My Rotterdam favorites are often places where I get my comfort food. Don’t get me wrong, I love a fancy dinner as much as the next woman, but I really love cozy family-run places, where you go for heartwarming food. Hinoki Noodle Soup serves that type of food for me – great steaming bowls of noodles that are always good and make me happy.
Hinoki opened in May 2016 on the Keizersgracht in Rotterdam, just around the corner from the Markethal. I have visited many times before with friends and discussed whether this would or would not be a good first date spot…In my opinion, any man that knows how to slurp his ramen without splattering himself all over shows promise, and I may actually have to give them a chance…
I visited again last weekend with the friend that I traveled to Japan with. Hinoki has an extensive menu, with most ramen having a choice of shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce) or miso flavourings. They now also have a menu of tonkotsu (pork base) ramen. With so much choice, uncharacteristically I couldn’t choose what to order – it all looked so good! We started off by ordering a Sapporo beer, so refreshing with spicy noodles!
My friend decided on the Tokyo ramen, and I decided on the Tonkotsu Ramen Red Special, from the Tonkotsu special menu. My friend loved her Tokyo Ramen, which was filled with soft pork slices and lots of bean sprouts. She had a huge smile on her face, which said enough about what she thought of her noodles.
My ramen shown above were delicious! I loved the mushrooms, sharp ginger, and soft boiled egg. The red colour comes from the chili oil, which was tasty but not too spicy! The tonkotsu base was very creamy and had a rich flavour. I hope they keep this menu for some more time, so I can try the Tonkotsu black ramen.
Next to ramen Hinoki also serves really good takoyaki (octopus snacks), gyoza and other Japanese treats. I’m not going to give everything away, as I want to make you curious ánd hungry enough to go for a bowl of ramen yourself!
When & where to get this bowl of happiness: Keizerstraat 52, Rotterdam. Open from Tuesday – Sunday, 12:00 – 21:30.
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If you visit Hinoki, please let me know what your favorite dish was! Itadakimasu (thank you for the food/bon-appétit)!!
Beijo,
Flávia
