A heartbreaking tale of ramen and gzoya
I have always been a big fan of Wynn Palace’s Hanami Ramen for its beautiful, yet casual ambience. Hanami’s sumptuous bowls of handmade noodles paired with top-notch ingredients are unforgettable, so when I heard that Wynn Macau’s Tekka – a restaurant that serves ramen and yakitori- has opened, I immediately decided to give it a try.
Tekka’s interior is modern and sophisticated. With red and gold tones gleaming in between black surfaces, the setting is stylish and inviting. An open kitchen is right behind the entrance and arrangements of seats are made facing the chefs. As the server puts the menu and we begin to explore the dishes available, it is clear that the pricing gears towards an extremely affordable category as some of the sets are even cheaper than local restaurants. A 20% discount is also offered to individuals who pay with Mpay.
However, when the dishes finally arrive on the table, it becomes evident that the quality of both the ramen and gzoya does not match up to one’s expectation. Gzoya is a popular food in Japan which corresponds to Jiaozi or dumplings in Chinese culinary culture. At Tekka, the gzoya wrapper is undercooked, which results in a hard dough that makes it difficult to enjoy the filling. Authentic Japanese gyoza tends to have thin wrapping and a higher proportion of vegetables to pork, but Tekka’s gzoya, which comes with the ramen set, only has a small amount of filling, which further enhances the texture of the undercooked outer layer. Therefore, one can conclude that the Gzoya experience at Wynn Macau’s latest F&B outlet is far from satisfying.
As far as the ramen is concerned, for those who frequent Wynn Palace’s Hanami Ramen, I would suggest that one should just take a taxi and head to Taipa for a better experience. The cha-shu on the ramen at Tekka is overcooked and if one has to compare the soup base to that of Hanami’s, it is less creamy and not as flavourful, even though the texture of the ramen is acceptable. When asked about what the concept at Tekka is, the manager on duty indicates that it is completely different than that of Hanami, but for an individual who has always been a fan of Wynn’s F&B concepts and dedication to quality, the entire experience is nothing less than heartbreaking. IRENE SAM, MDT
