Manpuku, Kingsford

In my uni days, I used to spend a lot of lunchtimes around Kingsford at all the little restaurants on Anzac Parade – but this time visiting as a non-student, I was quite amazed at how much the restaurant offerings in the area have changed in terms of variety. One of the more recent additions is Manpuku, a ramen joint which is quite busy on a Friday night.

It’s not a large space with probably only about 10 tables in there and some are communal, but luckily we manage to nab a table and the queue to order also moves quite quickly. We order two bowls of their steaming hot ramen and find that not all their bowls of ramen are created equal.

I have chosen the Manpuku Black, lured in by the idea of a garlic flavoured soy based pork soup which comes with springy noodles, pork belly, egg, sliced mushrooms, beansprouts, shallots and a sheet of seaweed which disintegrates as you chow down on the soup. The garlic flavour is actually quite overwhelming in the broth, so while the first few sips are delicious, it quickly ends up being quite rich when eaten with the pork belly.

Manpuku Black, $13.90

I actually end up preferring the boy’s Signature Manpuku Ramen, as the broth for that ramen has the right consistency for my tastebuds. The broth has a medium thickness with enough flavour from the pork bone to elevate it from your regular broths, but is not so thick you can barely drink more than a few spoonfuls. I was also pretty impressed by the gorgeous sheet of seaweed in the Signature Ramen which had Manpuku emblazoned on it in edible white ink writing – first time I’d seen a restaurant using seaweed art!

Signature Manpuku Ramen, $12.90

The Signature Ramen satisfies my ramen cravings and I’d come back for more in the future for a quick, tasty, affordable meal in the eastern suburbs.

Manpuku
482 Anzac Parade, Kingsford NSW 2032
Ph:(02) 9662 1236