Hong Kong already has more good ramen than any one stomach can keep up with, so it takes something special to start a queue down Sugar Street. Ramenya Shima Hong Kong has managed exactly that. The Tokyo shop — a fixture near the top of Japan's ramen rankings for half a decade — chose Causeway Bay for its first branch outside Japan, and noodle obsessives have been lining up to find out whether the hype survived the flight.
This is not another tonkotsu specialist. Ramenya Shima (拉麵屋 嶋) deals in tanrei ramen — light, clear, almost wine-like broths that reward slow sipping rather than a quick, fatty hit. Below is what the shop actually serves, where to find it, what a bowl costs, and whether it is worth the wait.
In This Guide
Why Ramenya Shima Is Worth Knowing About
Plenty of Japanese chains open in Hong Kong. Far fewer arrive with this kind of CV. Since launching in Tokyo in 2020, Ramenya Shima has held a place among the city's top-rated ramen shops on Tabelog — Japan's notoriously hard-to-please restaurant review platform — for five years running, kept a score above the magic 4.0 mark, and earned a run of Tabelog Bronze Awards and Top 100 Restaurants listings.
For context, a sub-3.5 rating on Tabelog is considered solid and anything above 3.8 is exceptional, so a long-held 4.0-plus puts Shima in rarefied company. That reputation is why its Causeway Bay debut counts as a genuine event rather than just another noodle opening.
It also lands at the right moment. Hong Kong's dining scene has been rebounding with confidence, and international names are once again betting on the city — the renewed energy we unpacked in why Hong Kong's food scene is having a moment. A Tokyo ramen darling picking Hong Kong for its first overseas shop is a small vote of confidence in itself.
Ramenya Shima 拉麵屋 嶋
The first overseas branch of a Tabelog-decorated Tokyo ramen shop, specialising in clear, refined tanrei broths simmered from around 30 ingredients, with handmade noodles and a small counter-led room.
What Kind of Ramen Is Ramenya Shima?
Shima works in the tanrei (淡麗) style: broths that look almost translucent but carry deep, layered umami. The base is simmered with close to 30 ingredients — Japanese chicken, scallops, clams, aged bonito flakes, sea-bream head and kombu among them — for a soup that is clean rather than heavy. It is the opposite of a cloudy, pork-bone tonkotsu.
There are three signature broths, and choosing between them is most of the fun:
| Broth | What it tastes like | Order it if… |
|---|---|---|
| Shoyu (醬油) | Amber and robust, built on a blend of around 11 soy sauces; the deepest, most savoury option. | You like a bolder, fuller bowl. |
| White Shoyu (白醬油) | Lighter and balanced, finished with white truffle oil and black truffle paste for a long, aromatic finish. | You want the most distinctive, perfumed bowl. |
| Shio (鹽味) | A clean salt base that lets the seafood-and-chicken stock speak for itself. | You want to taste the broth at its purest. |
The noodles matter as much as the soup. They are made in-house daily from a blend of five flours, with no additives or alcohol, and come out smooth with a precise al dente bite. Toppings are unusually considered too: four kinds of chashu (including slow-cooked, grilled and smoked cuts), plus shrimp and pork wontons folded fresh each day.
What to Order at Ramenya Shima
First-timers should start with the bowl the kitchen is built around, then add a side or two. Here is a sensible first order.
A first-timer's order
- Gokujo Ajitama Ramen (極上味玉拉麵) — the house "premium flavoured-egg" ramen, with a jammy, marinated ajitama. Pick the shoyu for depth or the shio for clarity.
- White Shoyu bowl — if you only try one thing, make it the truffle-finished broth; it is the most "only here" flavour on the menu.
- Wontons — the fresh shrimp and pork wontons are a low-risk, high-reward add-on.
- Nanban fried chicken (南蠻炸雞) — crisp karaage under a thick house tartar; a reliable crowd-pleaser.
- Gyoza — thin-skinned, crisp-bottomed pork dumplings to round out the table.
- A finish — almond pudding or the Fuji yuzu soda cuts cleanly through the soy and fat.
If ramen is your way into the city's Japanese dining scene, this slots neatly alongside our wider guide to the best Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong, and it earns a place on any list of new restaurants opening in Hong Kong this season.
Where Is It, and How Much Does It Cost?
Ramenya Shima sits on the ground floor of Sugar+, the dining complex at 25–31 Sugar Street in Causeway Bay, a short walk from Exit E of Causeway Bay MTR on the Victoria Park side. The room is small and counter-led — modern Japanese minimalism, warm wood and noren curtains at the door — so it seats only a handful of diners at a time.
On price, this is mid-range by Hong Kong ramen standards rather than cheap: a signature bowl runs roughly HK$148–198, and OpenRice puts the average spend in the HK$101–200 band per head. Add a side and a drink and you will land closer to HK$200–250. Per its OpenRice listing, the shop serves in two sittings — lunch from about 11:30am to 3:00pm and dinner from about 6:00pm to 9:30pm — with the kitchen closed in between.
For where this fits in the bigger picture, see our running pick of the 50 best restaurants in Hong Kong, and if you would rather chase a cheaper slurp, our Hong Kong street food guide points to the noodle stalls worth your time.
Before you go
Three things to plan around. First, the split hours: the kitchen shuts in the mid-afternoon, so don't roll up at 4pm expecting a bowl. Second, the queue — the room is tiny and runs largely on walk-ins, so peak lunch and weekend dinners mean a wait; arrive just before opening or in the off-peak gap. Third, the seasoning: the shoyu in particular is deliberately bold and on the salty side, which is the chef's intended style — order the shio if you prefer a gentler bowl. Hours and prices can change at a new shop, so confirm on the day.
Is Ramenya Shima Worth the Queue?
Mostly, yes — with honest caveats. Early reaction in Hong Kong has been genuinely split. Fans rave about the clarity of the broth, the precise noodles and the generous, well-made toppings, and rate it among the better bowls in town. Others have found the soup too salty for their taste, been lukewarm on the noodles, or grumbled about waits and first-weeks service while the kitchen found its feet.
That spread is normal for a hyped, newly opened counter, and it is worth weighing your own preferences: if you love a delicate, layered broth and don't mind a queue, this is an easy recommendation. If you want a rich, comforting, fatty bowl on demand, you may prefer one of the city's tonkotsu stalwarts. Either way, a Tokyo top-tier ramen-ya choosing Hong Kong first is a treat — go in curious, go off-peak, and order the broth that suits your palate.
For official details and the latest menu, check Ramenya Shima's OpenRice listing and Time Out Hong Kong's opening report, or follow the shop on Instagram (@ramenya_shima.hk) for daily updates and any rest-day notices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hungry for More Hong Kong?
From Tokyo ramen to the city's newest tables, YumChaNow tracks where to eat next. Start with our best Japanese restaurants guide to plan your next bowl.