Butao Ramen

I only wish I had more stars to give…
This is the only Ramen I’ve had in HK so take this with a grain of salt, but damn this ramen is good.
Friendly, fast service.
I had the namesake Butao ramen with pork butt and «rich» levels on both sauces. The result was one of the most intense umami flavors I’ve ever experienced. If they use MSG, I don’t care because I would sacrifice a day of life for each time I ate here (although I’d probably keep it to once a month).

The ramen here is pretty good and what I customized from the checklist got me what I expected.
That said, Butao appears to cater primarily to foreign tourists and is a little overpriced for hong kong. They’re open fairly late so that’s a plus, but don’t come expecting a super authentic Japanese experience.
Consider adding an egg, they are amazing!

Best Ramen I’ve ever had. The place was a ramen making machine. Had the spicy ramen and I loved it. Saw the couple sitting next to my eating a olive oil and cheese ramen, I almost wanted to ask for a bite to try.

Pretty tasty although I was kinda confused by the paper checklist you order from. Still, damn good ramen!

[Review from November 2015]
Came by for weekend lunch – it was pretty empty and was easy to find (it’s on a small road just off the main street). Price per ramen was about US$ 15 with the added marinated egg.
The ordering process is self-​written (like they do at dim sum places – you get a piece of paper and circle the things you want). I liked that they had a «You pick for me» option, although I did end up picking my dish. I got the Red King (with pork belly, cabbage, thin noodles, 2x spicy, plus marinated egg) and AT got the Butao (with pork shoulder butt, green onion, extra rich soup, thin noodles, 2x spicy, plus marinated egg). Note: if you get the egg, fear not when you get your ramen and don’t see it. They’ll bring a small bowl with the egg separately.
As usual, I liked AT’s selection better than mine. My broth was quite spicy and had a nice flavor, but his was flavorful and rich and tasted like the standard ramen shop broth. The Red King ramen comes with minced beef caked in red pepper flakes; I wasn’t a huge fan of it but it was fine.
As for the other components, I enjoyed both the pork belly and pork shoulder butt, but I think the pork shoulder does have more meat on it. Both meats are cut thinly. The marinated egg was creamy and a great accompaniment to the ramen. However, it comes out cold, so you’ll want to let it sit in your ramen broth before digging in (the center is perfectly creamy and yolky).
Serving size is quite large – we probably could have shared one dish, but we were somehow both able to finish our own bowls of ramen.
5 stars for the Butao ramen, 3 stars for the Red King. Go for the Butao with slightly extra rich broth and pork shoulder butt – that’s the winner in my book.

After a morning at Tung Chung, we were hungry and wanted to come back to the Mong Kok area for lunch and shopping. We looked through Unilocal and remembered we bookmarked this place for its raving reviews. We decided to take a quick detour on our way to Mong Kok and I’m glad we did! This restaurant was a little bit hard to find, but when you see the intersection between Minden Ave and Blenheim Ave, don’t turn right on Minden. Instead, go a little bit more forward and on the left, you’ll see a dead end. That’s where the restaurant will be.
What I liked about this place was that the ramen was completely customizable. Keep in mind that the spicy levels are actually pretty spicy, and Level 2 gives a pretty good kick already. Don’t forget to order the Char Siu Pork as an additional item, it’s a small bowl of grilled pork, but the flavor is absolutely amazing.
I didn’t see the pricing on the menu, but keep in mind it is a little bit pricier than your average ramen joint. A bowl of noodles was 85 $ for me, plus the add ons (char siu was around $ 26, black fungi $ 8).

With only 3 nights in Hong Kong, I was excited to find some good food. My visit to Butao Ramen turned out to be the best meal of my short visit. Occasionally I find a dish that sets the bar, one that I will compare all future ramen dishes to. This is the one.
Upon arrival, we were immediately seated and the friendly waitress walked us through the simple menu and explained how to fill out the order form. There are 4 different ramens to choose from. You circle the one you want and then choose options such as thick or thin noodles, noodle texture from hard to soft, spice level and garlic level. You can also add additional items like seaweed, cabbage and extra noodles. Once you’ve filled out the form, just turn it in.
We tried two different kinds of ramen and both were delicious. The Red King Ramen came extra spicy and didn’t disappoint. The minced pork, chili powder, miso and sesame oil were perfectly balanced to create a irresistibly scrumptious bowl of noodles. Equally impressive was the Green King Ramen, described as a fusion of pork stock, olive oil, basil leaves and Parmesan cheese. The rich creamy flavor was simply amazing. I also loved the little sesame seed grinder on the table, which allowed me to add generous amounts to my bowl.
5 stars for excellent service and my best meal in Hong Kong. I only wish I’d have returned for a second visit.

Yay for another good ramen spot in HK!
Came here around 6:30 on Christmas Eve and there was no line to my surprise. Taking one star off because of the awkward seating. The lady put us at a table where another couple was already seated so we were facing them as we were eating. I would understand if it was busy, but there were open tables that were available or seats at the counter top. Aside from that, the interior is really cute. It felt as if I was in a real ramen shop in Japan.
I ordered the Butau with spice level 3 along with an egg and seaweed on the side. Note that these extras will cost you a couple of bucks more because they don’t state the prices on the menu. The food came out fairly quickly and it was good but not GREAT because the pork belly here had a little too much fat for my liking.
This place is a little more expensive compared to Ajisen Ramen but nonetheless still worth it. I believe it was 85 HKD compared to Ajisen’s 45 – 55 HKD price range.

Pretty good ramen spot. Defintely was a litter harder to find. But so glad I didnt give up. I wasn’t too hungry at the time but they do offer smaller portions for half the cost. Which was perfect for me. Totally hit the spot. Servers there spot English which helped us out a lot.

Really worth it, not very expensive, I’d go again in a heartbeat. So glad I ventured in there. Nice guy who spoke some English guided me through the rather extensive selection process.

This place is up there with one of the best ramen in Hong Kong. You can fully customize your ramen to your liking here (spiciness, noodle thickness, etc).
There is always a line for this chain (which can be a sign that this place is actually worth going to), but this particular branch seems to be one of the less crowded ones compared to the Causeway Bay and the one near Lan Kwai Fong. Sometimes you can just walk in and get seated if you are a small enough group or just going in by yourself

Excellent ramen! English menu provided for ease. You check off what you want on their ramen checklist which is great for specializing your preferences. Staff very friendly and helpful. The tables are long tables and they place you wherever there is a seat, so you can sit next to and across from people you don’t know, which adds to the great experience.

Hong Kong is often on my itinerary, and I go there a lot compared to the average American. Thank you Unilocal!for leading me to Butao Ramen!
I had dined at Ippudo Ramen in Manhattan last December, and I never thought anything could beat that. Move over trendy NYC noodle shop, there’s a new fave on my list!
Loved, loved, loved the way others have described the way you choose your ramen fate. I was a little intimidated by the menu photos, but they have an English version to choose from as well!
Expect many check-​ins from me in the future!

Excellent. If you have to Waite in line it’s worth it. Had the Butao ramen with everything normal except added more garlic, spicy level#1 and added the eggs. Should butt meat has more meat and flavor than the other meat option. Spicy level had a nice after burn in the throat but not bad. Delicious. The portion size is good so you don’t need to add more.

Absolutely great service and amazing Ramen. The red sauce was great but the squid colored was extra delicious. I also added a side of soy fermented egg and it was cooked to perfection.
I will definitely come back next time I’m in Hong Kong.

It’s a little hard to find (at least for a visitor), but once you do, you will like it.
I had the Butao ramen with rich broth, thin noodles, and pork belly. Everything else was ordered as «normal.» The broth was indeed very flavorful and had a perfect texture. The noodles were just right. I ordered 5x for the chiles, and it turned out to be spicy but not so hot that it detracted from the taste. The service was quick and friendly.
Overall, it was a quick and very enjoyable lunch. I have only been there once but I will return the next time I am in Kowloon. Recommended!

Randomly found this place on my first evening in Hong Kong, after arriving at the hotel after 9pm. Great ramen — and learned after the fact that it was also written up in Food & Wine magazine.

It was Chinese New Year eve and a lot of restaurants were starting to close for the holiday, and Butao came to the list of places that were still open for business so we decided to give it a try. The reason for not having try it sooner is because there is always a long wait, as we are all pressed for time at lunch who can afford to wait in line for 30 mins.? It turned out that it was the perfect time to go to Butao on CNY eve, there was no wait (hooray) and we were seated right away sharing a table with 4 other strangers.
Just like other Japanese ramen stores in HK and Japan, Butao is small and crowded. Table sharing is a must, and rubbing elbows with strangers is unavoidable. Their menu is extremely simple, ramen is all they sell after all. With choices of 2 thickness of noodles and 4 types of broth, degree of spiciness of the broth, doneness of the noodles, amount of garlic, choice of veg. and choice of lean or fat sliced pork… a lot of decisions to made but it shouldn’t take anyone longer than 10 min to decide. All items are pictured on the menu and then foods are self ordered on the order form. Service is quick and they have too as to keep people moving and table turning in busy days.
«Black King» was what I ordered with extra garlic, they are all named after the color of the broth — white, red, black… so black is the broth with squid ink. Noodles arrived with a full ice-​cream scoop of blacken garlic on top, with my choices of lean pork and cabbage. The ramen was cooked to perfection (doneness of course is your choice) though I was expecting the noodles to be a little thicker as I ordered thick noodles. The broth was very good and that big scoop of blacken garlic on top was even better, it took the broth to a new level.
No doubt at all I will come again, given if I don’t have to wait in line for an hour.

My all time favourite ramen place! Super yum ramen, n very good service (there is one very passionate lady, very friendly) ! I ordered the limited edition ramen, which is a tomato one! Love the soup, and drank all of it. A bit disappointed that they dont have the eggs, but i will come back for sure!

Just a few blocks from the HK Space Museum, Butao Ramen is in a great find on a small avenue. Great value in an expensive area. Friendly staff and shared tables. Not a place to hang out for a long time but a great stop to rest your feet and enjoy some comfort food. I had Butao broth, pork belly, scallions, thick noodles, marinated egg, and spice level 2. That being very basic, it passed the test. Next time, I’ll crank up the spice level and try some of their other interesting combinations. Going at off hours as I did saved me from waiting.