Madison Restaurant Review: Hong Kong Station

I will admit I was first interested in Hong Kong Station's unique noodle ordering system. You are given a pen and a sheet where you can choose from 8 different types of noodles, 3 different broths and more then a dozen mix ins and toppings. It's like the Coldstone of Noodles.

On my first outing to Hong Kong Station I shared a nice meal with this cutie.

She was (un?)fortunately more interested in the magna-doodle then the food, though she seemed love the broken flakes of eggroll wrapper.

I tried the beef broth with Ramen noodles, beef tenderloin, and beef meatballs. The ramen noodles were good but nothing to blog about.  The beef broth was fairly flat. There are a few condiments on the table which make it better. Personally I think what this broth really needs is a deeper roast on the bones before they make the stock and another 4-6 hours of simmering. It is a beautifully clear broth, which means it hasn't come to a full boil, which causes a stock to become very cloudy.

Beef Broth with Ramen noodles beef balls and tenderloin.

I also tried the spicy broth with Chinese egg noodles shrimpballs and shrimp dumplings. The Chinese egg noodles are nearly identical to Wah-Kee's noodles, maybe their source? The Spicy broth had a tiny bit of a kick, but more importantly Szechuan peppercorns floating on top. I told Pete chew on one of those and he spent the rest of the meal asking me "Why would you do that to me?" The analgesic effect slowly wore off as my amusement faded. Chewing on these fills your mouth with a unique flavor and numbs your mouth completely.

The only way to eat seafood.

Move over peasants! I'm here to eat all of your live seafood. This is the only way to really eat seafood. Us of the nobility know of no other way!

The ability to point out the exact fish that you want to eat, to pick out the oysters, shrimp, razor clams, pinkish blobs, edible-looking stones. Now that is something for only us of the 1%. Now move aside you plebian pests! I must poke a well heeled finger at the food to let the chefy know how he may please me today.

This is the most luxurious way to eat seafood. I found this on the street in China. Welcome to the lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Snips?

Snails?

Puppy dog tails.

Ancient Chinese Secret

What is the ancient Chinese secret?

Garlic.

Grilled Oyster with Garlic.

Start with a live oyster, scallop, etc. Open and insert cellophane(bean thread) noodles, and cover in a pureed Garlic sauce. Grill over charcoal.

Wow. just just... wow. The garlic caramelizes in it's own juices turning this glorious golden color and becomes sweet and smokey. No one would tell me what was in the sauce other then garlic. I guess thats why it's an ancient Chinese secret. I think it must be minced garlic and ginger with some oil. Fear not, I will be doing some experimenting and perfecting this, anyone want to come over?