6/340 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9670 7113
( Show on map )
We all know about Don Too, the slicker more grown up sibling of the grungy Don Don. Don Too does a roaring lunch trade, but many a time I have lamented the fact that it’s not open for dinner, particularly when Japanese cravings ensue. To utilise such a wasted opportunity, Mellie and I have often thought what a great idea it would be to hire Don Too out and put on renegade ramen nights. I mean, it’s got the perfect set up: a big modern kitchen and funky noodle-friendly interior.
Well, Don Too’s owners must be telepathic, for they have indeed now opened for dinner, and in a somewhat brave move are serving only ramen. Yes folks, imagine my reaction when I first saw the sign on their window. I damn near came in my pants!
As ramen tragics, we just had to try it out ASAP. There was trepidation when we walked into the completely empty cafe with bebop jazz blaring a little too loudly on the stereo. The spider sense was tingling even further when we spied Laksa Ramen on the menu. Laksa Ramen? Surely a travesty! Nevertheless we persisted, and was very glad we did.
We started with some very nice gyoza – nicely grilled parcels of garlicky and gingery pork filling with a beautiful caramelised bottom. Dipped into the vinegar soy, they were so delicious, especially when washed down with a $5 Asahi.
Then came the piece de resistance. Our first impressions were: wow, look at the egg with a googly soft centre! An essential element of Japanese ramen, the googly egg is almost never done right in Japanese restaurants in Melbourne, who tend to hard boil the crap out of the egg. Big brownie points to Don Too for the egg.
One slurp of my charshu ramen revealed a tasty broth that was quite delicate but with a very nice depth of flavour. Not as fatty as I would have liked it, but neverthless a fine broth redolent with a slight hint of garlic. The noodles were absolutely superb, and the highlight of the dish for me. They were not overcooked, retained a great bite and were eminently slurpable. The generous slices of charshu were very tasty but again, not fatty enough for my liking. Mellie loved the charshu though. The egg was salty and superb, well cooked and seemingly braised in the same liquor as the charshu. The crispy bean sprouts and broccoli were a nice healthy touch.
They also serve the ramen with a little ball of bum-searingly hot chilli (well, we’ll know tomorrow won’t we), that I think is part red miso, part dried chilli flakes. A great addition to heat up the stock base.
Mellie had the miso ramen and I must confess, she had the winning broth. I really love the unctious miso flavour that was more robust than the charshu ramen. Mellie has actually declared that it’s her best ramen in Melbourne! Being a discriminating ramen eater, that’s quite a compliment.
Is it the best ramen in town for me? It certainly comes very very close. I love the fact that they only serve ramen, and have come up with a version that’s tasty, flavoursome and cooked with care. It’s not as authentic as the ramen in Japan, but it’s certainly a winner for me, and especially when they’re right on our block!
OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG… Do they open on Sat night????? OMGGGGGGGGGG I wanna go now!!!!!!!!
Yep, they’re supposed to be open Sat nights, 5-9pm
Um…A Ramen joint at a decent price serving up egg with a googly soft centre? Finally. Oh and Laksa Ramen, hell yes, would do the same and hit that up. hehe
Looks like a fab Ramen. I love the little chilli ball!
I must warn people about that chilli ball – it is really really spicy! Use with discretion
You have been warned.
Oooh yeah, another ramen place to try. Can’t wait to give it a try soon.
Wow that is some of the best looking Ramen I’ve seen! For reference what was the price like?
Hi Rory. The charshu ramen I had was $11. I think the other ramens were around that price. You can also choose from 2 different quantity of noodles. If you like your noodles, go for extra
Are you just a little disappointed that The Sunday Age used the “spider sense” line and not the “nearly came in my pants” line? Heh.
Will need to try this ramen soon, although I’ll wait for Adrian’s report on the laksa ramen before I deviate from charshu.
A little? They totally missed out on the best line!
Oh WOW!
This is my favourite cheapie Japanese place to go to for lunch so I’m stoked to read that they not only open for dinner but serve ramen too! I’m so there!!
I went here last night based purely on your recommendation and we both ordered the charsu ramen. It was indeed super tasty and I lucked out cos my partner doesn’t like any egg that’s not scrambled so I got to double up on the tastiest googly eggs ever!
We went around 8:15pm and we were the only ones there
I hope people get behind this place so they don’t think opening at night is a waste of time!
Heartfelt and honest thanks to Ms Z for passing on your review for Dontoo which we tried at 6:45pm tonight. Excited, happy and sated? Absolutely! Lovely miso and perfect gyoza? Oh yeah! And the egg, dear gods, yum! Goopy gooey gelatinous and so very flavoursome.
I tried this ramen last night upon reading your review. i have to agree that this is probably the best ramen in melb so far. One question, how did u get the miso ball? did u request that? I had miso ramen and charsiu ramen but didn’t get the miso ball. Would love to try one of those chilli bomb!
Hi Emma, no we didn’t request the chilli ball. The owner just brought it over for us to try
I’m sure you can always ask for one. Again I warn though: it is very spicy!
Hmm.too pricey for what you get, carpaccio is just sliced salmon not sold during lunch and
too Fatty meat.
Im afraid 12-$14 for these dishes is the opposite of what don don is about.
better value (for dinner) at MANY places!
Hello Peter,
Thanks for your comments.
I have not had the carpaccio but as this dish consists of rare fish, I personally am not against using what’s leftover from lunch, as long as it’s still fresh.
After 2 visits, I would have to disagree with you about the meat, presuming that you’re referring to the charshu. I’ve found that the meat is one of the leanest ramen toppings that I’ve had. I actually prefer the meat to be more fatty (as it is in Japan) but maybe it’s not to everyone’s taste.
It is strange that you mention that there’s better value elsewhere, because I find that the price for the ramen is comparable to other ramen specialists, e.g. Ramen-Ya, Ajisen, Momotahro etc.. Plus, no other ramen places have been able to do the proper soft-centred egg. Can you please provide some better value ramen places? I would love to visit them
I am picky with the amount of visible fat/ lard on my pork, I’d eat them happily though subconsciously feel guilty about it. Don Too serves one of the LEANest charshu I’ve ever had in a ramen dish. Don Too is so good, I love it at my very first visit!
My friend and i went to check out this place today and the girl behind the counter told us they only serve ramen between 5-9pm…
is this a new change they’ve implemented? ramen ONLY for dinner and not lunch? [puzzled.]
and we were so looking forward to eating the delicious looking egg with that delightful gooey middle!
Looks great, will be keen to try it out.
Forgive me for posting this link in the comments, but I couldn’t find a direct contact/tip off email address.
Anyway, I’ve previously raved about a place called Menya in Sydney for the best Ramen. Just stumbled on this place (via the web, on my fave Sydney food blog) but haven’t had a chance to try it out. It looks the business.
http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/2009/07/gumshara-ramen-eating-world-haymarket.html
I adore Ramen like so many other Asians out there. And so when I saw this post of yours, I was like, I need to go stat!
So we traipsed up and down Lonsdale St on a very wet, cold, Wednesday evening, looking for the joint.
When we finally found it (we were missing the word “Little!”), I just have to say that it was…well…just so-so unfortunately. The salad was great however and I loved how they served it with a dash of mayo on the side.
I loved how to wasn’t overly salty and MSG loaded like most of the others but it just didn’t have that wow-factor I was expecting. The egg was the best bit of the entire dish and very rarely does one get a WHOLE egg!
But thank you for introducing it to me!
G’day Lingy, glad you liked the ramen
Hi Brittany, it’s not a new change, they’ve always only served ramen at night. I know because the first time we went to try it was at lunch time, so we got caught out as well!
Hey there Misterhorsey, I promise that I will make it up to Sydney soon to try out all these great ramen spots that you recommend!
Hello Cat, sorry that you found the ramen to be only so-so but I’m glad you got a chance to try it
Keep reading this blog as we seek out more ramen spots in Melbourne! (recommendations from readers welcome).
I’m craving for ramen today, so i had Laksa Ramen.
I am heading there today if the weather doesn’t turn on me.
Aw poo! Just went (after reading your ace post) and forgot the the chilli ball of doom! Oh well, an excuse for a repeat visit.
My husband loves this place. We come here every week and he eats the same thing (ramen) every time.
[...] When I first read that normally-lunch-time-only Don Too now opened its doors for dinner on tummyrumbles, I was stoked. And when I read that they had a ramen-only menu for dinner, my reaction was similar [...]
[...] the thing to help. Initially, Ramen Ya was mentioned, but I recalled that I Eat Therefore I Am and Tummyrumbles had mentioned DonToo, the more elegant sibling of DonDon on Swanston [...]
Ooh! Is it open every night of the week? The chilli ball looks so fab
Hi Mish, it’s open every night except Sundays.
Mm, I have been looking for more ramen places in Melbourne. My favorite broth (tonkotsu) is still at Ramen Ya. Momotoro’s broth is clean, but they seem to have added something (milk?). Same goes for J-cafe on Exhibition. My favorite noodles come from J-Cafe.
I am glad you found some very nicely cooked eggs. I will give it a try soon.
[...] also: Tummy Rumbles, I eat therefore I [...]
I certainly enjoyed the ramen at don too, but still have a long list to go… =)
Thanks for the awesome writeup.