Hakataya Ramen

Cuisine: Japanese
Shop 26 Centre Arcade 
City of Gold Coast, QLD 4211
http://hakatayaramen.com/

This place is so highly raved, even our friends back in Melbourne recommended it and says it's the best ramen they've ever had in Australia. Situated inside an arcade, it is very easy to miss. 

With less than a dozen dishes to choose from, one would expect that they must do these few very well in order to keep attracting a following in Gold Coast. It is the type of place where you pay at the counter then get a number, water and cutlery self-serviced. Paper aprons are available on request if you are worried that slurping your noodles will get soup onto your clothing. I wonder how many people actually request for one...

Michael ordered the Miso spicy-men ($12). Each dish came with a small side of pickled vegies. With the hype that was around this place, it was a huge disappointment. The ramen would be classified as hard, not chewy and the soup was mildly spicy with only 1 slice of pork.

I ordered the Char Siu-men ($13) containing extra 3 slices of pork. Both bowls of soup were extremely oily and lacked flavour. The best part was the char siu, nicely thin and sectioned with fat creating a soft texture. 

Overall

This place did not meet up to its hype. The water glasses were very dirty with greasy markings that we didn't end up drinking from them and the food was mediocre. We weren't full after the meal and we only realised after we were finished that you can order extra kaedama (noodles) for free. However, the noodles were not to die for so we would have passed on the offer anyway. 

Food: 4/10
Service: N/A
Cost: Cheap Eat
Overall dining experience: 4/10