Butao Ramen

Butao Storefront

Finally I've tasted Butao Ramen. A source told me that there are no lines at Butao if you go around 4 in the afternoon (Butao now opens till 6pm). So C, K and I went to eat at around 4:30pm. We didn't even have to wait and sat down immediately! This place has just only a few more than a dozen seats - it's no wonder the wait can be so long.

Order sheet to choose your preferences

Everyone gets their own order sheet to tick their preferences. Butao has four ramen soup types on its menu - yellow (the plain pork bone broth) for $75, black (soup + squid ink) for $88, red (soup + spicy base) for $88, and green (soup + pesto) for $90. I've heard that there's a curry soup base off the menu, but I didn't ask about it.

You can also choose the concentration of your soup base, the amount of oil and garlic, yes or no to roast pork and onion, how much spicy miso paste, and hardness of your noodle. You can tick for add-ins too. I wanted the half-cooked egg but it's currently unavailable.

Original Butao King (Yellow)

C and K both ordered the original. K described the soup as tasting like liquified cooked egg yolks. I agree!! The roasted pork was about normal.

Green Butao - with pesto and parmesan cheese

I thought this was pleasantly surprising. You can still taste the egg-yolky broth but the pesto works well with it! A Japanese and Italian fusion creation.

Noodles

Luckily I ordered the noodles hard, because these were thin noodles. C ordered his soft and said they were pretty soft. I think I actually might try extra hard noodles next time. Even though I'm a fast eater, the noodles in the last few bites were soft. I wouldn't mind a bit more firmness anyway.


I like Butao and I wouldn't mind going back to try the other soup varieties (I think I'll try the Red Butao next since I love spicy food). Having said that, C and I both think that this place is not worth a long wait while you starve yourself in line. 


Butao Ramen 豚王
G/F, Wo On Building, 8-13 On Lane Street, Central, 2530-0600