Tonkotsu

Hakata Gensuke (Russell Street)

I NEVER thought that I could ever acquaint ramen broth like fine champagne but that’s exactly what came to mind when I first slurped the tonkotsu from Melbourne’s popular Hakata Gensuke in Russell Street. I ventured there with Ramen Girl and the “Commish” (a mate …

Ra Ra

I ADMIRE non-Japanese learning the art of perfecting Japanese dishes. Take American Ivan Orkin for instance who set up two ramen-ya in Japan (which got a cult following), and then packed everything up and moved back to New York City to open back in the …

Ichibanboshi

I CAN still remember where I had my first ramen. It was at Japanese noodle chain Ichibanboshi’s Sydney restaurant and it was its Tokyo-style ramen – a light soy- based and filling soup that introduced me to ramen. I’m pretty sure a lot of Sydney-siders …

Hakataya Ramen

DOWN a flight of stairs off Brisbane’s busy shopping district of Queen Street Mall lies a branch of Hakataya Ramen – a southern Japanese ramen-ya chain that has nine ramen-ya in Queensland spread from the Gold Coast up to Brisbane. Hakataya was one of the …

Red Dragon Ramen

I WASN’T sure what to expect or if it was the right thing to do – having a bowl of steaming tonkotsu ramen in such a hot and humid place as the Indonesian island of Bali. Red Dragon Ramen prides itself on serving Yokohama-style ramen …