I’ve never been much of a ramen fan and have always preferred ordering rice or udon over ramen whenever I visited a Japanese restaurant. What annoys me is that I find the noodles quite boring and the flavours exhaustive, as after a couple minutes I am ready to change dishes. So when Yvn told me that Ryo’s had one of the best ramens in Sydney, I was quite sceptical as I thought it’d be just as boring as all the other ramen I’ve had. I think I may have stumbled across a ramen I might actually enjoy again now.
Ryo’s Noodles is a small Japanese eatery tucked away at Crows Nest. It seats roughly 20 people and given that it is wildly popular, there is constantly a line outside. We arrive there on a Sunday at 12pm and for a table for 4, we end up waiting half an hour. Thankfully the waitress takes our orders before we sit down so our food comes out promptly.
Soy Sauce Flavoured Pork Soup with Roast Pork, Nori, Egg, Shallots (Ramen #2) – $12.50
I order the second ramen on the menu and am pleasantly surprised. The noodles are not as thick or heavy as most other ramens, rather they are thinner in consistency. It is about halfway in-between the ramen I am accustomed to and vermicelli, and is also slightly chewier (al dente even!). The soup is also very flavoursome with lots of pork pieces floating throughout the dish. Towards the end, it does get a bit salty and I spot a sign on the wall saying they can tone it down if this becomes the case. I don’t end up taking the offer but it’s nice to know there’s the option and that they’re caring for their customers.
Salt Flavoured Pork Soup with Roast Pork, Shallots, Sesame Seeds (Ramen #1) – $11
Yvn gets the first ramen on the menu which contains a few less elements than mine. It is a salt version of their tonkotsu ramen and although usually salt flavoured soups do not usually end up being winners from past experiences, this particular ramen can be considered to be the signature dish at Ryo’s and is absolutely delicious – the soup base is a pleasant consistency, not too thick yet still brimming with layers of flavour thanks to the essence of pork infused into it. Yvn also ordered an extra topping of garlic for $1, which turned out to be quite a big serving of finely chopped garlic and tasted fantastic when mixed into the soup for that extra hit of flavour.
Fried Chicken – $7
In addition to the ramen, our table decided to get some sides to nibble on. This first was the karaage (fried) chicken accompanied with a dollop of Japanese kewpie mayonnaise. These were crispy on the outside, yet tender and juicy inside. I thought this dish was fairly standard in terms of taste, but my friends swore that these are some of the best they’ve ever had.
Gyoza 5pcs (Pan Fried Dumplings) – $6.50
The other side dish we got were the pan fried dumplings. These contained juicy pork inside, but I think it needed a dipping sauce to add some flavour to the dumpling.
Overall I am pleasantly surprised with Ryo’s. It’s the best ramen I’ve had (or rather the one I wouldn’t mind coming back for seconds) and coming from a non-ramen person, that’s saying a lot. I’m keen to try their cold noodles, and also their version of a bolognese. Be sure to turn up early though in a small group or be prepared to wait as the restaurant is very small.
Ryo’s Noodles
125 Falcon St , Crows Nest NSW 2065
Ph: (02) 9955 0225
I’ve never really understood the ramen “craze” but I did really like the ramen at Ippudo…I think I need to go to Ryo have really good ramen…and I’ll get there early to beat the queues.
Yeh I’m not a ramen person either! But was quite impressed by Ryos. I usually dislike all other ramens haha
DK
Love Ryo’s but I agree that the soup can get a bit salty towards the end. I didn’t know that they could tone it down though – good to know that there is that option!