It pains me to admit it, but the ramen in Sydney has always been better than the ramen in Melbourne. Until about a year ago, going out for ramen in Melbourne was a regular exercise in disappointment: at Kokoro the broths were too salty, at Ramen Ya the egg was hard-boiled (nooooooo!) and the watery broths were often served lukewarm, and at Ajisen the noodles were soggy. Fast-forward to 2014 and the state of ramen in Melbourne has improved a great deal - these are the three venues in the CBD where I will happily order ramen.
Fukuryu Ramen
22-26 Corrs Lane, Melbourne (map)
9090 7149
Open Monday to Sunday 11:30am - 2:30pm and 5:30pm - 9:30pm
Website
Fukuryu ("lucky dragon") Ramen opened just two weeks ago, but I've already dined there multiple times. It's located in Chinatown's Corrs Lane between Brutale and Sichuan House, occupying a large, pristine warehouse space on the second floor with west-facing windows. Jeff and Yenny Tsao have opened the restaurant with partners from Hakata Ikkousha Group Indonesia, a group with ramen restaurants all over Asia. Staff are very polite and enthusiastic.
The broth, the broth! It was the best tonkotsu I've had in Melbourne, with plenty of depth and pork and garlic. My friend's miso ramen with butter and corn was also excellent, the noodles were not-too-soggy-not-too-bouncy, and the ajitama (marinated soft-boiled egg) was gloriously gooey. While the bowls are a bit smaller than at other ramen joints, they're priced accordingly ($8.90-$9.90, and you don't have to pay extra for the ajitama) and are a good size for those of us who have to concentrate at our desks after lunch. Fukuryu is gradually rolling out an expanded izakaya menu, and until 7 April the soft-serve green tea ice cream is free.
Mensousai Mugen
11 Bligh Place, Melbourne (map)
9620 3647 or 9620 9000
Open Monday to Friday 11:30am-2:30pm and 6pm-11pm, Saturday 6pm-11pm, closed Sunday
Website
Yoshi Kurosawa, who owns longtime favourite Robot Bar in Bligh Place, opened Mensousai Mugen just across the way in November. While Mugen offers izakaya dishes and regular bowls of ramen, their specialty is tsukemen (dipping ramen): thicker noodles served cold on a plate with chashu pork, nori and pickled bamboo shoots, all of which are dipped in a thickened, strongly-seasoned sauce made from pork, chicken and dried fish to deliver an umami KAPOW. When you've finished dipping, a delicate dashi is added to the sauce to make a hot, sippable broth. It's a terrific variant on ramen.
The kitchen is at ground level, but the dining area is downstairs in a small, bunker-chic room with kozyndan art prints on one wall and looped Kurosawa movies on the other. There's also a good range of Coedo beers, including the Beniaka brewed from Kintoki sweet potatoes.
Little Ramen Bar
346 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne (map)
9670 5558
Open Monday to Saturday 11:30am-2:30pm and 5:30pm-9:30pm, closed Sunday
Website
Less flashy than the new kids on the block Fukuryu and Mugen, quiet achiever Little Ramen Bar opened a year ago, occupying a tiny shopfront on Little Bourke Street. They dole out consistently good broths and bouncy noodles - my favourite order is the buttery miso ramen with added ajitama and lashings of kimchi. Prices are up there (ramen $9.90-$14.50 plus any extras) but the ramen servings are enormous, the gyoza are top-notch and there's fresh Sapporo Draught on tap.
Got a favourite CBD ramen joint that isn't listed here? Tell me which one it is.
