best enjoyed hot, and he want me to taste the best of their ramen.  And he also against ta pao / take aways. He said, the taste would be ruined once you opened it at home. He prefers people eat on the spot. So here's the only shot I took.


On the first bite, I fell in love with it. A very thick broth is probably the main reason for my liking. You can actually taste the rich meaty flavor resulted from long hours of heating in constant temperature. This makes any other ramen I tasted like skim-milk and this one is full-cream milk.

You get the idea right?

From what I learned, they lift up to what to my expectations. Hakata ramen is originated in Hakata city, located north west of Kyushu. Its distintive feature is the white thick soup made from pork bones. Also added to their specialty is the thin noodle characteristics.

Not stopping at that, I also liked the texture of the soft-boiled egg. It is quite rare to find a restaurant that serve and cook eggs in this particular way.

I simply couldn't waste any of it. It reminded me of a scene in the movie Tampopo. It says that to respect the chef, if you like the ramen you should finish the soup as well. So, as a respect to them, I ended up drinking all the soup and left nothing behind. Haha. It was so so goood, I can't stop tweeting about it.


It also came to my attention that they pay respect to local taste as well. In most tables, they will serve a small plate of chopped chili (cabe rawit potong) for Indonesian tounge who likes it spicier. Additionally, you can also add a splash of garlic using the table garlic press available on each table. I tried adding it nearing the end of my meal and it was flavorsome. Dang, I should've added it from the start. That's a lesson for your Biters.


Now enough of these mouth-watering talks. Go and taste them yourself. Make your belly happy. A happy belly will lead to a happy mind. =) And when you do, share it with me here.

Arigato Gozaimasu,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist & Photographer
Munch on my tweets at @Wanderbites


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Hakata Ikkousha (博多一幸舎)
Jl. Muara Karang Raya No.85
North Jakarta
ph. +62 21 66600255
fx. +62 21 66670588

16 comments:

  1. Dang. I really want to try some right now.
    Sadly I can't. Tch, maybe this weekend...
    By the way, can you tell the price range? I intended to treat a few of my friends, so I can bring a suitable amount. LOL
    Thanks :D

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  2. @ANONYMOUS: Haha, 2 AM in the morning and craving for ramen. What an unfortunate hour. Let me recall, if im not mistaken it was 45k for the Tam Tam Ramen, their other ramen, Chicken is priced 38k. Let me know what you think of it.

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  3. my....another review about Hakata Ikkousha, still I haven't try it...
    You floggers! Tanggung jawab bikin ngiler T_T

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  4. Hahaha, this place also reminds me of that particular Tampopo scene :D

    On the next visit I highly recommend you to get the extra chicken add-on. It's only less than 10k and you get 3 huge slice of extra happiness into your ramen :D Yes I know how much do we love pork, but still I'm sure you won't be disappointed with their chicken ;)

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  5. @HERSEIL: Probably why they name the menu "Tam Tam" Ramen. Will do. Chicken noted! Thanks for the suggestion mate. =)

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  6. Still hasn't tried this one... Can only drool... >.<

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  7. I hate it... I hate queueing and when somehow I passed after my working hour to give a try, it's haven't open yet.. Danggg!!! But thanks for the garlic info, I'll do it when chances of trying come

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  8. @Fellexandro:
    I finally tried those ramen! And well there's definitely no other ramen shops that I've tried can go on par with those thick savory broth. I've only tried ramen in kuishinbo FX, sanpachi (can't even be in my list -_-), ramen at cosmo, and some ramen I can't recall the name of in Eat&Eat Gandaria City. And really2 glad the price is hmm... Belowpriced??? LOL. Really. It's too cheap for that kind of taste. Haha
    Thanks for reviewed this or else I wouldn't know a great ramen shops in Jakarta.

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    Replies
    1. Hey Anon! Thank you for adding into the conversation. If you're up for more ramen, give Marutama a try too =)

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  9. @STEVENNY: Yep, now they open from 11-3pm then closed, and open again for dinner from 5pm-finish. Eat up! =D

    @ANONYMOUS: Hey, you're back. Thanks for keeping me in touch. Glad you liked it. Agree with the broth, one sip, and other ramen tasted like water =p Did you get your friends along as well? Did they like it?

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  10. I've had better ramen than this. I can't forget how THIN the chashu is! It's almost like the thinly sliced beef for shabu shabu. The pork broth was way too oily. Don't get me wrong, it's very tasty but authentic Japanese restaurants would skim the fatty oil off the broth when they make it. I wouldn't say Rp. 38,000 for those TINY pieces of chashu is worth it. Not to mention the portion is smaller than a regular ramen bowl would be.

    The first Ramen Sanpachi in Blok M is where I would go for a good authentic bowl of ramen.

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    1. @ANONYMOUS: I Myself couldn't argue when it comes to authenticity as I've never been to Japan. As far as I know though, Ikkousha here is a direct branch of the original one in Japan. (check out ikkousha.com) I have the faith that Japanese are strict with their tradition, they will stick to their original recipe. Adaptation to local taste are allowed, but contained. Examples are the chopped chili and "sambal terasi" presented on a separate plate.

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  11. i tried it, it was yummy, i like the broth better than 38, but for the noodle texture, i love 38 better. i suspect they put some soy milk in the broth to make it even thicker :) and the anonymous guy is right, the chasiu was wayyyy to thin. So I ordered a 6-slice thick chasiu for 53k. Your blog is really helpful :D

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that's amazing how you could differ it right to the noodle texture. Can you train my tongue to do that? Haha. I have to agree on the sliced pork. Thin, but enough laaaa =p

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  12. I just tried this yesterday and I'm begging for more.. You should try to put some oils again in your ramen and garlic, that brings out more flavors!

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  13. Is the colour of the noodle is white and quite thin? *comparing with the one in Singapore* I think the key of Hakata Ramen is the fat and lard in the soup, I have no idea how much they put in there but it's A LOOTTT.. you can see there's thin "plastic-y" layer tht covered up your soup if you let it cool for too long and sometimes I caught a glimpse of several fats. Make me feel so guilty scooping the soup over and over again, but I just can't help I guess *o*

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