Kogashi (burnt) ramen. No, you are not going to eat chao-da noodles. The process is actually the caramelisation of miso using hot clarifies lard and oil. Not cheap. The whole lunch was just slightly less than HKD600 for one person.
Unlike other ramen shops, they operate more like an Izakaya. Instead of counter seats and a small space, they have an open space for dining a cozy drinking corner.
In addition to the selection of noodles, they offer a comprehensive Izakaya food options and a rather innovative cocktail selection.
Devil’s in the details. This an order of ice green tea. Ice and freshly brewed green tea separate.
The green tea was good quality, not your big pot green tea.
Again devil’s in the detail. You can see how well run this place is simply by looking at the toothpick stand.
As a starter, I ordered an aptly named “Greedy” maki 欲張巻 (Yokuchomaki).
On every slice of maki was a thin sliver of wagyu that has been scotched with a blowtorch and then topped with sea urchin. As they were preparing it, the fragrance of burnt fat permeated throughout the place. Yummy.
Aburi Wagyu and Uni maki. The maki is a simple avocado and cucumber maki. Umami came from the Uni. The Wagyu was quite tasteless and not marbled enough so the aburi did not bring out the caramelisation of the wagyu oil.
The signature Gogyo Kogashi ramen. Two piece of regular braised Japanese charsiu and and a soft centre egg with raw cabbage. The cabbage was really sweet and heat of the soup base will soften it fairly quickly. I was disappointed by the square inch of nori they provided. Very stingy. And no bean sprouts.
The portion was quite small, the bowl was only half a glass tall.
Not freshly made noodles, one expects a store of this caliber to make its own noodles in-house, but instead served imported dried variety. Sigh.
Look at the layer of oil and specks of burnt char. The soup was really strong and flavorful, an overload of wokhei. But it was so hot and salty, you can’t really slurp the noodles without burning the lips or drink soup without feeling gelat (overwhelmed by the grease).
Overall this place was more an izakaya than a ramen store.
Ramen, izakaya or fine dining? You decide. The ramen was around the price that they charged in Kyoto (USD 12) but the rest of the items were quite pricing. I guessed the location of Gogyo in IFC HK meant that they need to maintain a higher profile to keep going.
But I really liked the decor and service, and the prime location of being on the 3rd level from the elevators right at the airport express check-in counters in IFC. Now there’s a place for a quick bite before the flight given that the HK airport is revamping its F&B choices.
Gogyo 五行
Shop 3020, Level Three IFC Mall, 1 Harbour View Street, Central
Tel : +852 2385 1366
Date Visited : May 2019
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