Ramen for the Pork Lover – Gumshara Ramen

Gumshara Shopfront

Super Mega Ramen

Pork Rib

Menu

Ramen. Meat. What more can you want?

I was tipped off by a friend about a meaty ramen in Sydney, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to try this place. It’s called Gumshara, and its located in a food court just off Chinatown in Sydney. To be honest, I didn’t expect much after finding out it was in a food court. But when I saw the little stall, my opinion changed straight away! The smell – of the pork broth travelled across the food court. The line – it was packed, and crowds were having a look at the menu. Great signs of good food.

I tried the ultimate meal: the super mega ramen noodle for $25. It’s a bit expensive for a meal. But it includes probably 4 times the pork slices to usual ramen, a pork skewer, and a massive pork rib!

I’m going to describe the ramen in the categories of: broth, noodles and toppings.

Broth

This is by far the thickest pork broth I’ve ever had. It compares to the thick tsukemen broth I had at Tokyo Station – but this time it was the actual soup instead of a dipping broth. For those looking for a meaty broth – this will definitely satisfy you. This is the drawcard of the place – thick, meaty, pork, broth. It’s definitely very overpowering. The purists would probably not ‘love’ this. I wouldn’t have this soup every day or every week. But I would definitely not get sick of sipping this one down!

Noodles

The noodles were OK. Nothing special about them from memory. Nothing bad to say. But I would say that this definitely isn’t the focus of the ramen.

Toppings

Alongside the broth, I would say that this is the real plus of this ramen. I counted about 12 slices of pork, which were mouthwatering. There was a pork skewer, which was seasoned and barbecued (I think this was the highlight of my meat eatings in the ramen). And finally for the meat, one large, fat, thick rib of pork which was soaked in the beautiful thick broth. There were two half eggs, which were cooked just right – not overdone at all.

Verdict

I like this place. I wouldn’t go for the super mega bowl every time – maybe once every few months. If you love meat and love ramen – STRONGLY suggest you check out this place. I’ll definitely be back.

Tokyo Ramen Street – Ikaruga

Tonkotsu Ramen

Ikaruga Ramen

Line at shopfront

Tonight I finally had the opportunity to try some good Ramen around Tokyo, and I decided to check out what is called “Ramen Street” in Tokyo Station. Basically, 8 of the most popular ramen stores around Japan were invited to open a shopfront here in this internal corridor within Tokyo Station.

To find this nook within Tokyo Station, look for the signs “Ramen Street” or “First Avenue Tokyo Station”. It’s located just off the Yaesu South Exit if you are coming from the JR or Shinkansen lines.

After reading some reviews, the first place I decided to try out was Ikaruga. It was voted by NY Times as the perfect bowl of ramen, and the reviews sounded amazing. Their specialty is a creamy tonkotsu broth. The ticket machine was very english-friendly, the service was great, and the ramen came out in approximately 5 minutes.

The first taste was like heaven.

The broth was flavoursome, the pork was a thick serving but broke apart so easily. The egg was done just right. The noodles were a good serving. But the broth held it all together – rich, meaty, ooishi! It was so good that I drank it all at the end.

Under 1000yen (12 bucks AUD) – what a bargain. You can order with extra meat, egg, or noodles. I really suggest the egg because it it just done so well. The place was packed and there was a big line by the time I left at about 7:30 at night. I’ll be back for sure.