(Sigh) Another bloody ramen post, you ask?  Damn straight!

We have, of course, blogged about Ito before, but not since their renovations and not about their noodle.  (Note that the pic’s actually an oldie from back [...]]]> 122 Bourke St, Melbourne
Phone 03 9663 2788
( Show on map )

(Sigh) Another bloody ramen post, you ask?  Damn straight!

We have, of course, blogged about Ito before, but not since their renovations and not about their noodle.  (Note that the pic’s actually an oldie from back in June, but I have been back several times since and the noodles have remained the same).

Ito is not Japanese-owned but certainly looked and felt the part, especially since they have now dispensed with the Happy Days decor (the premises used to be Johnny Rocket’s I believe).  Other Japanese touches lent to the authentic vibe, such as the welcoming Irrashaimase when you arrive; getting your bill straight after you order, and the awesome Dyson hand dryer in the bathroom!  A warming towelette would have sealed the deal.

The reasonably priced menu is a mix of sushi, sashimi, donburi, noodles and sets.  It’s certainly Japanese-inspired but some dishes looked and tasted as if they have been interpreted by non-Japanese eyes.  Katsu in ramen?  NIJ (Not In Japan).

Still, Ito have longed professed their specialty with ramen, previously stating that their noodles were handmade and imported from Sapporo.  I have eaten their noodles before but didn’t think they were much chop (the broth was more the let-down rather than the actual noodles).  However, I felt that they deserved another go; they may have improved since their renos.

And improved they certainly have!  Being a stickler for the classics, I usually have the shoyu ramen.  Let’s start with the noodles: long and springy, they were very slurppable instead.  Toppings were classical, including dried nori, spring onions, bean sprouts, corn, carrot and menma.  The broth was rich and salty, and smacked of a little bonito in the stock, along with pork and shoyu.  Though lacking the punch of ramens in Japan, it was certainly up there with the better shoyu broths in this town.  Ito’s take on the charshu was interesting: nice thin slices with a salty dark outer of what is presumably the skin.  They are tasty, though on occasions I have found them too lean and dry to be proper ramen charshu, which authentically should maintain more fat than Ron Jeremy.  The egg was a FAIL though; nary a soft gooey centre in sight.

Overall, however, a pleasing ramen that will satisfy your crack noodle cravings.  Other ramen variations are also available, including the aforementioned katsu variety, and a tonkotsu broth that is listed as a special but is never available when I’m there.  Anyone lucky enough to sample this broth, let me know how it is!  The recent ramenhunters also rated Ito’s ramen.

( Show on map )

When Mellie and I went to Japan all the way back in 2007, the first Japanese food I ate was an onigiri on the airport train en route to Tokyo.  Although ordered from a [...]]]> 29/246 Bourke St (Target Centre), Melbourne
(03) 9639 4683

( Show on map )

When Mellie and I went to Japan all the way back in 2007, the first Japanese food I ate was an onigiri on the airport train en route to Tokyo.  Although ordered from a dodgy looking food cart, I remembered it being damn tasty!  Onigiri are available in most places in Japan, from 7-11 convenience stores to specialty onigiri restaurants.  Wrapped in crisp nori and containing plain (rather than vinegared) rice, with a small amount of filling, they made a tasty and healthy snack/lunch item.

As with most genuine Japanese foods, they are a little hard to come by in Melbourne.  Some places do put out a cracking rice ball, like Kenzan GPO, however this humble treat is predominantly drowned in a ubiquitous sea of Chinese-owned sushi roll joints.  Ironically, however, it is one such sushi joint that is doing a mighty fine onigiri these days.  The Japanese-owned Sushi Jin claimed to be the grand daddy of sushi joints, starting the sushi ball rolling back in 1995.  Supposedly they closed up shop in 2008, but I’m pleased to say that the little takeaway is back in business in the Target Centre food court, and still with Japanese owners.

Aside from onigiri, Sushi Jin also offers rolls made from brown rice, which is great for those wishing to keep their GI levels in check.  They also have hot noodle and rice dishes that curiously come pre-packaged in a takeaway container rather than dished up from a bain marie.  I kinda like the ekiben angle though.

The onigiri come in flavours of sour plum (umeboshi), seaweed, flaked salmon, raw salmon and egg (tamago).  They are bloody delicious, especially the plum and egg versions (pictured above), and exactly how you would get them in Japan.  The sushi rolls have some interesting fillings, like sweet pumpkin, however they and the hot food definitely come a distinct second to the onigiri.

So if you’re hankering for a slice (or ball) of a genuine Japanese lunch treat, grab an onigiri from Sushi Jin.  Maybe afterwards you might even take a wander through the nearby Tokuya, Melbourne’s very first 100 Yen store, and pretend that you’re wandering through Shibuya.

Nah…don’t worry, this isn’t another post from my travels in Japan.  In fact, this is about a little market stall selling snacky Japanese pancakes in our very own Melbourne! Just to refresh your memory, imagawayaki are small Japanese pancakes stuffed with a variety of fillings, such as red bean paste or custard. [...]]]>

Nah…don’t worry, this isn’t another post from my travels in Japan.  In fact, this is about a little market stall selling snacky Japanese pancakes in our very own Melbourne! Just to refresh your memory, imagawayaki are small Japanese pancakes stuffed with a variety of fillings, such as red bean paste or custard.  You can read about my imagawayaki love in Japan here.

I first heard about JS Taikayaki at the Mornington Racecourse Market over at Tori Eats.  After tweeting my excitement, I recruited the likes of @ElegantGourmand and @essjayeff from essjayeats into a trip to check it out.  As a side note, I was quite impressed with the market at Mornington.  It was part craft market, part farmers market, part foodie market. Lots of interesting things to tempt the wallet (and waistline).

Anyway, here is the imagawayaki maker, doing things a little differently to what I saw in Japan. Yes, he is using a piping bag!  But with a selection of both sweet and savoury imagawayaki, there is surely something to satisfy.  Personally, the thought of a tuna imagawayaki just does my head in, so I’m pleased to report there is a good variety of the sweet stuff.

ElegantGourmand and I couldn’t resist the green tea and red bean imagawayaki, and @essjayeff chose strawberries and cream.  Here they are in their little baggie, hot and crunchy from the grill.

And here is the drool shot.  A fragrant maccha batter stuffed with honest-to-goodness sweetened red bean paste.  Oishisoo!

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 [...]]]> 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!

Back in April (…yes, my blog posts are VERY late), we celebrated the season of Autumn with a kaiseki at Ueda Sōko Ryū.  Many hands made light work of this wonderful little feast.

We started off with the requisite and perfectly cooked ichimonji (plain white rice), combined miso with grilled [...]]]>

Back in April (…yes, my blog posts are VERY late), we celebrated the season of Autumn with a kaiseki at Ueda Sōko Ryū.  Many hands made light work of this wonderful little feast.

We started off with the requisite and perfectly cooked ichimonji (plain white rice), combined miso with grilled chestnut and mustard, and sashimi.

The miso was extraordinary, having being started the day before by soaking konbu and shitake mushrooms in water.  While this was happening, boil some daikon in water for one and a half hours and keep the broth.  Then on the next day, remove the shitake and put the konbu on the heat to extract the first dashi, and mix this with the broth from the daikon.  Then comes the skillful bit – mixing the right amounts of red and white miso for the season – a perfect earthy heady hit of umami.  We then popped in a grilled chestnut and topped with a dollop of hot Japanese mustard.  Perfection in a bowl.

We were lucky that our sashimi was prepared by Aka Tombo in Prahran – lovely slices of salmon, salmon roe and a fine chiffonade of seaweed.  A halved gingko nut and a little wedge of wasabi highlighted the dish.

These little momiji musubi are maple leaf shaped glutinous rice cakes, grilled in a cast iron mould that Adam brought back from Miyajima in Japan. You can actually see these moulds in action making beautiful little cakes at my post on Miyajima here. The rice cakes were brushed with tare sauce, a sweetened shoyu sauce, which is used for grilling. The cast iron heats up so much, that the outside of the cakes are crunchy and golden like the autumn leaves, while the inside remain delicious soft and sticky.

We then moved to an azukebachi, a cold salad of lightly poached prawns and boiled, sliced lotus root with grated cucumber and shredded nori. The dressing was a mixture of orange and lemon juice, rice vinegar, umeboshi paste, mirin and usuguchi (light) soy sauce.  I will be making this one again as it was wonderful!

The nimonowan (simmered dish) was a clear sumashi broth with a slice of sea-bream/egg/edamame loaf, kampyo (gourd) knot, snow peas and garnished with a few peels of Josephine pear.  A little nama-fu (wheat gluten) maple leaf also paid homage to the season.

I really enjoyed this little block of baked tofu, which was spiked with burdock, carrot, konbu and shimeji mushrooms. It was seasoned with white miso, mirin, usuguchi soy, sugar and sake and baked for 25 minutes. This would be a nice vegan alternative to a frittata!  If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I’ll post it.

We also had this with karasumi daikon; salted mullet roe sandwiched by crisp raw daikon slices. As a frame of reference, karasumi is similar to Italian Bottarga. I found the flavours quite unusual and intense – a balance of bitterness, salt and fish.

I’m just loving Japanese pickles, and in this instance we had a home made eggplant pickle (to the right), daikon and cucumber pickles, and a really unusual type of pickled gourd.

The wagashi (sweet) was also momiji (Japanese Maple) shaped, in this instance a tooled free f0rm shiro koshi-an (white bean)  sweet with a centre of koshi-an (red bean) paste.  I just love how smooth these little sweets are in the mouth, and they go so wonderfully well with green tea.

You can read some of my other Ueda Sōko Ryū experiences here.