Komachi

Plain Ramen $11.50

Komachi's speciality is the famous ramen challenge.  They challenge you the cost of your meal and a $100 meal voucher if you can consume 1 Kilo of noodles and 2 1/2 litres of broth in 60 minutes.  Think you are up for it?  The challenge has been going since 2003 with 23 people posted on the wall of fame.  But how does Komachi's ramen stack up?  


Compared to more Ramen specific places the flavour profile of the original ramen lacks a little depth.  It is a miso meat based broth But this isn't a ramen specific restaurant and also has sushi, The miso ramen has spring onions, pork, chinese cabbage, nori, and sesame seeds as extras.  The chili leek ramen has a better flavour, with diced pieces of pork, shredded leek, chinese cabbage, nori, and a chili sauce.  The noodles in both soups were crinkly with a good texture.   

Chilli and Leek Ramen $14.00

The portion size is quite generous and the prices are quite standard.  However it is not really a ramen restaurant so does not have a big selection of ramen to choose from, there are about 7 types. Komachi has a nice quiet atmosphere even on a Friday.  Indoors looks a little like a 90's restaurant so it doesn't get many points for style.  There is also an upstairs area and outdoor seating.  The ladies are friendly and the service is quick.  


If you decide to challenge yourself to eat almost 6 serves of the regular size ramen make sure to book ahead.  You'll need to give them at least a days notice and Fridays are off limits.  Komachi gets extra points for the ramen challenge, but overall the ramen is very standard, pretty tasty but nothing special.  

Food: 2.5

Place: 3

Overall: 2.5


Shop 1, 426 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9319 6554
http://www.komachi.com.au/

Open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm
Closed on Tuesdays

In Search For Sydney's Best Ramen

To me, ramen has always been those crinkly dried noodles that come wrapped in plastic with a flavour sachet.  I used to eat ramen by the bucket loads it as a child, the Maggi kind, in an artificially flavoured chicken or oriental broth.  


I spent a small amount of time in Japan and while wondering the streets of Tokyo I discovered a small noodle house down a few side streets where I had my first taste of real ramen.  Wheat noodles swimming in a rich meat broth with spring onions, seaweed, and slices of pork.  


There is a whole world of ramen out there with different varieties and styles of cooking.  

 Shio ("salt") ramen is probably the oldest of the four and is a pale, clear, yellowish broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish, and seaweed. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. 

 Tonkotsu ramen usually has a cloudy white colored broth. It has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk or melted butter or gravy (depending on the shop).

Shōyu ("soy sauce") ramen typically has a brown and clear color broth, based on a chicken and vegetable (or sometimes fish or beef) stock with plenty of soy sauce added resulting in a soup that’s tangy, salty, and savory yet still fairly light on the palate.

 Miso This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkiado, features a broth that combines copious amounts of miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup. Miso ramen broth tends to have a robust, tangy flavor, so it stands up to a variety of flavorful toppings.

We are now on the discovery to find the best ramen in Sydney.