Kurotaki 黒滝 (Hong Kong) - ♕♕♕ 3/4

  There has been a proliferation of Ramen shops arriving in kamikaze pilot fashion which is totally swamping the HK food scene,  so much so that I couldn’t ever catch up with eating them all,  particularly the ones found in more remote locations and often selling out before it’s even dinner time!!    To me that totally defies the spirit of a ramen ya as shops in Japan open until the wee hours for the drunken businessmen.   Soba and Udon shops in the mean time have taken a quiet back drop behind the scene,  with the only Soba specialty shop prior to here being Hita (日田蕎麥處) which is honestly not great,  and too pedestrian compared to artisanal soba shops in Japan.   This new opening of Kurotaki Soba house is a welcome change and may be I am biased as I’m a dedicated soba fan and I place it on top of the noodles food chain. (笑)   Opened by the trusted and proven Pokka and Tonkichi Tonkatsu group,  their track record with anything to do with noodles seems to have been less successful,  as their Mikichi Ramen chain in Hong Kong hasn’t won over too many fans.   I had a feeling their new Soba adventure is going to be more successful but we couldn’t help come away feeling there were still a lot to be improved on.   But as a new shop and concept,  surely one can’t condemn it to death after just days of opening.   We see scope of them improving one day and hope they will eventually arrive there when it stabilises. 

 

 

In House made Soba Noodles -
These were of good quality actually… 
The problem lied with other peripheral items.

 

 

 

4 Types of Sobas available here -
Each have their own recipe and style. 

 

 

 

Hojicha -
Quite often served in Soba restaurants.

 

 

 

Onsen Tamago Egg fried in Beancurd Skin Bag  温泉卵とイクラの油揚げ包み – $55
This came with some truffle paste as well.  I thought the beancurd skins weren’t fried enough compared to at least 2 others shops in town serving a similar dish,  and this was completely unseasoned in taste,  it really needed a bit more salt.   ~   6/10

 

 

 

Fried Prawns Salad   海老サラダ – $98
The prawns were decent enough,  and there were strands of fried sobas as decoration.  Decent but nothing that really wows you.   ~  7/10

 

 

 

Etanbe Soba  江丹別 そば - 
This is the premium soba offering here.  It is like the doppio zero finely milled flour of the soba world.  More smooth and elastic in nature,  but probably not overly flavourful.  It’s the Rolls Royce elegant version.   The noodles were decent,  but the cold tsuyu dip was where the concern lied…   ~ 6/10

 

 

Tsuyu Dip -
This was probably the biggest disappointment!     We were just saying how the family diner Ootoya 大戸屋 already made a decent Soba,  but the dipping broth here was surprisingly devoid of much taste especially a balanced bonito broth!    It was actually worst than the store bought variety.    ~  3/10

 

 

 

Soba Soup 湯桶のそば湯 -
This is usually only provided at shops which make their own Soba noodles.   It is given for diluting your concentrated dipping broth,  so that you can drink the rest of the soup.   Usually applies more for Tsuke-Soba than Zaru-Soba.

 

 

 

Hokkaido Soba with Konbu Seaweed (知床そば),   Sarashina Soba (更科そば) -
I really liked these 2 sobas.  It might not be that much better than the dried sobas you can buy off the shelf,  but these tasted fresh and had the advertised flavours.  Good!  ~  9/10   Both of these noodles are recommendable and one of the best ones in town,  but once again,  it is let down by the peripheral supporting dishes or tsuyu dips.  

 

 

 

Nanban Style Duck Soba   鴨汁そば -  $92
I love Duck & Leek Soba (南蛮そば),   but this is slightly different as it is more of a Tsuke (つけ) style soba for dipping into the duck broth by yourself and not already submerged into soup.   This dipping sauce was too under-seasoned and I have to add in loads more additional soy sauce to bring it alive,  and it is missing the Japanese caramelised leek flavour which is essential to this soup base!   The duck meats were also a little tasteless with big rings of fatty skin outside, sigh….   This was ok good,  but falling short here and there?   Not bad overall I guess ~  6.9/10

 

 

 

Tempura Moriawase with another Soba as a Set Meal -
The coating was a bit too fried and hard in coating.
Pedestrian level tempura.   Being a renowned Furai items shop in HK,  I think one should stick to the bread crumbed items like Tonkatsu or Ebi Furai.  Tempura is not it’s strong point here.   ~  5/10

 

 

Tofu with Maccha Salt, Yuzu, and normal Salt -
The soy milk used to make this was… too Vitasoy commercial flavour like.
The texture was quite runny but the taste wasn’t very natural.  Think we were kind of disappointed. ~  4/10

 

 

Honeydew Melon -
Often given out in Japanese restaurants as part of a set.
For some reason from the colours alone,  we already knew this wasn’t from Japan. 
But the mentality is like,  better than nothing? 

 

 

Verdict -
This is a new opening.  I caught glimpses of hope here and there.   The soba noodles were decent enough,  but the soups and tsuyu dips seemed quite benign and below average for now.  Other supporting dishes were quite localized in taste for some reason.    Let’s just hope it won’t be another Mikichi 味吉 which is just too generic in style,  just like any neighbouring Ajisen Ramen outlets.  Fingers crossed too,   as it is getting hot in HK,  and we all need some healthy cold sobas ! 

 

 

 

 

Price:   $150 Per Person + 10%.  
Food:  ♕♕♕ 3/4

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sat -   12:00pm - 23:00pm

Address: 銅鑼灣告士打道280號世貿中心413-415號鋪
Shop 413-415, Podium 4, World Trade Center, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
Ph: 2711 6362