O-San Ramen, Haymarket

Thanks Ms Spoon, Forks and Chopsticks for hand modelling this noodle-lift shot

It sounds cliché but I love ramen so much that I go bananas over them! Soon as I heard that there was a new ramen playa in town, I made plans to check them out straight away.

 O-San Ramen is the latest kid to hit the block and it's a name that many will line up for. They are hidden within the underground Dixon House Food Court, which is located in the heart of Sydney's Chinatown. They specialise in tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and other meat-based broths such as: tonkotsu with garlic oil, chicken, and a broth blend of pork & chicken. One of the things I've noticed straight away is that for a bargain price of $9.80, you get a medium-sized bowl of basic tonkotsu ramen with four generous slices of cha-shu! Here's what I got up to in my two visits:

Visit number one

On my first visit, I had lunch here with the lovely couple Ms.SpoonForkandChopsticks and Mr@Whatever_Guy.

Tonkotsu ramen

Ms. SpoonForkandChopsticks had the basic tonkotsu ramen ($9.80), which consisted of tonkotsu broth, ramen noodles, four slices of cha-shu, diced spring onions and cloud ear mushrooms.

Tonkotsu ramen with extras (Pork kakuni, nori seaweed, bamboo shoots)

I got the same ramen but with extras (pork belly or kakuni for $1.50, nori seaweed for $1.59, and bamboo shoots for $2.50) or super-sized tonkotsu ramen as Ms. SpoonForkandChopsticks called it. We both agreed that the cha-shu is probably one of the best we've had in Sydney as it was tender like most but very flavoursome. It may have something to do with the caramelisation around the edges of the fat. The pork kakuni was tender as expected with a nice sweet barbecue-ish flavour. The noodles were cooked al-dente. But it was the rich potent pork-flavoured broth that held it all together. The consistency was close to being gravy-like (yes, almost like Gumshara's broth consistency but not quite) that when you lift the noodles you could see some broth hug each strand.  It was love at first sip! The green onion's zingy flavour was good for cutting through the rich broth.

Black garlic tonkotsu ramen

Mr. Whatever_Guy opted for the black garlic tonkotsu ramen ($10.80). It had tonkotsu broth, ramen noodles, slices of chashu, spring onion, bean sprouts and cloud ear mushrooms. He said that the broth wasn't too garlicky and that he liked it.

We were a little bit sad that their egg wasn't available at that time. But nevertheless, we still enjoyed our ramens!

Visit number two:

I returned during dinner time on the same day to try their sumo ramen ($12.80). This time I was lucky to score their Ajitsuke Tamago (Marinated soft boiled egg)! The sumo ramen was larger than their bowl of tonkotsu ramen! It had generous servings of cabbage and bean sprouts, thicker ramen noodles (normally used for tsukemen), two pieces of pork kakuni, diced fresh garlic and pork & chicken blend broth. There was a lot of crunch from the generous amounts of veggies but the broth was the star of this bowl. It was lighter than the tonkotsu broth with more emphasis on the chicken flavour. The fresh garlic didn't make sense at first but it lifted the flavours in the broth and added extra sweetness.

By the way, the Ajitsuke Tamago ($1.50) was perfect! Sweet with soft whites and runny egg yolk!

O-San's ramen game is strong and tight. In my opinion, they definitely belong up there amongst the other big boys of Sydney's ramen scene.

O-San Ramen, Japanese Noodle Bar

Shop B1, Dixon House Food Court

Little Hay Street

Haymarket NSW

Website: http://sendachi.net/o-san/

Opening  hours

Monday: 11:00am - 8:30pm

Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday to Sunday: 11:00am - 8:30pm

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

Smoyö Frozen Yogurt, Haymarket

Now that the warmer season has arrived, most of us tend to indulge with cold treats such as gelatos and ice cream. 

Smoyo

There are those of us who want a lighter and healthier option. I'm talking about the soothing and tasty frozen yogurt. It is flavoured yogurt with the consistency of a soft-serve. There are so many of this joints popping out here and there. But there's a new kid on the block that's hit Sydney with some unique frozen yogurt flavours. The new funky Smoyö has recently opened its frozeon yogurt paradise inside Eating World food court at Chinatown, Sydney.

Smoyö is a frozen yogurt bar with a self-serve toppings station. They have flavoured frozen yogurts that include original, milk tea, green tea, lychee, bubblegum, pomegranate, blueberry, chocolate, mango, and cereal milk. There will be 6 flavours in rotation on any given day.  So, what makes them different from other frozen yogurt places? Well, they are the only frozen yogurt store in Sydney that has milk tea. A coconut pandan flavoured frozen yogurt is also coming soon!

Nerds toppings!!

There are toppings to satisfy everyone’s sweet and fruity cravings. The sweet toppings are: tim tams, oreo, maltesers, cherry ripe, honeycomb, crunchy nut cornflakes, freckles, nerds, 100's & 1000's, Hersheys chocolate syrup, m&ms, crunch, etc. The fruit toppings: pomegranate, watermelon, strawberry, kiwi, rockmelon, mango, etc.

I was lucky enough to be asked by Smoyö to sample some of their awesome frozen yogurt delight. These are what I've tried so far:

Milk tea frozen yogurt

The milk tea flavoured frozen yogurt was my absolute favourite! The best way to describe it is that it tastes exactly like a milk tea drink from places like EasyWay, Gong Cha or Chatime. It goes well with mochi, nerds and strawberry toppings.

Chocolate frozen yogurt

The chocolate flavoured frozen yogurt tastes like chocolate soft-serve. It is the perfect healthier treat for chocolate lovers. This is perfect with toppings like 100's & 1000's, m&ms, maltesers, oreos etc. The crunch topping brings back happy childhood memories!

The original

The original frozen yogurt is perfect with fruit toppings and cornflakes!

You can choose one flavour or all 6 flavours including any toppings you want from the toppings bar. The price depends on the total weight of your yogurt including toppings in a cup. The price is $2.80 per 100 grams.

After a Shiok or Gumshara meal, why not treat yourself to a Smoyö frozen yogurt for dessert! For Smoyö updates, special deals and special flavours, follow them on twitter @smoyofroyo and "like" them on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Smoyofroyo. They currently have a 25% off opening special.

Thanks Smoyö!

Ramen Raff was invited by Smoyö to sample their frozen yogurts.

Smoyö Frozen Yogurt

Shop 219, Eating World

25-59 Dixon Street

Chinatown

Haymarket NSW 2000

www.smoyo.com.au