It gives me great pleasure to reveal my ramen restaurant of choice. Having previously lived around the corner, I frequented this place often, falling in love with its authentic, fast and cheap ramen.
With a mere 5 tables (plus the bar) and a seating capacity of around 25 people, communal dining is the way to deal with the soaring demand for Ryo’s noodles. Especially on cold, wet nights, this adds a homely feel to the meal as you can be seated at a table of four with two other strangers.
Situated in the quieter end of Crows Nest, you can’t miss this place for two main reasons. There are always people lined up outside and its exterior is painted a fluro orange, leaving you wondering if the place is sponsored by ING.
This place exudes its eccentricities, an attribute of Japanese culture that is unashamedly put on show. An old TV playing in the background, a self service water flask, beautiful matching wooden table and bench sets contrasting ordinary tables and chairs. Nothing matches but everything works.
One side of the restaurant has menus plastered in Japanese contrasting the other side which has a large blackboard highlighting the five most popular dishes in English. Having being here multiple times, I can’t go past the number one choice, the Soy Sauce Tonkotsu ramen.
Good ramen will look like two minute Maggi noodles that have been straightened and reinforced with three times the density. This ramen has a strong consistency, perfectly and authentically modelling how ramen should look and taste. The thin strips of pork are well seasoned and cooked til tender.
The main element of the dish, the Tonkotsu (pork) stock is well executed and eventhough slightly on the salty side, gives me “mmmm” syndrome, forcing me to cry out “mmmm” with every delicious mouthful.
Our second choice is a spicier variation of the Soy Sauce Tonkotsu ramen called the Spicy hot Tonkotsu ramen.
I’m the type of person who enjoys trying different dishes, and eventhough I have been here more than you can count on two hands, I just can’t push myself past ordering ramen. It’s too darn good and the reason why I am forced to call this a quick review by only reviewing ramen.
So it came as a surprise to me when I recently read Not Quite Nigellas blog who courageously explored the menu past the ramen. They have miso bolognaise? Spicy chicken wings are on the menu? I love spicy deep fried chicken wings! I was completely unaware they served non ramen dishes. I am like a patriot never wanting to leave my ramen island. Maybe I should try to widen my choices next visit. But dreaming of the yellow strands of ramen swimming in the tasty pork soup, I know it’s going to be a struggle.
Ryo's Noodles. 125 Falcon St, Crows Nest. Ph: (02) 9955 0225
Open 12pm-2pm, 5pm-9pm. Closed Wednesdays.
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