Xióng Huá - Sosa

I went to Kowloon, located along Route 126, and ordered the Char Siu Ramen, Stir-fried Spinach with Egg, and Stir-fried Liver and Chives. I parked my car in front of the restaurant and sat at a table inside. I found the Char Siu on the menu and ordered the small size of the two dishes mentioned above. It's nice that they offer a small size option as the regular size can be too much for one person. I started with the Stir-fried Spinach with Egg, the contrast of green and yellow colors really stimulated my appetite.

In front of the restaurant, you can fit about four cars if you park neatly, but trucks won't fit. As the name suggests, it's a Chinese restaurant. It's a bit different from a ramen shop. The menu mainly consists of dishes, but they also have ramen. There is no counter, only two tables and the rest are traditional tatami seating, reduced due to the pandemic. You order at your table, there is no ticket machine. I came in planning to eat ramen, so I ordered the soy sauce ramen with gyoza. It arrived in about 5 minutes. The clear soy sauce soup with slightly thin noodles is a very standard Chinese soba. It's not too complex, with a slight soy sauce flavor in the Chinese broth. I can't imagine how it would taste if it were miso ramen or salt ramen, but it is delicious. The noodles are smooth and cooked just right. The chashu isn't too big or thick, but it's tender and delicious. Especially the gyoza skin has a good flavor, I predict it is handmade. The filling is well-seasoned with just the right amount of garlic. I came for the ramen, so I don't know about other dishes, but overall, it seems to be of a high standard.

I visited this restaurant for the first time in about 25 years since it opened 40 years ago. I don't remember the taste of the ramen, so I decided to try the "special carefully crafted ramen" limited to 20 servings a day, with firm noodles. Instead of chashu, it had simmered chicken thigh with skin on. The noodles were thin and the soy soup had a light back fat flavor. It looked simple and had a low price, different from the menu's photos, but I could feel the dedication in the name. I also recommend the ramen set from the lunch menu.