Bush Sydney, Redfern

You know that feeling of joy from finally experiencing something that you’ve been wanting for so long? That happened to me recently at the new Bush Sydney. I’ve been following them on instagram for a long time hoping to go to one of their burger pop-ups. 

Thankfully, Grant and team Bush have recently opened their very own shop on George Street in Redfern. The space has an Aussie outback/bush themed vibe with a mixture of communal tables, a counter seating and some tables for 2. There’s also a courtyard at the back. They have a minimal menu that consists of some great feeds.

It’s a big call but in my honest opinion, they make the best cheeseburger ($12) in Sydney. It consists of a perfect smash beef patty, American cheese, a house special creamy savoury sauce, onions and pickles in a soft milk bun. That’s my ideal cheeseburger! Their patty reminds me of Shake Shack’s patty. It had an umami packed caramelised crust and a fatty juicy coarse mince. You can also ask to add another patty for an extra $2. The crinkled chips is $6.

They also do classic curry kangaroo pies for $6. This is an oldie but a damn goodie!

Another nostalgic option on the menu is the fairy bread and butter with ice cream ($10). A simple buttery soft dessert but so damn delicious.

Bush is a great example of perfection in simplicity. Nothing pretentious but just full of good vibes, excellent service and super delicious food.

Bush Sydney

55 George St

Redfern NSW

Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday 12pm to 10pm

Ramen Zundo Sapporo - Chatswood

When asked where my favourite tsukemen is in Sydney, I direct people to check out Ramen Zundo in World Square. The gyokai tsukemen there is absolutely amazing. 

Hiroki-san

Touch pad ordering system

Lychees with yuzu and mango with yuzu smoothies

The head chef and owner Mr. Hiroki Nagao has opened a new and bigger shop not long ago in the form of Ramen Zundo Sapporo. It’s located on the second floor of Chatswood Place. This shop specialises in Sapporo style ramen.

What makes Sapporo style ramen different from most ramen is the method of assembly. Most ramen bowls are prepared in layers starting with the tare, fat, followed by the broth, then the noodles and finished with laying the toppings. Sapporo ramen mostly uses miso tare. The tare, most toppings (minus the egg & chashu) and broth are all combined in a fiery wok to elevate the umami. Then the contents of the wok are all poured on to the bowl of noodles. 

For first timers, I suggest trying the Deluxe Sapporo ramen ($17.50). The broth is a blend of chicken, pork and konbu seasoned with miso tare.  The broth is quite cloudy and had medium level of umami. The noodles used for all their Sapporo ramen are imported from Sapporo. Due to the minerals in Sapporo’s filtered snow water, the noodles have more bite and are quite springy. It’s topped with wok fried veggies with pork, ajitamago, menma, nori, negi and a fatty tender chashu.

There’s also vegetarian options on the menu! The vegetarian shoyu ramen ($16.50) is interesting. For a konbu based broth and shoyu, the broth had a lot of umami. The shoyu tare in particular had a very deep bold flavour. It uses the same noodles and the toppings included fried tofu, renkon (fried lotus root), radish, stir fried veggies, menma and nori.

Delicious snacks like karaage chicken and gyozas are also available.

Great news! They have a promotion coming up fam! From the 17th of July 2019 to the 21st of July 2019, all Sapporo ramen on the menu will all be $10 only! 

Ramen Raff was invited as a guest of Ramen Zundo Sapporo.

Ramen Zundo Sapporo 

260 Victoria Street

Chatswood NSW

Hours:

Open 7 days

Lunch 11:30pm to 3pm

Dinner 4:30pm to 9:00pm (Thurs, Fri & Sat), :4:30pm to 8:00pm (Mon to Wed, Sun)

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ramenzundosapporo

Chaco Bar - Darlinghurst, Sydney

Chaco Bar is Sydney’s pride when it comes to ramen and yakitori. Keita Abe (owner and executive chef) and the rest of team Chaco has impressed Sydney-siders since opening in 2014 with their Fukuoka-style yakitori and modern take on ramen. They have recently announced that the yakitori side of Chaco will be moved at a new location on Victoria Street in Potts Point sometime in October 2019. 

The current Chaco site will still be around but will be become Chaco Ramen where they will be serving ramen for most likely 6 days a week (good news for ramen geeks like me).

Fat soy ramen (available during ramen service hours)

Here’s what we recently had at our last visit to Chaco:

Sashimi is normally available and we had some beautiful Kingfish. The fish had a clean taste, firm texture and accompanied by a ponzu-like sauce.

The gyozas ($18 for 6 pieces) here are plump and the pork filling is so damn flavoursome. It also has that perfect crisped caramelised bottoms.

There’s a good range of yakitori dishes on the menu (ranging from $3-$7 each). This includes spicy lamb, chicken thigh, chicken tail, gristle, chicken gizzard and even pork belly. All skewered meats are laced and grilled with umami rich tare (seasoning marinade). You’ll find nothing but smoky and deep flavoured meats with an array of flavours. I particularly love the fatty chicken tail and crunchy gristle.

Chaco Bar does Fukuoka style yakitori, which means they offer more than just skewered meats. They also have sharing plates and I recommend looking at their “specials” board. We tried 3 dishes from the Special menu:

The uni wagyu ($29) had thinly buttery slices of +9 grade Wagyu. There were also bursts of umami from the creamy uni (sea urchin gonads), parmesan cheese and lovely WA truffles. The serving of egg yolk added a nice extra texture to the whole dish.

The baby corn dish ($13) with Chaco butter was also amazing! The corn was so smoky and the butter sauce with squid ink added extra umami and sweetness.

The highlight for me was the M9 Wagyu steak with shiitake mushroom, housemade mustard and bone marrow ($32). The beautiful marbled Wagyu steak slices was amazingly tender, nicely seasoned and accompanied with a beautiful tare. I also loved the buttery marrow.

Chaco bar never ceases to amaze me with every visit. It is everything from the moody Japanese style tavern interior, the excellent service and the amazing food on offer. It’s an authentic piece of Japan in the heart of Sydney.

  

Chaco Bar

238 Crown Street 

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

(02) 9007 8352

Hours:

Yakitori

Tue-Sat 5:30-10:00pm

Ramen

Mon 5:30-9:00pm

Wed-Sat 11:30-2:30pm

Sun 11:30-2:30pm 5:00-8:30pm