Ramen Ikkyu, Haymarket

At long last! Chef Haru Inukai (ex-head chef of Blancharu) has finally landed in Chinatown with his ramen bar, Ramen Ikkyu. Many of you have probably read my review of his ramen back when he did ramen lunch specials at Blancharu. Not only is he known for his French and Japanese fusion dishes, but his ramen has been highly praised by the likes of Chef Dan Hong.

Chef Haru Inukai - super excited for Ramen Ikkyu's opening day

Ramen Ikkyu's touch pad ordering system

Ramen Ikkyu is located at the Sussex Centre Food Court, Haymarket. This humble ramen bar aims to produce around 150 bowls of ramen a day.  The ordering system starts with a touch screen pad where one chooses his/her choice of ramen. Then options of extras and sides like black fungus, chashu, egg etc. is also available to add with your order of ramen.

 

Ikkyu (shio) ramen

The Ikkyu (shio) ramen ($10.50) has a paitan broth base with salt to give extra flavour to the broth. Ikkyu's paitan broth is made from boiling chicken and pork bones. It has more of a chicken and light ginger-like taste, followed by subtle pork flavour. It has a similar consistency to tonkotsu broth but not as thick. The pork chashu is very tender with a slightly sweet roast flavour. I love the bouncy type egg noodles (made by Chef Haru himself) that they use. The flavoured soft-boiled egg, black fungus and a sweet-ish bamboo shoots complete this excellent bowl of ramen.

 

extra black fungus ($1.50)

Ikkyu (shoyu) ramen

The Ikkyu (shoyu) ramen ($10.50) has a paitan broth with a touch of soy. It has the same toppings as the shio ramen but the soy sauce used gives the broth a deeper flavour. I personally prefer this over the ikkyu shio ramen.

 

Team Ramen Ikkyu

Traces of Chef Haru’s French cuisine training and Japanese cooking roots are very noticeable on how the broths are executed and the toppings (such as the pork) are cooked. Ramen Ikkyu is definitely one of my top favourite places for amazing ramen in Sydney!

Ramen Ikkyu

Shop F1A, Sussex Centre Food Court

401 Sussex Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Trading hours:

Monday to Sunday 12pm - 8:30 (at present, subject to change)

Ramen at Blancharu, Elizabeth Bay

My search for amazing ramen goes on. I'malways on the lookout for places that serves what I refer to as perfection in abowl. But sometimes, receiving recommendations are much easier than searching.Thanks to a recommendation from Josh and Ai (The Milk Bar by Cafe Ish), I havefound another joint that will satisfy my ramen cravings. This time, my journeytook me to Blancharu.

Blancharu is an award winningcontemporary French-Japanese bistro located in quiet Elizabeth Bay Road,Elizabeth Bay. For years, Blancharu has been known for its mouth-wateringdishes prepared and cooked using French and Japanese cooking methods. But whatI really came here for was their ramen lunchtime special. From Monday toThursday, 12:00pm-2:00pm only ramen with paitan based broth and soy based brothare served.

Love Pokka's sparkling Fuji apple drink!

Paitan soup ramen with wood ear, eggs, and nori

I tried their ramen with a paitan based broth or also known as tonkotsu broth (normally $9.50 but it comes to $12.50 withextra wood ears, eggs and nori). Paitan basically means milky soup. The soup becomes milky due to the collagen produced by the chicken bones. The broth has a slightly milky flavour and an almost potent meaty taste. But the star in this dish was its’ al dente noodles. The noodles were made in the premises by Chef Haru Inukai himself. The slices of pork meat, bamboo shoots, wood ears,seaweed, soft-boiled egg, sesame seeds and scallions gave nice textures andadded flavour that brought the whole dish into harmony. This is a must try for all ramen lovers out there!

Aburi slowly cooked pork

We also ordered slices of Aburi slowed cooked pork ($7) on theside. The pork was thinly sliced and very tender. It had a caramely roastflavour. It was drizzled with roast garlic like dressing and mayo.

I would definitely make my way back toBlancharu the next chance I get for another ramen fix! A ramen with intenseflavoured broth, supreme quality egg noodles and toppings has won my vote!Their ramen is so good that I heard even Chef Mori of Gumshara visits to havetheir ramen. I have found another happy place!

Blancharu

Shop 1, 21 Elizabeth Bay Road,

Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011

Phone: 02 9360 3555

www.blancharu.com.au

Ramen special: Monday - Thursday only.12:00pm to 2:00pm