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

Takumi, Haymarket

The one thing I really do love about sushi trains is how quick and convenient they are. The sister and I stopped by Takumi inside Market City for a quick feed before our shopping spree. The sign that mentioned $2.50 special for students was what lured us in. This discount also applies for those who park inside Market City. For $2.50 per plate, how could we resist? Just flash your student ID and you're good to go!

Chicken cream cheese, $2.50

This was a pretty solid start to our sushi extravaganza. The sweet chilli sauce was a surprise but one that we didn't mind.

Grilled salmon, $2.50

 Mm, there really isn't anything that could go wrong with grilled salmon, a sweet teriyaki sauce and mayo.

Grilled scallop, $2.50

Like salmon, grilled scallop is hard to fault. Unless it is overcooked but that wasn't the case here. The scallops were still soft and silky and absolutely delicious.

Takoyaki, $2.50

I have a penchant to order these deep-fried octopus goodies! Yum as always. And you get a serving of four for just $2.50. Is that good value or what?

Chicken kushiage, $2.50

While these were enjoyable to eat with their crisp crumb coating, the chicken was just a tad dry (probably because of the small size of these chicken pieces) and I couldn't help comparing them to the chicken karaage we ordered at Sushi Hotaru, which were double the size at only $3.00 for the plate.

Salmon tobikko, $2.50

Loved the texture of this - silky salmon, creamy cheese, the slight bite from the rice and the salty burst from the roe. I did notice however that the salmon on both these were cut unevenly with one piece being significantly thicker than the other which you don't get from skilled sushi chefs who have trained in mastering the technique of cutting raw fish. I however, cannot do much better and it's not a big deal for me as the salmon tastes the same however thick it's cut :)

Prawn fry, $2.50

Yay for deep-fried prawns! The rice wasn't packed together very tightly so it fell apart as soon as I picked it up with my chopsticks which makes it harder to eat... What was very different was the tartare sauce on top - I've never had tartare sauce served with prawn tempura at Japanese restaurants.

Crab cheese, $2.50

My sister and I both thought there is nothing that could ever go THAT wrong with sushi. This one dish proved us wrong. Alarms should've run when I saw them take this out from the griller. It wasn't cream cheese they used but cheddar. The crab stick also became extremely fishy and rubbery from being cooked in that particular manner. The flavour combination didn't sit too well with us both and it wasn't very pleasant to eat at all.

Other than the crab and cheese sushi, my sister and I had a pleasant enough experience at Takumi. The staff were friendly however their English was very limited so there were a few communication mishaps at times. Though if I were to choose a cheap sushi train to dine at, Sushi Hotaru would be my pick. Serving sizes are more substantial and both the quality and execution is better. Takumi isn't bad, but I would avoid the crab cheese sushi at all costs!

Takumi
9 -13 Quay Street, Level 3 Market City
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Open daily 11:30am - 9:30pm

Kura Kura Japanese Casual Dining, Haymarket

Today was a fail day. I was meeting the boy after a long day at work for a dinner catch up. I already had my mind set to having goat curry. GOAT CURRY PEOPLE. I really wanted to try goat. But after the long trek to Surry Hills, Queenies was closed. WHY, OH WHY? And after such a long, arduous walk in my work heels uphill! So began the circling around the Surry Hills area for some dinner. Why is everything closed on Sundays? I'll admit, we did walk around in circles for a bit. Ok, MASSIVE CIRCLES, because we ended up right back in the city where I worked! Only it was over an hour later from when I actually finished work... We had a pointless trip and my feet hurt like crazy nonetheless from standing up at work since 9am that morning. A quick decision led us to Kura Kura, a little Japanese joint on the corner of two small streets in Haymarket.

Kura itself began as a tiny little shop with only a couple of tables and bar stools. Too bad the seats were basically all taken there so we ventured next door where you go up the stairs to the dining area which has many more seats and tables.

Okonomiyaki, $6.50

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake that is normally grilled. This particular version consisted primarily of cabbage with a few bits of spring onion scattered throughout. It is topped with generous lashings of Japanese mayo and a teriyaki-style sauce, chopped spring onion, pickled ginger, and who could forget the bonito flakes that move? The outside gave a wonderful satisfying crunch before breaking into the soft cabbage innards which was not bland at all. This type of comfort food was exactly what was needed to forget the gusts of wind outside.

Gyoza, $5.90 for 5 pieces

I ordered this because I was curious as to how it would fare against the Chinese dumpling counterparts. These ones were okay with their pork and cabbage insides but pan-fried dumplings win hands down.

Deluxe udon, $12.90

Pretty solid udon noodle soup. Prawn tempura, chicken, egg, seaweed and chewy udon noodles all in a soy-based soup. Pretty hard to go wrong. Shame the tempura got a tad soggy from the soup! But this is expected.

This joint is pretty awesome if you're up for some good Jap!

We ended the night at ZenQ with some coconut sago with the added chewy goodness of their Q-balls and pearls! Delicious.

Kura Kura Japanese Casual Dining
Shop 3, 76 Ultimo Rd
Sydney, NSW, 2000
9212 5661

Opening Hours
Monday - Thursday: 10:30am - 11:30pm
Friday, Saturday: 10:30am - 12:00am
Sunday: 10:30am - 10:30pm

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

the avengers

Before our reunion meet up to watch The Avengers, my boyfriend and I ate a quick dinner at Poporo in Market City.

Hotate Kinoko Spaghetti 1/2, $6.10

This pasta was cooked surprisingly well and worked quite well with the light creamy sauce. The mushrooms were fresh and tasty. Only complaint would be that the scallops were way too small and there really wasn't much of them at all.

Tonkatsu Doria 1/2, $7.60

This came out piping hot and was very tasty indeed with a thick cheesy sauce on top of tomato rice with a pork cutlet covered in a gooey, melted, stringy cheese. The hot cheese sauce did burn me as I was very keen to try this! Very heavy but oh so deliciously sinful.

This movie was as good as I thought it was going to be if not even better! I loved the characters - they were all hilarious especially Tony Stark (ah how I love Robert Downey Jr.). It was definitely nice to see everyone again even if it was for a short while.