Yoshimaru Ramen Bar - Holland Village

Fresh from Hakata, Kyushu.
Serves the "Hakata Ramen" which is distinctively ultra thin, not dissimilar to Marutama Ramen.

Tan Tan Mian & Tan Tan Tsuke Mian
can someone explain to me why they would have two version of tan tan men? all i can think of is that tsuke men is there for the more fickle person.. hahahha
noodle is pretty good, springy and has a bite to it. the broth is excruciatingly salty, but more manageable in the tsuke men version. soft boiled eggs were perfect!

Rating: 6/10 0/10
note: we got mild case of food poisoning from it... ew..

Ichiban Boshi - The Galleries Victoria, Sydney

Salmon Roll

-> In Japan, a ramen restaurant is a one-person-one-dish type of restaurant. At least that's what I've noticed anyway. You're supposed to come in, state which type of ramen you want, be served a glass of water, eat your ramen, pay up and leave. That's how the Japanese do it anyway. However, outside Japan, there are plenty of side dishes to accompany your ramen. This is because ramen is considered an exotic food outside Japan, and therefore a ramen restaurant should offer a complete dining experience. Ergo, there's a need for lots of embelishments such as variety of side dishes, drinks, non-ramen items, etc - more so than in Japan. In Japan, it is very unusual for a ramen restaurant to serve sushi. Well, that's what so great (or not, depends on what kind of person are you) about ramen restaurants outside Japan. In Jakarta, Indonesia for example - they even serve 'Japanese' spring rolls and 'Japanese' triple choc brownies in one of the ramen restaurants I've been to.

Even though I'm not Japanese, I always feel that ramen restaurants are supposed to be one of those quick eat-and-go kind of place. To me, eating ramen in a place full of waiters in a proper restaurant-type seating & tables are just a tad weird. It's like, a kebab shop - surely it would be weird to find somewhere out there in another country, kebab is served in a proper restaurant with proper ambience and lots of waiters on tableclothed tables. You know what I mean?

Rating: 6.5/10

Hiyashi chuuka

-> Some people in the know would be able to tell straight away that I've been putting off posting this entry for awhile now just by looking at this food. Yup, this is one of the two absolute BEST summer dishs out there (the other one being cold somen). Not the best one I've tasted (and I've tasted quite a fair share of hiyashi chuuka around the globe), but considering that there aren't many places in Sydney that serve this thing, it's quite a pleasant experience.

Rating: 7/10

Melon soda float

-> I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm a total artificial fruit drink freak. The faker it taste, the better. I hate real juice. Well, I actually don't hate real juice, but I just hate things that even has the slightest bit of acidity to it (i.e. sour). Fake fruit flavorings are usually either 'trying to be real' or 'trying to be fake'. In the West, fake fruit flavorings are desperately trying to be real. That's why even those arificial fruit drinks, jellos, etc you find on your local supermarkets STILL taste sour-ish, because let's face it, most real fruits are sour and Western food scientists always strive to create artificial flavors that are closest to the originals.

In the East, however, artificial fruit flavorings are always 'trying to be fake' - e.g., things like mango lollies do NOT taste anything like real mangoes - but somehow, through some pre-installed information somewhere in our brain, we know that that flavor IS supposed to represent mango. Odd, isn't it.

For me, living in Australia is rather frustrating in the sense that even artificial fruit flavors are trying so hard to taste as close to the real thing as possible. I know, you're thinking "what kind of logic is that??" - but in my opinion, if I want to eat something that taste like real mango, or real melon, I would get some real mangoes and melons and eat them. When I see "mango cream biscuits" or "mango soda", I'm expecting something that taste ARTIFICIAL. I don't know - maybe it's an Asian thing. I grew up eating Japanese & Asian candies, lollies, confectionary, cordials etc that taste particularly artificial - that's why I crave those flavors every now and then.

Also, I think artificial fruit flavors that are trying to be real are just plain pretentious.

Rating: 7/10

Chashu ramen

-> Definitely a must-order. This is pretty authentic-tasting. The soup is infused with all kinds of Cantonese delights. A true representation of Chinese-style Japanese dish. I like this with loads of menma (bamboo shoots) added to it.

Rating: 8.5/10

Ajisen Ramen - World Square, Sydney

I'm officially running out of places to have a quick, hassle-free, cheap Japanese lunch in the city. At times like this, I wonder why don't I live in places like Hong Kong instead - where you can find even the most appaling examples of Japanese food (wafu beef stroganoff at Tsim Sha Tsui, anyone?). Even in a city as cosmopolitan as Sydney which is blessed with diverse and abundant culinary choices, VERY demanding people such as myself often wonder, "where can I find a good taraba crab rice doria a walking distance away from Pitt Street mall?"

That said, I took a surprisingly un-me step one day and decided to eat at Ajisen Ramen. You know, that ubiquitous, seemingly-mediocre Japanese ramen chain. It seems that you can't escape Ajisen anywhere you go - It's practically the first restaurant you see when you stepped out of the customs area in Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok, it's in every major shopping mall in Singapore, it's crowded with schoolkids in Jakarta, and a couple of years ago it opened its door in our very own Sydney.

In fact - I'm so sick of looking at that min-min (or min-may or any quintessentially-Chinese name according to the Japanese) mascot I want to literally scald her face with hot ramen broth (okay, that might be too cruel). Not to mention that the said mascot's image has been identified with any product that has anything to do with noodles - so in China, the image has been unlawfully used on lots and lots of noodle products. It's like, slap that mascot's image on a product and you know that it's a noodle.

Chicken Katsu Ramen

-> Too heavy on the oil. The tonkotsu soup is essentially made up of FAT, so I see no reason why they should add extra layer of oil by drenching that freshly deep-fried chicken cutlet on it. So in conclusion, this ramen is BAD for your heart. And your figure. Which means that it's delicious.

Rating: 7/10

Beef Teriyaki Set

-> Another surprisingly good dish. No wonder Ajisen is very popular worldwide - their food is actually not THAT bad. I actually define this dish as "good but I won't be craving it anytime soon"-type of dish.

Rating: 6.5/10

Ton Ton - Regent Place, Sydney

Spicy chicken donburi

-> One word: SALTY! I have no idea if the chef accidentaly spilled salt onto this dish, but it's wayy to salty for me. This dish would be very good otherwise.

Rating: 5/10

Salmon mayonnaise onigiri

-> A perfect onigiri. Absolutely flawless. Nice texture, balance of flavor, blah blah blah. Definitely one of the best I've ever had.

Rating: 10/10

Gekikara ramen

-> Errr....weird. The soup is tonkotsu-ish, and it's bombarded with different kinds of chili, including a heavy dusting of togarashi on top. The leek is shaved too coarsely, so it's kind of hard to digest.

Rating: 6/10

Note:

This brainchild of the fabulous Azuma group of restaurants already received some oohs and ahhs from local foodies, but I find it a little dissapointing. While Azuma is an excellent restaurant, this second-line eatery of theirs is mediocre at best when compared to other ramen places in Sydney (based on what I had).

I really love Azuma, so I'll give them a benefit of the doubt and try some of their other dishes some other time.

Wagaya - Haymarket, Sydney

A few days ago, I realized that I was probably the only Asian in Sydney that have never been to Wagaya before. Well, I've BEEN there five times, but I never got to actually DINE there. For you hikikomori-s (shut-ins) out there, Wagaya is that immensely popular, always packed, uber hi-tech (in Sydney's standard anyway) izakaya in Chinatown that opened their doors for business in the beginning of this year. Cla has been there before, and on her post, she mentioned that one should get a reservation when one wishes to dine there - even on weekdays - but silly me, I decided to ignore her tip. Five times.


Well, they say sixth time is a charm, so on the sixth occasion that I visited Wagaya, I actually get to eat there, too. It sure helped to book a table in advance (I don't believe in luck. In my life, I've never been significantly lucky).

It was a full house, with superfluous amount of people waiting to get a table. After smirking smugly at those poor, hungry and hopeful potential diners *suckerss*, my companions and I proceeded to our table. Well, I'm sure all of you dear readers have heard about their fabled automated ordering system using touch-screen computers (if not, refer to Cla's Wagaya post). Press a picture of a sushi boat, and the said item will be delivered to you in no time. Press a picture of a glass of water, and a nice, smiling waitress would be ready in front of you holding a pitcher of iced water in a matter of seconds. You get the drill.

It's all fun and novel, and apart from the fact that one of my companions kept on talking and talking about the OS (Operating System) behind their automated touch-screen device *yawn*, I'd say that my dining experience was moderately pleasant. Pleasant, but a little bit impersonal. I don't know...I mean, call me an old grampy, but it's as if I was dining in a restaurant operated by robots. I'm all for technology (in fact, that's my line of business), but I much prefer a human being taking my orders, thank you very much.

Chicken Karaage

-> Standard. Predictable. But not bad. In fact, I often order chicken karaage in a restaurant I've never been to before because I know there's little chance a restaurant can screw up a karaage. You know, in case the other dishes are bad, at least there's a standard-tasting karaage.

Rating: 6.5/10

Sukiyaki

-> Err...hit-and-miss. The beef is good, but somehow the rest of the ingredients fail to 'cohere' with each other. In nabe (skillet) dishes, it is important that different ingredients are used, but there must be some sort of 'cohesion' between them. I especially object to the over-mushy tofu and the fact that they add carrots and bean sprouts to the dish - which IMO do not cohere with the rest of the ingredients. It is also worth noting that carrots and bean sprouts are almost never used in cooking a traditional sukiyaki.

Rating: 6/10

Ox Tongue Nikomi

-> A nice, innovative dish. Tender, melt-in-your-mouth ox tongues combined with a pleasant medley of curry-tomato-ish sauce, topped with grated parmesan. No wonder they recommend this dish.

Rating: 7.5/10

Chicken Nanban

-> Not the best I've tasted in Sydney (that distinction belongs to Azuma's and Takeru's delicious chicken nanban), but okay. I love how the tartar sauce is light airy.

Rating: 7/10

Ishikari Nabe

-> A typical Hokkaido dish. Very nice, especially for me who just LOVE eating 'difficult' portions of a fish. By difficult, I mean fleshy parts of fish that are obscure and requires a skill to actually extract the meat part and eat them. Think fish head curry (love 'em).
Anyway, the soup is delightful. It's kind of like akamiso, but slightly sweeter.

Rating: 7.5/10

Grilled Salmon

-> Nice. From the texture, I can tell that it's slowly grilled in open fire.

Rating: 7.5/10

Tokyo Ramen

-> Slightly below average. Be careful when ordering ramen, especially when you're not in a ramen restaurant.

Rating: 5/10

Turquoise

-> Minty, sprite-y, and turquoisey. Can't complain. (better still if it is spiked, LOL)

Rating: 8/10

*Burrrrrp*

Menya - Haymarket, Sydney

One of the few ramen shops in Sydney that feels extra Japanesey - in the sense that just like many ramen shops in Japan, you order and pay before you're seated. Queues can be horrendous around 7 - 8pm at any day.

Miso katsu bento (chicken)
-> Considering the price, I'd say that this is quite good - but this dish really re-affirms my belief that money really doesn't lie. Can't really compare this to the real deal miso katsu in tonkatsu restaurants, but good enough for a quick meal.

I'd say that this is somewhat like standard ekiben (bento boxes sold in train stations in Japan) miso katsu quality. Not that good, but can't really complain.

Rating: 6/10

Menya ramen
-> Tonkotsu based and chashu with a twist. Instead of rich, pork-y aroma, this one is really leaning towards egg-y. Overall taste is so-so, and sometimes, it even tastes like very thick noodle water (i.e. water that is used to boil egg noodles over and over again 'till it's yellow and very cloudy in color). So....I guess...yuck?? LOL not really.

Rating: 5.5/10

Menya Gyoza
-> It's fine, except for the fact that they put SRIRACHA sauce on the top of the negi...AAARGH I hate sriracha!!! The idea may be novel for Japanese tongues, but for a Southeast-Asian, this really cheapen the food into an abysmal level. I mean, if I want Sriracha, I'd go to some street boiled clam stalls in Bangkok!

BTW, normal people would just discard the Sriracha sauce if they don't like it, but in this case, it sits on the top of my negi...you know how I LOOOVE my negi...

Rating (WITHOUT the stupid Sriracha): 7/10
Rating (WITH the stupid Sriracha): 4/10

Ramen-Kan - Haymarket, Sydney

Cheese Curry Ramen

-> Another addition to the bizarre (yet sometimes tasty) cheese curry series.

Long time ago, during the westernization of the Japanese society in the Meiji era, the Japanese are very keen on mixing western ingredients to local Japanese food. During the 80s, when I was little, the notion of mixing mayonnaise and tare (Japanese sweet sauces) seems awfully weird to me, and I had no idea when did the Japanese started creating bizarre dishes that involves mixing up Japanese food with mayonnaise. Back then, I thought that Japanese people are weird people that mixes mayonnaise with everything (sesame dressing, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, ebi fry, you name them).

To my knowledge, the Japanese has been obsessed with mayonnaise ever since Kewpie produced bottled mayonnaise in the 1920s. Ever since, they put mayonnaise in literally every savory dishes. There's even a term in Japan that describes a mayonnaise lover: "Mayoler"

In fact, if I am to sum up the taste of a typical, everyday Japanese dish in a few words, I'd say: "Tastes like Shoyu, Dashi, Mirin, and Mayonnaise".

Anyway, enough about mayonnaise - let's talk curry.
Continuing the bizarre "Cheese Curry" series (tonkatsu cheese curry, karaage cheese curry, etc), I give you - the Cheese Curry Ramen.
Akin to mayonnaise, the Japanese seems to put cheese in everything. And I mean, everything. If the Indonesians add eggs to "pimp up" some dishes (congee, noodles, fried rice, etc), the Japanese would add cheese (and mayo, of course). It's somewhat risky, I guess - it depends on what type of cheese you add to the Japanese curry.

I guess the idea of adding dairy products to curries isn't that bizarre after all - the Indians add lots of yogurt to their curries since, forever. However, coming from Southeast Asia, where the notion of mixing dairy products (a "white men food" in local colloquialism) and local food seems like a taboo, the cheese curry ramen is quite a hard concept to fathom.

Don't get me wrong - I loved the cheese curry ramen. However, savoring this particular dish is a rather peculiar adventure - the tongue agrees but the mind boggles.

Rating: 7.5/10

Ebi Chilli Ramen

-> The soup is thick and rich, it almost seems gelatin-ish. Kind of reminds me of a thicker version of Singaporean Hor Fun or Indonesian-Chinese Kwetiau Siram. This item is part of Ramen Kan's winter menu - and it really is suitable for the wintry season. It's piping hot, thick, substantial, and fulfilling. The ebi chili (chili prawns) is quite sumptuous - crunchy, juicy and spicy. The addition of shaved spring onion julienne and bean sprouts complements the whole medley in a right tone. On top of it, a dash of Raayu (Japanese spicy oil) really ties up everything nicely.

Rating: 7.5/10

Note: Service in this restaurant is horrible. Some of the rudest Japanese waitresses I've ever encountered. Had to ask 3 times for water even though the restaurant was not at all busy.
The cashier is nice, though.

Ichiban Boshi - Sydney

3 pm late lunch.
Did that on purpose - always eat outside usual dining times (12.00 - 2.00pm, 18.00-20.00pm), otherwise, you might have to wait for 30 minutes for a table on this ever-so-popular ramen joint. They should move to a larger place now that they've enjoyed years of good business.

This place is immensely popular among the wapanese ('wanabe Japanese'. Wiki it if you're unfamiliar with this term), because it's conveniently located adjacent to ever-so-popular (and the ONLY good) bookstore in Sydney, Kinokuniya. So, after stocking up on some manga and anime magazines, they can drop by Ichiban Boshi to slurp some Miso Ramen and pretend that they're in Dotonbori (street) in Osaka. How sad.

Tantan-men

-> Something that I'm currently addicted to. Be it the (original) Sichuan Chinese dan dan mian, or the Japanese version, as long as it's spicy, sesame-y, and topped with sumptuous minced pork, I'm all for it. Toppings on this particular ramen include: hourensou (Japanese spinach), moyashi (bean sprout), negi (spring onions), naga-negi (leek), and the delightful hanjuku ni-tamago (half-boiled egg).
This Tantan-men from Ichiban Boshi is by far, the best I've tasted in Sydney. The soup is rich, spicy (real spiciness, although nowhere as spicy as the real Sichuan stuff), and the minced pork is just spectacular. Even better still if you add extra naga-negi (I love naga-negi).

Rating: 9/10

On Ramen - Haymarket, Sydney

A very nice new tiny ramen shop in Haymarket.
To be more exact, it's near capitol square - at the same block as Cyril's fine food. It's the place that used to be that Taiwanese crepe restaurant.

I love this place. And if my tastebuds are competent enough to judge, I think sooner or later the wapanese (wannabe Japanese) crowds that flock Ichiban Boshi Ramen at Galleries Victoria (making it impossible to get a table for lunch without queuing for hours) will soon move to this place, if they care to try some other ramen restaurants for a change.

It's ethnic Japanese owned-and-operated, but their place is seriously small, though. For cities like Tokyo, it's completely understandable, but for Sydney, I think the small space might be rather off-putting for some Sydneysiders. There's also a reason to rejoice in this place, because they are also one of the very few Japanese restaurants in Sydney that serve free water in full-sized tall glasses, not those painfully annoying diminutive trying-to-be-cute-or-plain-stingy SHOT GLASSES that made you embarrassed because you have to keep on asking for refills. Bah!

Tonkotsu Ramen

-> Good balance, good texture, tasty, and the toppings are generous, just the way I like it. They're really generous with the negi and menma, my favorite topping. The tea-egg is also delightful, with the fragrance of shoyu delectably infused. Mmm...

Chicken Katsu

-> Mouthwatering. It's really delicious and unique. They serve this thin and crispy katsu with two sauces, one is a unique mixture of what seemed to be light tonkatsu and lemon sauce, and the other is mayonnaise. Quite deliciously different from normal katsu.

Green Salad

-> Again, served with two sauces. A ponzu-like tangy dressing on the base, and mayonnaise on the top. Very nice.