This is the vegetarian Goma Udon ($12.90) from Wood Spoon Kitchen, a cute-as-a-button Japanese cafe in the funky end of Smith St. Apparently, the quality of udon (a thick white salted wheat noodle from Japan) can be measured in the sensory [...]]]> 88 Smith Street, Collingwood
Phone 03 9416 0588

This is the vegetarian Goma Udon ($12.90) from Wood Spoon Kitchen, a cute-as-a-button Japanese cafe in the funky end of Smith St. Apparently, the quality of udon (a thick white salted wheat noodle from Japan) can be measured in the sensory viscoelasticity of the noodle – it should be firm to the tooth yet soft on the chew, and slippery and somewhat elastic.

Deep in the bowl sat a textbook-perfect tangle of warmed udon, blanched bean shoots, sliced sweet beancurd sheets, crisp quarters of lotus root and sansai (Japanese mountain vegetables). It was dressed with a thick roasted sesame sauce and garnished with segments of soy egg quarters, diced tomato, sliced green onion and toasted black sesame seeds.

I just didn’t want this bowl of lip-smacking goodness to end!

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
Phone unknown at this stage

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!

It’s not often that Mellie and I venture out to the Western ’burbs unless it is for a specific purpose, like when we travelled to (insert Franco Cozzo voiceover) Foot-des-Kray a couple of weeks ago for The Go Show, which was part of [...]]]> 128 Hopkins Street, Footscray
Phone 03 9689 6002

It’s not often that Mellie and I venture out to the Western ’burbs unless it is for a specific purpose, like when we travelled to (insert Franco Cozzo voiceover) Foot-des-Kray a couple of weeks ago for The Go Show, which was part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.  When we do Go West, we love to avail ourselves to the local treats like Forges of Footscray, and foodie experiences that previously included super spicy Ethiopian and old school Italian.  This time round, there was only one thing we craved: the Vietnamese beef noodle dish that, like Cher, is known only by one word – pho. 

We’d heard good things about Hung Vuong from comments on this blog as well as the venerable pho-obsessed site Noodleoodle.  Located on the main drag of Hopkins Street, Hung Vuong turned out to be a large and very modern looking space, dispensing el cheapo laminex in favour of quite nice looking tables.  And what would a pho shop be without two large plasma TVs showing the “latest” music clips from the 80s?  All up, it was a very nice place to dine; even the toilets were modern and the cleanest that I’ve ever seen in a pho place.  Menu’s are hard to come by, so just choose from the menu on the wall and flag down a waiter to order.  We started with some spring rolls, which were very tasty and went a treat with the iceberg lettuce and tangy dipping sauce.  The fillings of the springys here were a cut above many places I’ve tried – meaty, delicate and redolent of spices. 

Mellie had the classic sliced rare beef soup noodle.  Just look at those slices of quality beef slowly poaching in the steamy, rich broth.  A plate of ultra fresh bean sprouts, Vietnamese basil and lemon slices provided fun customisation options.

I had the sliced beef and tripe.  Tripe is something that Mellie can’t stomach (boom boom), but I love the crunchy texture that only quality tripe can offer.  The thing that qualifies pho as Melbourne’s soul food is the broth, and the one at Hung Vuong was certainly up there with the very best I’ve had.  As you can see in the previous pics, the rich beefy broth was flavoured with onions, both original and spring, and spice flavours like star anise complete this awesome soup.  Sure, MSG is present too, but this is more toned down than some other pho places.

Also popular here is a three colour drink -  a refreshing concoction of coconut cream, red beans, green glass jelly, which is pretty much a drink version of the South East Asian dessert chendol.

Pho Hung Vuong is definitely a premier pho shop.  I highly recommend it if you’re ever out Footscray way!

EG’s Mum is the best. She spent two days last week preparing the individual elements of this Hokkien/Singaporean dish, Lor Mee, and we devoured it in one fell appreciative swoop.

The dish starts with a flavoursome stock which is thickened to a gravy consistency with cornstarch and egg. Then come the [...]]]>

EG’s Mum is the best. She spent two days last week preparing the individual elements of this Hokkien/Singaporean dish, Lor Mee, and we devoured it in one fell appreciative swoop.

The dish starts with a flavoursome stock which is thickened to a gravy consistency with cornstarch and egg. Then come the addins – thick yellow noodles, beanshoots, slices of fish cake, slices of pork and some steamed fillets of snapper. Occassionally, EG’s Mum makes pork dumplings as well, although this version didn’t have them. To garnish, arse-burningly-hot slices of red chilli, raw minced garlic, celery leaves (an important and essential addition I’m told) and a couple of dashes of vinegar.

Oh yes. This is Hokkien comfort food at its finest.