Ramen and more at Cool Mac Cafe, Kirribilli

I must've been Nihonjin in my past life as I feel so attached to the Japanese culture and food especially ramen! There hasn't been much movement in the Sydney ramen scene in a while. But in the last month, more ramen spots started popping up. Cool Mac Cafe in Kirribilli is one of those places.

That's right folks, this Japanese-inspired cafe is offering ramen almost on a weekly basis as part of a secret menu. I found out about their ramen offerings via Dachshund Cafe's chef, Shota Taguchi. My ramen-loving homie RockaHenry and I decided to check the joint Cool Mac. The space is very reminiscent of rustic bistro cafes in Japan. The coffee is sourced from Campos and the menu has a mixture of contemporary Aussie cafe fare and Japanised-Western dishes.

Their house blend is from Campos so expect for bold and sweet chocolate notes through your flat white ($3.80) or latte. They also have single origin coffee available if you prefer a short or long black ($3.80).

Cool Mac's owner Eugene and Head Chef Jun are fans of Gumshara plus Jun-san is originally from Kumamoto, Kyushu (the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen). So it's the obvious thing to go with a kotteri tonkotsu ramen ($16) for their ramen special

Their ramen ticks all the boxes for a great bowl of kotteri tonkotsu ramen: smooth thick gravy-like pork bone broth with a good shoyu tare for a robust depth and umami, a nice amount of negi and chewy braised shio menma for a dash of sweetness, thick tender juicy chashu, perfectly flavoured ajitama with custardy yolk, nori and chewy curly noodles. It was great and we crushed it!

Then there's their "katsu chemist" roll ($15) with panko crumbed super juicy fried chicken, lettuce, tomato, tonkatsu sauce and house tartare in a soft milk bun. This was amazing! One of the best fried chicken rolls/sandwiches around.

The Taco San is their take on the Okinawa dish Taco Rice. Rice topped with melted cheese, chilli minced beef, avocado, tomato, egg, aioli and chilli sauce. Squeeze some lime juice, mix and you get an awesome bowl of taco flavoured goodness.

Follow Cool Mac on Facebook and Instagram for more updates on their next ramen special dates!

Cool Mac Cafe

Shop 2, 34 Burton St

Kirribilli NSW

Hours:

Mon to Fri 6am to 3.30pm

Sat & Sun 7am to 4pm