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

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

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