Make sure your calendar is open before heading to the newly open Golden Pork Ton-kotsu Ramen Bar. A single sip of its basic tonkotsu broth — a definite OMG moment — will have you longing to return the next day, and the next.
This Kyushu-style ramen will be hard to beat for its velvety umami character, the result of rendering pork bones more than four hours, extracting marrow, minerals and collagen — the connective tissue around bones that give the broth its creamy, opaque color.
It’s so smooth and savory, you’d swear there has to be a lot of fat in it, but chef Masahiro Endo said through a Japanese interpreter that little fat makes its way into the broth. It’s collagen’s conversion into gelatin that thickens and adds body to the broth.
The Golden Pork Classic ramen ($9.50) appears simple, topped with char siu, green onions, wood ear mushrooms and sesame seeds, and comes with a sheet of nori that you can use to wrap noodles for one quick and delicious bite.
This is not out of the ordinary for any ramen restaurant, which might cause you to glance at sexier Red Miso Dragon ($10.50) and Black Garlic ($10.50) counterparts. But try not to stray so soon. The seemingly plain-Jane classic ramen will make you swoon.
No matter which ramen you order, a sip from your table-mate’s bowl will convince you that you need to order what they’re having on your next visit, locking you in a vicious circle of desire.
On my first visit I tried the Black Garlic Tsukemen ($11.50), or dipping-style ramen, and was convinced the classic ramen was better. The next time, I ordered the classic and was convinced the spicy version, flavored with ground shichimi, was better. As much as these flavors add to the experience, I came to the conclusion that the classic is tonkotsu ramen at its purest and the one driving cravings among the foodie set.
The broth is only half the equation. Golden Pork also makes a fine thin noodle that comes closest to ramen noodles in Japan. It turns out that this is the result of working with Sun Noodle for a year to perfect a noodle that met Endo’s standards and specifications.
For more variety, you can add on toppings ranging from cod roe brightened with a splash of yuzu, to fried garlic, Parmesan, seasoned egg and corn, at $1.50 to $2 per ingredient.
The restaurant inhabits the former Mediterraneo space on King Street, which has been transformed in a dramatic, artistic way. The centerpiece is a rectangular ramen counter seating graced with a kin byoubu (folding screen) light box running its length. A tile mosaic of Mount Fuji adorns one wall, while carved wood paneling cast shadows of ocean waves against a back wall.
If you approach the menu with an open mind, you’ll consider dishes beyond ramen, although with the restaurant still in its infancy, the ramen is the most consistent of dishes. When at its best, you’ll also appreciate pork, cabbage, chive, ginger and green-onion filled gyoza ($5) that is flavorful and juicy on the inside, with a delicate crispness on the outside. With its fresh homemade character and Chinese-style filling, it’s among the best gyoza in town.
Considering the carbfest to come, you might consider starting with a Caesar salad ($4 small, $7 regular) in which you have a hand in making the dressing. The romaine is tossed with thick-cut bacon, diced tomatoes, croutons, a generous sprinkling of Parmesan and soft-boiled egg. It’s your job to break into the liquid yolk and spread it around.
For something new, try the "Monja" salad ($7), a variation of the Tokyo street-style monjayaki, or crisp veggie pancake. Here the shredded cabbage and crisp fried noodles are tossed together with corn, bonito flakes and a light dusting of yellow curry. Again, you work in the soft-boiled egg sitting on top of the stack.
If two pieces of pork in ramen is not enough for you, you can order more in varied forms, such as a Golden Pork bun ($3.50 each), a pork bao served with mustard and lettuce, the pork itself dressed with a delicate sweet mustard aioli and teriyaki glaze. Pork also appears in a Japanese-style potato-and-carrot stew ($6), topped with seasoned egg.
As for the ramen, tastes are subjective, and I prefer regular ramen to tsukemen. The tsukemen broth is much thicker and saltier than the regular broth in order to flavor the thicker noodle with a quick dip. Where garlic dominates the black garlic ramen, the black garlic tsukemen broth has a stronger seaweed flavor.
The best way to find your favorite is to try all six ramen and tsukemen options, and that will prove no work at all.
Until Golden Pork receives its liquor license, you’re allowed to BYOB, with no corkage fee.
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com. More photos at Nadine Kam’s Take a Bite blog at honolulupulse.com/takeabite.
BITE SIZE
New shave ice shop uses natural flavors
When I was a kid, I was confused by the Popsicle-like Otter Pops. I was trained to recognize the red Pops as approximation of cherry and strawberry flavors, the yellow of lemon and the purple of grape, but I had no flavor association for the color blue. It didn’t taste like any fruit.
Never mind that the purple grape flavors we associate with commercial jams and juice taste nothing like grapes off the vine. Like anyone who grew up after the rise of convenience food, my earliest tastes were shaped by the artificial.
Eric Ho felt the same way and never questioned the flavors of sugary shave ice. But the disconnect from the real thing bothered him more and more as an adult. He and his wife, Mamiko Ando, now run Lemona Hawaii, a shave ice shop becoming known for its combination of fluffy snow ice and handmade syrups made from seasonal fresh fruit, ceremonial-grade premium "matcha" tea, organic milk used in its homemade condensed milk, and Tokachi azuki beans from Hokkaido, Japan.
Recent flavors were Meyer lemon, pineapple, papaya, mango and strawberry, at $6.50 per bowl. One new favorite is 100 percent Kona coffee with condensed milk.
The Lemona name was inspired by Hawaii island Meyer lemons, recognized for antioxidant and healing properties. Sustainable and healthy are great things, but most important, it’s all delicious!
Lemona is at 421 Lewers St. behind the Wyland Hotel Waikiki. Call 922-9590. Watch Mamiko Ando make her matcha shave ice at honolulupulse.com/takeabite.
"Bite Size" celebrates the new, the small or the unsung.
