Gogyo Ramen Sydney, Surry Hills

I had many memorable bowls of ramen in Japan. The first to make an impact on my palate has gotta be Gogyo’s Kyoto ramen shop. I heard the same statement from many other Aussies that’s visited that shop in the last few years. Their signature Kogashi (burnt) shoyu and miso ramen has so much umami and smokiness that you are sure to leave their shop amazed.

Then December 2017 came and the Ippudo group has graced Sydney with Gogyo Ramen’s presence in our great city. The ex-Salaryman spot was taken over by Gogyo. Some of the fittings were kept but the shop was transformed to a moody chic Scandanavian fused with a posh modern Japanese wine house looking space. If you sit by the counter, you can watch the chefs char, caramelised or burn (whatever you want to call it) the miso or soy tare that’s used in their Kogashi ramen.

The gyozas ($14) here would pair nicely with your ramen. It had nice caramelised crusts and the filling was flavoursome.

You can also get a sweet and umami packed nasu dengaku ($12.50). The chunks of eggplant were crisped to caramelised perfection on the outside and super tender on the inside.

Kogashi sorcery

The Kogashi miso ramen ($18) is my favourite at the Kyoto shop and is also my favourite here. I feel like the miso carries the sweet smoky profile better and bursts with more intense umami in the chicken broth. My only criticism is that the broth could be heavier and more dense just like the Kyoto shop’s version and the egg yolk in the half umami egg (or ajitama) could be a tad more runny. Having said that, the broth still has amazing flavours and the chashu is still delicious and tender. The thin katame low hydration noodles here handles the heavy broth extremely well. Love the bite on their katame noodles. You also get toppings like nori, cabbage and naruto (fish cake).

The Kogashi shoyu ramen ($18) on the other hand is a little more light on the palate with nutty notes in the broth but still packs umami. Thin katame (al dente) noodles is also used and topped with half umami egg, cabbage, naruto and nori.

I didn’t know what to expect with their tonkotsu ramen ($17) as it’s normally not a Gogyo specialty. But damn I was caught by surprise as it was damn good! The pork broth was not too heavy but was flavoursome enough with a good balance of fat in the form of pulps of seabura (pork back fat) that slowly disintegrated on the broth. To be honest, I prefer this over their parent company’s (Ippudo) tonkotsu ramen. It had thin katame noodles, a super buttery and tasty chashu, menma, naruto, cabbage and negi. I especially loved the caramelised edges of the chashu.

I’m just glad that we have a piece of Japan in Sydney like no other. This is a must try when you’re in the area.

Gogyo Surry Hills
52-54 Albion Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Opening Hours:
7 Days
11:30am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm to 9:00pm