As my Londoner and fellow-Aussie-expat friend Ardo put it, we must always do the noodle rounds when in Sydney. I couldn’t agree more, so we decided to hit Ippudo, a reliable international chain that satisfied my ramen cravings for the day (and then some). The closest branch for the both of us was Macquarie, which has a limited but solid selection of goodies.

Ardo went for the Karaka Men set, which came with karaage chicken and a mini salad ($20). The Karaka Men contains Ippudo‘s original tonkotsu (pork bone) broth with spicy miso and ground pork. It had been about a year since I’d had the beautifully deep-fried karaage chicken, and aaaaahhhhh…!

They had a student deal available to everyone in the whole entire world, so when I showed them my QUB card, I got a complementary choice of side, and went for the wee pork bun.

Ramen-wise, I went for the Akamaru Shinaji ($16), which has the tonkotsu broth with miso paste and garlic oil, served with thin noodles, pork belly, bean sprouts, black fungus, and spring onion. A good ramen relies on a solid broth and yummy toppings, and Ippudo certainly delivered.

Visited on: Tuesday, 22 September 2015. Lunch.

Spent: $18 per person, with the student deal

Overall: This was good ramen, especially welcome after my ramen drought. Everything about the noms was solid, and though it wasn’t spectacular, it was certainly very satisfying! Perhaps by Sydney standards Ippudo is above average, and I might go back for convenience’s sake (though I’d also like to check out some of the better ramen places next time). 7.5/10.

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Ippudo

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