With so many ramen places around, Butao ramen does a great job. We got there around 630pm and beat the dinner crowd, so we were able to get seated quickly. Their menu is similar to Ramen Nagi. You can choose between regular, black (umami), red (spicy), or green (basil) broth flavors. They also do a rotating special ramen, which was lobster today. You can then choose the type of meat, spicy level, vegetable and noodle type/texture. We got the Black King, which has nice squid ink and umami flavors. Level 3 spicy had a mild kick, but wasn't overwhelming. The lobster broth ramen was also super flavorful, although the lobster meat itself was a bit tough. Overall, a solid place to come for a flavorful bowl of ramen with options to satisfy everyone except if you are on a diet. read more

豚王 - Black King, Special (lobster) - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

Ramen here was SO GOOD (or I could have been starving. It was really late) and came out fast. The space is small, so you may have to sit at communal-ish tables. read more

豚王 - Butao ramen - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

I think I would have liked Butao more if I had stuck to tried and true tonkotsu instead of trying the Green King. Described as an "East-meeting-West" ramen, the Green King is the standard pork broth with additions of basil and olive oil and topped with Parmesan. For the first few bites, the basil was kind of nice and interesting, as if I were eating a very porky pesto over pasta. Near the end of the bowl, it all became too rich for me, and I felt a little queasy. The egg was great, though! There's self-serve water at the tables, plus there are baskets for purses or other accessories. Ordering is really easy since you mark what you want on a piece of paper. read more

豚王 - Green King ramen with added egg - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

Finally get to check this place off my bookmarks! I came around dinner time and of course there's a queue outside. In the mean time, I customized my ramen to my taste. I decided to go with the black king because it's so hard to find squid ink ramen in LA. You can literally customize your garlic, spice, and oil levels for your ramen! You can even customize your softness of your noodles! WUT. The place is small so get ready to rub elbows with a stranger and slurp noodles in each other's ears. I got my ramen in five minutes and on the table there's sesame, pepper, and bean sprouts to add to your ramen as well! I tried my broth and it was rich and almost had a creamy consistency. The noodles were cooked great and the egg was actually RUNNY!!!!! I was amazed. FYI: the black King broth makes your teeth black while you're eating it. So smile! read more

豚王 - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

This is by far one of the best ramen houses I've been to! Their selection is unique and their menu is designed solely to cater to you. I tried the black garlic broth with my ramen and it was delicious! I usually have trouble stomaching ramen, simply because the broth is usually too salty for me, but their broth was perfect! I do wish that I added more spiciness (I added level 1) and make sure to try their marinated eggs! They were done so perfectly! read more

豚王 - Ramen with Black Garlic sauce - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

Looking for a great ramen place in Hong Kong. Heard about Butao and went to check it out. First off, the place is busy, so they'll queue you and hand you some menus and order sheets (really efficient!) Second, you'll have to be able to match the Chinese characters to the pictures as there is no English (I took a pic with some translated items). I went with the first Tonkatsu (above average broth) Ramen (thin noodles, not bad) and added extra fatty pork (almost too fatty) and egg (soft boiled egg, good addition). I like the idea of being able to pick the veggies, the Garlic intensity, spiciness, and the richness of the broth. You can also have the chef create it for you by checking off the box on the sheet. Overall it's a decent bowl of ramen, I still think Ramen Santoku in Vancouver is better. Imma try Tamashii as well to see what HK has to offer for ramen at other locations. read more

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This. This is what a good bowl of tonkotsu should taste like. It was raining hard when I got to this little alley, and I had to ask for directions to get to this unassuming ramen shop since the signage wasn't that great. As is the usual in HK, I get plopped down on a table with strangers to maximize space and patronage. There's water on the table so you self help and they hand you a paper menu to fill out where you select your preferences. I had heard good things about their black, red and green kings but I wanted to stay with the classic tonkotsu as it had been a while since I had a good one. When filling out, I circled both the veggies but they advised that I could only select one or the other, so I opted for spring onions. Also, keep in mind that the soft boiled ramen eggs do not come standard with a bowl of noodles so please do yourself a favor and order one as an addition. Their eggs were soft boiled to perfection! Just order it and thank me later. Their soup broth was perfect, creamy and rich. On a cold rainy day, it hit the spot, and then some, and then a little more. I'll definitely have to come back and try their kings. read more

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Definitely one of the best ramen places I've ever been. I've been to Butao a few times and I usually get the Butao Ramen (with a marinated egg). You can choose the levels for taste, oil, garlic, pork type, spice, ramen taste and ramen texture. The flavor is good, not too salty or creamy. The meat is tender and the noodles have a good texture to it read more

Butao Ramen is one of my go to places to stop in Times Square. It's tucked away off the Main Street, so you don't get the same tourist crowds you normally get in Times Square. Oftentimes the line here is so long you'll be waiting for 20-30 minutes (keep in mind while thats not long for a place - there's only 15 ish seats in the place, so that's quite a long wait for a place like that!). If the long lines aren't indicative of the quality of this place, then you should stop by and try it! The broth for their classic butao ramen is quite good and rich, the pork slices are also seared nicely and have a great flavor to them - the noodles, mushroom, egg etc al comes together very well. I normally will do a classic butao ramen at level 3 spicy-ness and add an extra helping of noodles to get to a full full meal. The place is priced well, not too expensive for a good meal! If you're new to Hong Kong.. while this isn't dim sum or a local cuisine - worth a stop if you're already in Times Square! read more

My HK colleague raved about Butao's ramen, so I made sure to meander over during a recent trip to HK. There are quite a few ramen shops on this little street and Butao is not labeled outside in English, but luckily the wait staff were adorned in clearly labeled navy blue shirts. Arriving solo, I was ushered to an empty stool at a table with a happily slurping couple and presented with the order form. Since I arrived after 9:30p, two flavors (black and red) were already sold out, so I opted for original with extra hard thick noodles, two marinated eggs (what can I say, I'm both decadent and pregnant), and an extra helping of black fungus. The bowl took about 10 minutes to arrive, oddly slow for a ramen shop, but the wait was well worth it. Noodles were perfectly chewy, broth was rich and flavorful, reflecting my request for extra garlic flavor and all the toppings were complementary and additive! PARTING THOUGHT: someday, I'm arriving early enough to try the famous black ramen before they run out! read more

So it was dinner time in Causeway Bay, and was in the mood for some Japanese ramen because at the time heard that Japanese food in Hong Kong is also really goo. I didn't really want to go to Ippudo, but a search on another site (yelp wasn't around at the time) came up with Butao Ramen which was highly rated. I knew It was something that I had to check out. Approaching the place there was a long lineup so it was a good sign that this place was actually good. The ordering system was easy enough. You choose what sort of ramen you would like, the toppings, spicy level, hardness of noodles, and anything else that you would like. The verdict? It's definitely pretty good. Good enough to come back many times. Especially on a cold and rainy day. read more

Want to try good tasting and unique ramen? Then look no further and head to Butao Ramen in CWB. They have another location in Central but I do think the CWB one taste better. Whats good about this place? 1. The ordering method is simple, you just fill out a sheet and check what you want from garlic, richness of the soup, spicy level, hard or soft noodle etc... but first you can choose from their special ramen. 2. Specialty ramen: ordinary Butao King, Red King (spicy), Black King (black octopus sauce), Green King (made with pesto and cheese). 3. Its quick The only downside is the tiny space of the restaurant, you WILL be sharing tables with other customers. It gets messy too so ask for napkins to wear around your neck (the black king stains quickly from the splash of your slurp). About 100 bucks for a bowl of ramen. (17 bucks for the extra egg seems steep though). One of my fav ramen place in Hong Kong. read more

I simply call it "black gold." Just like Texans striking it rich drilling oil, Butao did just that in the overcrowded ramen turf war with this signature ramen. From expatriates to China tourists, this bowl of ramen has made waves across the foodie social media sphere. Back in 2011, eager patrons would wait for an hour for their lustful ramen. On a chilly day in Hong Kong where the grey skies just stomps all hope, I dash over to Butao in Central on the slippery slopes. Butao was once my cult ramen of choice. Now, It simply disappoints. Poor service and paper thin pork belly make me question my choice. Ippudo for the same price at least gives me a char siu pork worth tasting. The black garlic infused oil will heighten your senses never the less. As for a robust ramen, I still consider Santouka salty ramen the winner. Soup base is truly a personally choice but as a ramen lover I tend to stay pure and away from flavour theatrics such as pesto, black oil, or spicy powder. Happy Easter! read more

Be prepared to queue up! And when I say queue up during peak hours, you might have to literally line up across the street when they run out of room in front of the door! The wait isn't as excruiciatingly long as Ichiran but be prepared to wait for a bit. When you are finally seated, you get a sheet to customize the ramen exactly the way you'd like it. Everything from the oil richness to the amount of garlic, spice, etc can be made to your liking. I recommend going for thin noodles and having the broth extra rich with sesame oil and spice. It'll taste heavenly once you have the whole mixture of char siu, ramen and broth all being chewed simultaneously in your mouth! Go for their Red King broth if you want that spicy kick. Feeling a little adventurous? Their Black King is a good choice as it has black octopus sauce added to the broth (so lovely)! If you've got a big appetite, add extra pork belly and egg to your soup. And get an extra side of ramen if you're looking to load up on carbs! It'll be almost another bowl of ramen once you add it in! read more

This is a little better than A-OK in my book... I'm lucky to have some great Ramen places back in Los Angeles to compare with.. The pork slices could be of better quality and the ramen noodle texture is not so great , broth is decent. Too many confusing choices on the menu.. how about just make good ramen and let people add more garlic at the table... the place is small and the more I think about it it's over rated... so I wish I could leave 3.5 stars but I will gift them the half a star to be nice ;-) read more

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If you're looking for non-traditional ramen, this is your spot. The Black King ramen with squid ink was rich and full of flavor. Since it was my first visit I chose the normal levels for each option. It wasn't spicy enough so asked for more of the hot stuff to add in after it came out. Try the soup before adding in the additional pickled veggies, vinegar, etc on the table. They add in a nice textural and flavor contrast but it's nice to have a baseline before changing up the flavor. It's not a big place and seating is communal which is cool since you can see what others are getting. I went at an off hour after lunch and it was easy to get a spot. read more

What I noticed in HK with ramen joints is the ability to customize your ramen as you see fit. I'm a purist and like to keep things simple and unadulterated. Hence, I got the Butao Ramen with all the "normal" levels checked! The piping hot bowl of ramen came. I immediately tasted the creamy-looking broth, creamy and savory it is! The pork bellies were ever-so fatty and tender, delicious. The egg was nicely marinated in soy sauce and perfectly runny. The noodles had a nice bite, but were a bit softer than I would have liked. Surprisingly reading about the queue's here, our wait was not long at all. read more

You know it's good ramen when you can't help but slurp. Tucked behind the bustling main streets of Causeway Bay, my friend brought me to this local favourite restaurant for lunch around 12:00. Limited in space, we were lucky to be seated right away at an empty table. The menus featured four ramens: 豚王 [butao tonkotsu original], 黑王 [Black King], 赤王 [Red King], and 翠王 [Green King]. My friend ordered the Black King and I decided to try out the Red King, both based from the original butao soup with respective variations of sauces and 'spice balls'. The customization slip allowed us to vary the garlic, spice, oil, veggies, and softness of our noodles to our personal preferences! Our order came after five or so minutes and we were greeted with a rich symphony of smells. After squishing the spice balls into our broth, we enjoyed our noodles of generous portion with great consistency and flavour. Since I had added additional 'normal' spice to my Red King noodles, my bowl was actually spicier than anticipated, my friend and I quite enjoyed it. Her Black King was savory and strong in flavour -- though a little too rich for my taste. We were soon joined by another customer and the tight space of the restaurant only seemed to heighten the authenticity of the eating experience. It is reminiscent and typical of any local Hong Kong restaurant bustling with customers despite its limited space -- you slurp together, hear the conversations of the next table over, and occasionally rub elbows with people anonymous -- yet, its taste is distinctly and authentically Japanese. It is no wonder that Butao Ramen has been widely recognised for its quality in Hong Kong! Arrive early to beat the crowds -- for Butao, Go Now! read more

This is still my favourite ramen place in Hong Kong. The branch at Causeway Bay is convenient to drop by for lunch but have to be there a bit early before the queue got long. The plain ramen is always my choice - the super creamy soup base is lovely and fulfilling. I choose the pork shoulder meat instead of tummy as that is leaner. The best thing here is the spiced bean sprout, which goes so well with the noodle. My colleague loves that so much he finished the whole mug and finished another half mug after refill ^___^" read more

豚王 - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

Best ramen ever! I now use this as the standard by which all other ramen is judged... and the best eggs!

Fantastic food! They have an English menu; just ask. They seat you with random people and the food is fantastic. The Taiwanese people at my table selected all of my ingredients for me (attached in photo). Loved it! read more

豚王 - Pork skin, fish balls and veggies - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

The ramen is well prepared and size is large but the taste and flavor is mediocre, not as good as Ippudo's. I will not come again. read more

豚王 - Black Ramen.黑王 - Ramen Near Me - Hong Kong, HK

Really good ramen noodle both broth & noodle wise ,small & crowed end & probably you must share a table but worth it hkd85

I had the limited edition menu while my friend had the red bowl and what surprised me were the copious amounts of bean sprouts and carelessly strewn and large pieces of lettuce I had in mine-it looked more like salad than noodles. Frankly, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't great either. I'll stick to their regular ramen. My friend enjoyed her bowl of chilli noodles so kudos to that! read more

Don't get fooled by their decor, not authentic ramen at all. Its like every other fake ramen shops in Hong Kong.

My favorite ramen joint by far! I have tried the green ramen, the original ramen and black sesame oil ramen. But my personal favorite is the original one! The broth is thicker and creamier than the one in Ichiran ramen!(which is my second favorite) You gotta add the egg into your ramen and some spring onion too! read more

Good ramen place. I especially like the black octopus ink soup. All your standard ramen options and add ons. Noodles are well cooked and the soup is hot. It's small and can get crowded during peak hours. read more