As most of our regular readers know, I am obsessed with authentic Japanese ramen.  It was my favourite dish during my trip to Japan last year, highlights of which included the Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum and the [...]]]> G25 Postal Lane, GPO, 350 Bourke Street
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As most of our regular readers know, I am obsessed with authentic Japanese ramen.  It was my favourite dish during my trip to Japan last year, highlights of which included the Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum and the mighty Jiro Ramen.  By authentic, I mean a full bodied broth that doesn’t skimp on flavours (usually from a good dose of abura, or fat); perfectly cooked hand-made noodles with bite; and quality toppings such as melt-in-your mouth fatty chasu pork.  To date, I have not sampled any ramen in Melbourne that is exactly how it is in Japan.  Some come close, like Kenzan GPO, Momotaro Ramen, and Ajisen Ramen, but they always seem to fall down in some respect, whether it be the broth, noodles, toppings or a combo of all three.  Imagine my excitement when I read in the Age Epicure that a new ramen shop was opening right next to Kenzan GPO, in the space previously occupied by Nostro Baretto.  Ramen-Ya has been opened for about a week.  We walked by it yesterday and, despite already having had lunch, we just had to sample a bowl! 

As you can see in the sign above, Ramen-Ya claims to specialise in Hakata ramen, a style that originated on the island of Kyushu and which is characterised by a flavoursomely rich tonkotsu (pork) broth.  It’s quite renowned throughout Japan, and Mellie and I sampled some in Yokohama and Kyoto.  One thing that I’d have to disagree with the sign is that slurping is not optional.  It is compulsory!   By agreement with Kenzan GPO, Ramen-Ya does not offer any sushi, sashimi or don rice dishes, which may seem a bit anti-competitive but then again, true ramen shops in Japan do not offer these things as well.  Ramen-Ya does serve gyoza dumplings, which is a popular accompaniment to ramen in Japan, as well as Japanese fried rice.  The location, down a covered alleyway next to the GPO, is quite pleasant and seating is abundant.  Two types of broth are offered – shoyu (soya sauce) or tonkotsu – with a number of toppings including chashu, minced chicken, pork gyoza and seafood gyoza.  Basic noodles are around $9.50 but you can get extra toppings ($2.50-$3).  Ordering is done at the counter, where you will be issued with a number.  Pity that they didn’t have a ticket vending machine as they do in Japan!

Mellie and I ordered a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen to share but, through confusion with the order, I believe that we got the shoyu version instead (see first picture).  Being new, I think there is definite improvement to be made in the service.  Nevertheless, we tucked in with gusto.  As you can see from the pic, all the requisite toppings were present, including half a hard boiled egg, spring onions, Japanese fish cakes, wakame and Japanese veg.  The ramen looked very similar to the shoyu ramen we had at Takayama.  It was also the right size too; not too big and certainly not the monstrous serving that you get at Momotaro.  

And the verdict on the taste?  Well, I thought that it was very good indeed.  It didn’t have the full flavour punch of the ramen in Japan, probably due to it being a much healthier version, but the broth was still very tasty and delicate.  The thin noodles had a great bite to them, which I loved.  There is nothing worse than soggy noodles, though personally I would have preferred them to be thicker.  I’m not sure if they’re hand-made or not, but they’re quite good.  A standout for us was the chashu, which had been slow-cooked to tenderness, and was almost reminiscent of slow braised brisket.  Damn it was good!  Surprisingly , it was also quite lean, unlike the fat overload of the chashu in Japan.  Between the two of us, we polished off the whole bowl.  We witnessed a guy at the next table demolish TWO bowls of ramen!!  Sugoi!        

It’s always great to see more ramen shops in Melbourne that aim to serve a more authentic version of this often misunderstood noodle dish.  It’s still not the same as in Japan, but Ramen-Ya is certainly up there with the best ramens that I’ve had in Melbourne.  Hopefully their service will improve with time, as there was a bit of confusion with the ordering, with waiters unsure about which tables ordered what dish.  However, our noodles did arrive very quickly, albeit the wrong one   I’ll definitely be back though, if only to try the tonkotsu ramen!