I’m not really sure what to make of Hong Kong Station, the do itself your noodle soup chain that’s starting to invade Chinatown. The premise is simple, pick the noodle size you want (all$1.50) which will go into what I considered to be a generic chicken broth and then pick add on’s (all $2 or less) until your heart’s content. The list of add on’s is rather vast with everything from lobster balls to tripe to spam to turnips offered. They also serve a wide array of bubble tea and other beverages as well as Westernized Chinese sandwiches sans crust crust.

I really wanted to mix my shit up so I chose the thin egg noodle and then added curry fish balls, squid, beef tendon, curry and garlic sauces, pig’s blood, greens and mushrooms. With a lemon coke the cost of the meal was around $11. I know you probably stopped and thought, “did he just write pig’s blood?” Yes, I did. It’s not that bad at all.

I was disappointed to learn that the lemon coke ($2) was merely a can of coke and a plastic cup filled with ice and a lemon wedge. That seemed a little deceitful but I was willing to let it go as long as the soup was good and to be honest I didn’t really like it. It’s possible that I just picked the wrong items but the curry fish balls were fine as was the squid which thankfully included tentacles as well as rings. The mushrooms were actually huge, fresh caps which I appreciated and let’s be honest coagulated pig’s blood is coagulated pig’s blood. What was awful was the tendon. I have to admit that prior to that day the only other that I actually ordered tendon was at Momofuku Ssam bar where it’s prepared masterfully and served cold with green mango and peanuts. Even when I get it in my Pho it’s never been as fatty as it was here. It was just chunks and chunks of fat with very little tendon at all. But aside from that the broth was just so weak. Now I admit I’ve been spoiled recently by places like Bo Ky and Sheng Wang but I would never return here when I know there are at least twenty different places in the surrounding area that has the place beat by a mile. Broth is so important too soup and it just isn’t good here. When so much of the menu is customizable why wouldn’t they at lest offer a few types of broth?

The reason I’m confused about it all is because most of the people that were eating there were Asian and I can’t believe so many of them could be wrong. Maybe someone can help me. Did I just fuck up my customization or is the Hong Kong Station no good? Maybe I’ll give it one more chance with a different noodle type and no tendon.

Hong Kong Station – 45 Bayard Street (Between Mott & Bowery) NY, 10013, (212) 233-0288

Filed under: Chinese Food | Tagged: beef tendon, Bo Ky, bubble tea, Chinatown, curry fish balls, curry sauce, garlic sauce, greens, Hong Kong Station, lemon coke, Make Your Own Soup, Momofuku Ssam Bar, mushrooms, pig's blood, Sheng Wang, squid, thin egg noodle