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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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
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