Ramen Hunting in Sydney

If there's one dish I have just a little bit of a slight obsession with, it's got to be ramen. I am not kidding you when I say I really love ramen. Probably not as much as Naruto (anybody else ever watched this anime/read the manga?) but close enough I'd say. I did eat it for breakfast, lunch AND dinner on one of my days in Tokyo these past holidays. Yet I come back to Sydney to eat more of it! The hunt for excellent ramen in Sydney continues.

I would never really make an extra trip up to the Northern suburbs if I didn't really have to but one night I found myself in North Sydney and a quick search up on my phone told me Ryo's was nearby in the area. Ramen for dinner it was!

Ramen in tonkotsu soy sauce flavoured soup with roast pork, nori, egg and shallots, $13.50

I believe tonkotsu soup is always the way to go :P This one had a touch of soy added to give it that extra kick of saltiness. The noodles retained a good amount of bounce and I really couldn't get enough of the tonkotsu soup - the broth is the most important element in a bowl of ramen! It wasn't as thick as the likes of Gumshara (which is definitely on the heavy side) so it was very easy to down. I always get an egg if it doesn't come with the ramen but luckily this one did! Still soft and gooey so nothing but positives about it. I would have to say it's one of the more authentically Japanese ramens in Sydney.

When we left, there was a massive line waiting outside so that says wonders about its popularity!

Ryo's
125 Falcon St
Crows Nest, NSW, 2065

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday: 12:00 noon - 2:00pm and 5:00 - 9:00pm



Another one that has received raves from the blogging community resides in the humble food court of Sussex Centre in Chinatown. Who says you can't get good food in food courts? This food court has undergone a renovation and is actually surprisingly clean compared to what it used to be. You'll find Ramen Ikkyu huddled in the far corner so it could be easily overlooked if you don't know what you're looking for.

Pork rib ramen, $20.00

For twenty bucks, you're sure getting your fair share of meat. JUST LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT PORK RIB. It was amaaazingly soft and tender with lovely fatty parts throughout, and they cut it off the bone for easy eating but don't fret! The bone is still given to you for some caveman chowing :P (We all know the meat on the bone is the most flavoursome). This broth here has a mix of chicken, pork and seafood and is very discernable on the palette. I have to say that my preferences lay with the classic all pork broth (tonkotsu all the way!) but this one was still very delicious. And of course, if you haven't heard of the kaedama, I'm sure that this free extra serving of noodles will tempt you for a visit to Ramen Ikkyu! I would go back for that pork rib alone :D

Ramen Ikkyu
Shop F1A 401 Sussex St
Haymarket, NSW, 2000
Sussex Centre Food Court

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday: 12:00 noon - 8:00pm

Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine, Chinatown

Ever since Momofuku Siebo and Ippudo came to Australia bearing the idea of the open buns, I seem to be seeing it pop up everywhere. Granted, I feel like the hype is slowly dying down a little bit, but Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine was a place that has not only a pork bun on their menu, but also Peking duck! And all of you should know my love for Peking duck :) My friend Gingerbreadmanne also has a similar affiliation with these buns and Peking duck in general so off we went for a little afternoon snack catch up.

Peking duck buns, $8.00 for two / Roast pork buns, $8.00 for two

Ah I really do love the little sandwich pockets with the bun encasing the different fillings! These were what I expected from the buns with the description of what was in it on the menu, but they were at bit steep at $4 each. And let's face it, Peking duck and roast pork, very hard to go wrong. I would've liked the buns to be fluffier.

Curry soft-shelled crab congee, $14.80

The bowl of congee was massive! It was like eating Singaporean noodles but in the form of congee so it was quite trippy to eat. I think I will stick to the traditional century egg and pork mince combo as it's still my favourite congee to date (probably because I grew up eating it!). The crunchy tempura pieces on top and the soft-shelled crab were awesome though - crunchy batter and sweet crab meat. But eating the two felt like I was eating two separate dishes.

Unfortunately we didn't get a dessert as I was a little bit too full (such a big bowl of congee) despite having a personal love for Asian desserts. Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine has a modern twist to traditional Cantonese cuisine if that's what you're after but you may also be chasing Chinese food on the pricier side of Chinatown.

Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine
10 Dixon St
Sydney, NSW, Chinatown

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday: 11:00 - 2:00am

Waitan, Haymarket

Say hello to the newest restaurant addition to Sussex St in Chinatown whose concept is to connect east and west, old and new like never before. If you thought house renovations were expensive, think again. The price tag for this creation was over $10 million! Thanks to an invitation extension from Krissie Vitasa of Hill + Knowlton Strategies, I attended the launch party for this lavishly fitted out restaurant. They sure did hit us with the wow factor first thing. We hadn't even walked into the restaurant before we were greeted by a long line of models at the doors!

But then we were greeted by this fella.

I have to say that I really loved the interior design of this place. This main dining area clearly has a lot of traditional influences, yet embraces the contemporary with an end result that is very stylish.

More intimate areas can be found in the Opium Den. No, it is not ACTUALLY meant for anyone to smoke in this area, but instead to provide a more private setting for smaller gatherings for a drink or two. The cushions and plush seats definitely help the area look very inviting.

Look at the production line go to get those Peking Duck pancakes out the door! Well, not really a production line - one chef and many waiters trying to get him to hurry :P Who doesn't like Peking Duck pancakes? These ones vary from any traditional pancakes you've had though. One particular difference I noted was that they used raw red onion instead of the traditional sprig of spring onion. The flavour profile is also different, having been cooked in a cherry sauce. You can see the oven over in the background. I spotted at least 20 ducks hanging inside, cooking! Duck Master Mr. Yuejin Ma was flown in specially from Beijing to cook up a duck feast storm in Waitan's signature brick oven.

Oyster Bar

Veuve champagne served at the bar

I was surprised with the Veuve champagne, which has a definite tang compared to the likes of Dom Perignon and it went down quite easily with the canapes being served.

Spring rolls with satay sauce

The spring rolls were stuffed with plentiful of prawns, and the chefs seemed to have ditched the traditional short spring rolls in favour of ones that are long, streamline and skinny. Much like our jeans in contemporary society these days.

Wagyu beef buns

I really enjoyed these as the wagyu beef was tender, wonderfully smoky, peppery and was lovely with the burst of flavour from the pickle.

Deep-fried quail egg with tofu

Quail eggs are so delicately bite-sized! The broth it was sitting on top of was very subtle yet had a beautiful flavour.

 

And just because all those normal sized champagne bottles weren't enough, they had to crack out the omega sized one! It definitely was amusing watching them struggle with trying to pop the cork :P

I've yet to try out their normal menu, though I am curious to see how they would fare with their food after blowing so much on decking the place out from head to toe. I think it's time you all see what this new and extravagant place is all about, so what are you Waitan for? ;)

Waitan

405 Sussex St

Sydney, NSW, 2000

8218 1000

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday: 6:00pm - 12 midnight

Arisun, Sydney Chinatown

 
After falling in love with Korean Fried Chicken at NaruOne, my friends and I were pretty keen on expanding our Korean Fried Chicken experiences and apparently Arisun is one that is pretty good in Sydney! The bar was already raised very high from my experience at NaruOne.

Wasabi mayo fried chicken, $30.00

First up is the wasabi mayo fried chicken. It came boneless and with a giant vat of wasabi mayo which only had a mild kick of wasabi so don't you worry for those of you who are not wasabi fans. While it wasn't bad in terms of flavour, I found the batter to be slightly soggy and was lacking that crunch factor I was looking for. And I tend to love my chicken on the bone as I find the meat more flavoursome. The kimchi had a nice spicy kick and was pretty good though.

Sun's fried chicken with soy sauce, $30.00

As you can see, we were very keen on eating fried chicken, and ordered two fried chicken dishes. There was a noticeable crunch when bitten into, unlike the previous one, but my preference would have to lie with the chicken with wasabi mayo. I was super glad to see wings within the mix and match pieces of the bird, but there were some grisly bits that were mostly bone and didn't have much meat on them at all - it was pretty much a lot of bone and batter and for $30, you would expect some good pieces of chicken in there. The pickled daikon is something that I could continue eating! I love pickled items :D

Fish cake soup, $15.00

One of my friends has a hankering for fish cake, so this soup was ordered. I was looking forward to something warming on the cold, rainy day it was. There were plenty of fish cake pieces floating around. It was alright, but nothing spectacular. A bit on the salty side.

Overall, my experience at Arisun was quite average. If I do get a craving for fried chicken, NaruOne I'm looking at you! I do have to mention that the staff were pretty friendly here though and we managed to score a normally priced $13.00 bottle of sake for $5.00, so that was a redeeming factor. So let me know, what has been your best experience of fried chicken ever?

Arisun
1 Dixon St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

N2 Extreme Gelato, Chinatown

Is anyone up for EXTREME gelato? What makes it so extreme you ask? Well, the answer to this question, my dear readers, IS THAT THEY USE LIQUID NITROGEN!

Check out the smoking from the liquid nitrogen!

I definitely felt like I walked into a science lab because the worker's all wear lab coats and goggles - I guess that'd be pretty standard because you don't want any freeze burns from working in a gelato store! Pretty sure they don't get occupational hazards considered in their pay ;) But they do get to play with liquid nitrogen! That's a plus, right?

I love the flow chart of flavours as well. Just makes everything seem all the more science-y. Definitely not a word, but I digress.

Seeing the flavour archive made me long for mooncake. MOONCAKE! And so many of them sound so interesting and definitely seem like they are worth trying.

L to R: blueberry chessecake, and salted popcorn, $6.00 each

The gelato was really smooth and creamy and tasted amazing! The winner was definitely the salted popcorn, but that didn't mean the blueberry one wasn't nice because it definitely was. The salted popcorn just won my heart this round with it's subtle buttery flavour and chewy popcorn bits scattered throughout. There was a helluva lot of gelato in those cups and by the end, my sister and I were feeling pretty full (we had coconut froyo right before coming here). Something to note was that it melts much quicker than normal gelato! I think it's got to do with the liquid nitrogen freezing the gelato differently from normal ice cream machines so there you go. Not a big deal.

Bring back the mooncake for the mooncake fanatic that I am to try! I think what I love most about mooncake has to be the duck yolk...

If you guys want to try out liquid nitrogen gelato in Sydney, you now know where to go (:

N2 Extreme Gelato
43/1 Dixon St
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Daily 2:00 - 11:00pm