Ippudo Sydney Review

I know that I mainly blog about cafes and Modern Australian restaurants but to simply label Sydney as consisting of only those two classes would be an insult to all the other cuisines out there. Today’s review is about a combination that really just consists of soup and noodles; one of its permutations is called ramen. I think you would have to go hunting through my archives to see the last time that I blogged about Japanese food, I think from memory it would be about udon at Oiden. For the past week, I have been procrastinating my criminal law readings by looking at Japanese food blogs, and feeling insanely jealous of Japanese seafood. If anyone has some recommendations for Japanese restaurants that do amazing sushi, let me know.

Also before I get too carried away with my ramen talk, many of you should be aware of this but I am hosting my first giveaway on Facebook so simply head to my page to enter the competition to win a $25 Menulog voucher. 

I’ve never mentioned this on my blog but I go through ramen cravings (if that is allowed to exist). There are just times where I want ramen and I will stop at nothing to get my serving. You guys should extend your sympathy to a friend of mine whom I was doing a group assignment with and unfortunately for him I would bring up ramen whenever I could. Needless to say, we ended up having ramen otherwise the food monster in me would probably attack the nearest piece of furniture and start gnawing at it to suppress them ramen cravings (was that too extreme a description?)

There are plenty of ramen places to choose from and I am by no means an expert. If you are a ramen aficionado then by all means check out my friend’s blog that is titled ‘Fried Food Fanatic’. For this time’s ramen craving I settled on the vastly popular joint, Ippudo in Westfield Sydney. We had dinner early at around 6-6:30 and so we were also seated quickly, and if you, like me, tend to carry around copious amounts of bags or just stuff in general then you’d be please to know that you are provided with a box to place your items in and that basically sits at your feet. 

Ippudo Pork Bun- Steamed bun with braised pork and Ippudo original sauce $4

 These buns are absolutely standout and are equally as famous as the ramen. Unfortunately priced at $4 a piece, they are easily devoured in 3-4 bites, but if you have never had these then do consider them the next time you come because it should be concession that can be made especially if you have yet to lose your Ippudo pork bun virginity. The bun was so soft and smooth, heck the meat I can eat these buns all day, everyday. Bun aside, pork was slightly salty but super tender (but I guess that just goes without saying for braised meats) which was accompanied with a small sheet of iceberg cabbage.

Shiromaru Motoaji- Ippudo original tonkotsu broth served with thin noodles, pork loin, bean sprouts, black mushroom and shallots- $15

When you find yourself at a ramen joint it can at first be very very confusing with all the different names and to someone who isn't familiar with Japanese cuisine then you may surely find yourself ordering the first item that you see. When it comes to ramen, there are three things you need to settle on, the broth which is, for me the most important factor, followed by accompaniments and then noodles (of which you don't really get to choose, its more preselected). I personally prefer tonkotsu because the miso and pork bone broth work wonders together and I love the creamy taste to it. I was also super frugal that day so I went for the cheapest option, you'll find that Ippudo costs a lot more than other ramen restaurants in Sydney, so I wasn't going to be fussy when it came to deciding what accompaniments I wanted. Ippudo was also the first place that asked me how I wanted my noodles, this is really up to your own preference, I like mine slightly soggy so I opted for the middle option, medium so that when the ramen comes to the table the noodles will continue to cook for just a bit longer. 

Obligatory selfie because I needed to commemorate the moment when my ramen craving was satisfied. 

Kurogoma Panna Cotta- black sesame custard with creamy sauce $8

I absolutely loved this. It can be said to be a pretty Asian thing to love red beans and black sesame but I'm pretty sure that if you try a dessert made spectacularly using these ingredients, you would concur with my love affair and perhaps join the almost cult-like-following. The black sesame tastes in this panna cotta was superb, SUPERB I SAY. It wasn't so much the traditional creamy taste that you get from a normal panna cotta but the consistency was definitely there. I thought the creamy sauce was nice, I guess it helped with the heaviness of the panna cotta though perhaps a palette cleanser on the side would have helped one not reach for a glass of water after every few bites.