My’s Restaurant

On recommendation from Snow Crab Nebula, three of us decided to take a long lunch and check out the pho at My’s Restaurant in Weston. I’d never tried pho before moving to Canberra, although now it is one of my favourites and I’m always keen to try it at Vietnamese restaurants. My’s was busy but not crowded, and we were shown to a table promptly. We all ordered the rare beef pho, which came out together with a shared plate of things to add (bean sprouts, lemon, basil and chilli). Whilst the wait was a bit longer, it was considerate of them to bring all of our meals out at once. The beef was indeed just rare, and sliced perfectly thinly – there was also quite a large amount in the bowl. The noodles were soft and chewy, there was plenty of raw and spring onion and, most importantly, the broth was incredibly tasty. I am a huge fan of drinking noodle broths, and I devoured this one, although I did find myself drinking quite a lot of water for the rest of the afternoon. Definitely a new favourite and a must-visit for pho fans.

My’s Restaurant, 35 Brierly Street, Weston ACT, no website

Ippudo

Apart from making excellent ramen, Ippudo explains that they consider it part of their mission to ‘promote regional ramen from other parts of Japan’. Who am I to argue with that? This was my first time trying a seasonal special – the Tokushima Niku ramen, made from a blend of pork and chicken broth and topped with a soft egg, slicd beef, bamboo, spring onion and chilli. Mmm. Before the ramen though, my friend and I shared gyoza – delicate and flavoursome – and pork buns – very tasty, with a good bao-to-meat ratio. I also had a glass of umeshu on the rocks, my favourite Japanese drink. They offer a couple of different brands, but I like the sweet Choya one. Anyway, back to the ramen. I took the waiter’s recommendation that it be served with white rice, and delved in to break the beautifully runny egg. The beef was sweet and tender, thinly shredded and generously portioned. The broth was quite light but complex, without being overly salty. It complemented the beef, egg and bamboo to create a harmonious blend of flavours. The ramen had great bite to them and I’d recommend getting the rice with this one – it works so well. Seasonal ramen you say? Yes please.

Ippudo, Westfield Sydney, Level 5, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW                            http://www.ippudo.com.au

Shimbashi

I visited Shimbashi once in 2012 and remember a) the restaurant not appearing to have a name and b) the amazing soba they served. On this visit, I ducked in for a late lunch (last orders are 2:30pm) and was reminded once again how fantastic simple Japanese food can be. I ordered the teriyaki salmon special, which came with a rice bowl topped with lettuce and salmon, a small bowl of pickles, and a serve of soba. I ate the salmon first as the hot dish (I’d chosen cold soba), and was surprised at how large the serving was. The teriyaki sauce was sweet and rich, and was just the right amount to coat the perfectly cooked fish and most of the rice. I dipped the lettuce in the small salad I’d received on arrival to give it some dressing, which complemented the pickles nicely. The soba was equally delicious, with spring onion and seaweed to add extra flavour. The noodles were obviously handmade and had a great springiness to them which sent me straight back to Japan. Simple, delicate and authentic Japanese that I will definitely be coming back for.

Shimbashi Japanese soba and sake bar, 17 Liverpool Street, Melbourne VIC     http://www.shimbashisobamelbourne.net/

Little NNQ

Meeting up with friends for a Gouger St dinner in Adelaide, I picked the new kid on the block – Little NNQ, the outpost of Nghi Ngan Quan. The menu is full of exciting-sounding things: DIY cold rolls, curries, and soups. I ordered the entree sized pho as a starter, which was more like a small main when it came out, full of rare beef, beef balls, onion and noodles. The broth was fabulous and not overly salty, and I was well on my way to full after drinking every last drop. I had the grilled scallops with ginger as my main, along with the orange and kumquat juice, which was served in a mason jar and had a refreshing citrus bitterness to it. The scallops came out with five on the plate drowning in sauce, accompanied by  piles of spring onion. Sadly the scallops were overdone, losing their softness to chewiness, but the sauce was spectacular and I ate a lot of it with rice. I would have been disappointed with the serving compared to my friend’s giant bowl of sour soup if I hadn’t had the entree. Verdict? Tasty dishes worth trying, despite imperfections.

Little NNQ, 125 Gouger Street Adelaide, SA, no website

Ganbaranba

When I saw that Ganbaranba wasn’t just a ramen shop or a noodle restaurant, but a ‘noodle colosseum’, it was pretty much compulsory to eat there.  Though I swore to try and gladiator my way through all of the ramen on the menu, I only managed to get there twice. On both occasions we shared some gyoza to start, and they were incredible – beautifully pan-fried with extra crispy bits hanging off each dumpling and a soft and tasty filling. Round one was the traditional tonkotsu ramen – I found the broth to be a bit oily, and the pork was quite tough, but the ramen had just the right amount of bite. Round two was all about the shoyu – the best ramen of my life was in Kyoto in 2009 and it was a shoyu ramen. It’s not as common to find soy-based broths in Australia, and so I always try them when I can. Whilst it wasn’t Kyoto-standard, this shoyu was really tasty, full of bamboo shoots and again perfectly bitey ramen. Ganbaranba’s staff were super friendly and made us feel welcome, so they get the thumbs up from me.

Ganbaranba Noodle Colosseum, 12/20 Spence Street, Cairns QLD, no website

Ochacha

When you Google ‘best Japanese in Cairns’, Ochacha is the first place to come up on the listing, and for good reason. I went on a Monday, which is lucky because they are closed on Tuesdays, for both lunch and dinner. I dined alone at lunch, and had a lovely chat in Japanese with the waitress who was visiting on a working holiday. It was a particularly hot day, so I opted for the zaru udon, cold udon noodles in a dipping sauce. The meal was so refreshing – the noodles were beautifully chewy and the flavour of the sauce took me right back to Japan. Having had such a nice lunch, I took my friend back there for dinner, and we feasted on sushi and sashimi. The aburi salmon nigiri sushi was the highlight, although I was impressed by the relatively large pieces of salmon and tuna sashimi on the two plates I ordered. The miso soup was hot, flavoursome and not too salty. My friend also ordered the chicken katsudon and we were both stuffed full of delicious Japanese food by the end. A must-visit for Japanese food fans.

Ochaha Modern Japanese Dining, 34 Lake Street, Cairns QLD, no website

Ryo’s Noodles

I would eat Japanese food for dinner every night if I could. Especially in winter, when you want nothing more than a big, hot, steaming bowl of noodle soup. So that’s exactly what I sought out in Sydney. I’d read that the lines at Ryo’s Noodles can be out the door, so I went early on a weeknight, and didn’t have to wait. It’s a no frills place, with a handwritten copy of the menu on the wall in Japanese on white sheets of paper, as is common in Japanese izakaya (traditional pubs).  I went for the popular tonkotsu ramen and a bottle of ramune (Japanese lemonade). The ramen came out quickly and was hot and hearty. The pork was fatty and melted in your mouth, the broth was full of flavour and the noodles had just the right amount of bite. It was a bit salty, which I didn’t notice until afterwards, but it definitely satisfied my craving for ramen!

Ryo’s Noodles: 125 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW