Sunday, July 14, 2013

Hakata-Maru Ramen, Haymarket




Regardless of the season or weather, ramen is an amazing bowl of wonders. The winter season heightens the comfort it brings to my body and mind. The ramen fever that has hit Sydney’s Chinatown in the recent week has brought nothing but joy to this ramen-loving heart of mine. A few days after a ramen place opened in Sussex Centre, one more has launched in Market City. But this time, it’s a Hakata style ramen place that goes by the name of Hakata-Maru.


Hakata-Maru Ramen shopfront


 Hakata-Maru Ramen in Market City is one of many shops that the Japan based Toridoll company has opened globally (owns approx. 800 shops in Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, America and Russia). Hakata style ramen uses noodles that are thinner compared to other ramen noodles. The soup base used for Hakata style ramen is tonkotsu (pork bone) broth. Hakata-Maru is situated inside Market City’s food court and features a look that partly resembles an old school ramen shop entrance.
 
Cha shu ramen
The first of two ramens I tried is the cha shu ramen ($10.80). It uses white tonkotsu broth (basic tonkotsu broth), which has a light milky pork taste but with more cha shu (roast pork slices). The pieces of cha shu are tasty and tender. It's not as collagen loaded as most tonkotsu broths but it has enough richness and flavour to satisfy a tonkotsu ramen lover's palate. The noodles are cooked Al dente. The soft-boiled eggs are also cooked perfectly that the yolks are still a little bit runny.
 
Blank tonkotsu ramen

The black tonkotsu ($8.80) was my favourite of the two. The darker shade of the broth comes from the dark garlic oil that the tonkotsu broth is topped with. The garlic oil and garlic flakes give the broth a deeper flavour and more pronounced pork/garlic character compared to a basic tonkotsu soup.
 
Karaage wings
The karaage wings (ordered as a set with white tonkotsu ramen for a total of $9.80) are their take on a classic Japanese fried chicken dish. The succulent chicken wings have a thin crispy batter and is flavoured with a spice blend. It’s an absolute deep fried delight!
 
Gyozas
The gyozas (ordered as a set with white tonkotsu ramen for a total of $9.80) have the usual delicate caramelised crisped bottom and the dough skin perfectly cooked. The filling has well balanced flavours of pork, ginger, garlic, green onion and soy.

The servings are smaller compared to most ramen places that I have visited but it is still very satisfying. Hakata-Maru Ramen delivers both quality and value for money. Kaedama (extra bowl of noodles) is also available for an extra $1.

Hakata-Maru Ramen
Shop 3 Level 3 Market City
9-13 Hay Street, Sydney, Australia 2000
Tel: (02) 9281 6648
Trading hours: Monday to Sunday 11:00 am - 7:30 pm
Facebook page: Like them here
Hakata-Maru Ramen on Urbanspoon

17 comments:

  1. I am so THERE! I love the sound of the black tonkotsu and THOSE karaage chicken wings! I am such a sucker for chicken wings.

    Let me know if you ever want to go back for lunch. Thanks for uncovering this Ramen joint my go to Ramen man!

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  2. heading there this week. looking forward to trying the ramen especially the black tonkotsu ramen

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  3. so how did you find out about this place ;-). sounds promising. looking forward to trying the white, red and black ramen to compare and i always love a good crispy chicken wing.

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  4. ooh nice :) another ramen place to check out

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  5. Your Ramen Radar must be in overdrive this month! Looks great - the black garlic broth looks wonderful...I've decided this is my favourite type of broth, with garlic.

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  6. Oooh Raff - I think you, me and Coffs need to have another luncheon soon! That black tonkatsu is calling my name!

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  7. Love the latest spate of ramen houses opening up in Sydney! The black ramen looks great and helloooooo karaage!

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  8. Raff, you really have a way of uncovering all the great ramen spots in Sydney! Thanks for the great write-up. Will need to check this place out soon

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  9. wah there are SO MANY ramen spots in Sydney! will have to check this out when i head back! thanks for the review raff :)

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  10. love the abundance of new ramen joints to try in Sydney!

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  11. mmm~~ delicious black tonkatsu ramen! :D
    You got a nice heap of it too! XD

    - Cassie @ Next stop: Food

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  12. So what's the verdict mate on this ramen?

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  13. ramen is sure hitting sydney all over! i think you might become a ramen chef in your next life hehehe

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  14. Looks delicious! My mouth's watering!

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  15. Yes; finally a ramen place in the Haymarket foodcourt. Loving Sydney!

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  16. Love the ramen here. The chicken wings look pretty good too. Yum!

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Let me know what ya think, aight! Would love to hear from ya.