I’d heard rumours over the last two years of Wok and Noodle Bar’s owner, Jun Toyoda, and Chef Kazuteru O-San’s tiny ramen restaurant at the top of Llankelly Place, but I’d never tried it (or seen an empty seat, as it’s really just a hole in the wall). What a surprise to find that it has such a generic name that doesn’t do it justice, though it seems like its reputation has been drawing in a steady flow of customers.
It’s pretty adorable, a little piece of Japan in Sydney, a tiny hole in the wall like in Tokyo and Osaka. They serve authentic Japanese drinks (as well as the food) and it really does feel like a part of Japan has been transplanted to Potts Point.
One of our friends LOVES this place, particularly for the richness of flavour, for example in the black garlic tonkotsu broth. They also offer both interesting flavours and varieties: so, the tsukemen dish, cold noodles in three sizes, that you dip into a sauce and then eat. Also an interesting soba dish on offer, and if you don’t want one of the super-rich broths, you can go for a lighter miso or soy broth.
The thing is: I’d already gone to RaRa Ramen for lunch, so I opted instead for their udon dish, which was supposed to be spicy. It wasn’t that spicy (it looked like it should be spicy), and it was missing something for me. A really good udon dish has more of a bite and spring to it; perhaps these were overdone. Perfectly fine but not great.
My pals were impressed at how big the large tsukemen dish was, and confirmed that the tonkotsu broth with the ramen they also ordered was, indeed, very, very rich. I think I should come back for the ramen another day (the black garlic one appeals to me) and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the best ramen in Potts Point.
