Its hard to miss Zowa cafe if you’ve been to World Square’s lower ground floor. For starters it a mixture of bright yellows representing the eggs in the Japanese Omurice that they specialise in. For those unfamiliar with an Omurice, its an omelet stuffed with fried rice. However Zowa cafe is most definitely Korean in origin given the Korean Hangul script under all items on the menu and walls. The plastic display models of the dishes outside reassuringly remind me of a trip we took to Tokyo when I was 12 and we used to seek out the restaurants with the plastic food displays.

Stepping inside, we are greeted with the sight of some enormous chairs. Its all a little Alice in Wonderland but the chairs, although arrestingly tall, are very comfortable to relax and sit back in. There are Christmas baubles dangling on the bottom of the lighting fixtures and curiously, there is clingfilm over the plastic models of ice cream in the front fridge.

We’re tempted by the lunch specials, which features a tasty looking Pork Cutlet Omurice in chili sauce (usually $13.80, $11.80 for lunch) and also by the regular menu where we order the Mixed mushroom omurice in cream sauce $10.80 which comes with a soup of the day (all main meals come with the soup except for the lunch specials).

There are a huge variety of Omurices with beef stroganoff, chicken and ham roll, smoked chicken, hamburg, grilled prawn in a variety of sauces from cream, brown, chili and oriental or a mixture of two. There’s even a Meatball Omurice for two called “Meat ball Couple Omurice in Brown sauce” featuring twin Omurices with meatballs scattered around it sitting in the ominous “brown sauce”. I hold back on ordering this as I want to try more flavours but I know I will be back for this one. There are also inexpensive little entrees from garlic bread for $1.90 or buffalo wings for $3.80 as well as varities of Ramen.

We’re not waiting for long to get our food, and our Omurices arrives along with the soup of the day. I try the Pork cutlet omurice in chili sauce. The pork cutlet is thinner than you’d expect, more like a pork schnitzel but its delicious, particularly with the sauce. The paper thin omelette is filled to the brim with fried rice and this is soft and filling and good against the crispy cutlet and tangy spicy chili sauce. I don’t want to share it at all.

The Mixed mushroom omurice in cream sauce is creamy and flavoursome but pales in comparison to the pork cutlet Omurice. I finish my half but am hoping my husband wants to swap back. I am out of luck as he is happily devouring the other Omurice.

The soup is a watery tomato with some spices. I am not taken with it but my husband is so I give him the rest of it.

Now I only need to save up some stomach space to try the Couples Meatball Omurice another day.

Zowa Cafe

Shop 7, Lower Ground Floor
World Square Shopping Centre
Cnr of George, Livepool, Pitt and Goulburn Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9267 5050

I can’t seem to get enough of ramen nowadays. I didn’t eat it all that much when I lived in Tokyo but now that I am so many miles away, I think I somehow get the urge to recreate some of the memories from my time there and ramen seems to do the trick. Luckily my husband is also a ramen lover. I had read about Menya ramen and it was a recommendation from a NQN reader KLL.

The Prince Centre is a haven to choose from and not for the terminally undecided. We walk in and are greeted by the traditional “Irrashimase!” which always manages to both startle my husband and make him smile. Having pre researched what I wanted to order, we place our order for Tori Katsu ramen $9.90 (Tonkotsu noodle soup topped with deep fried chicken cutlet, boiled bean sprout, vegetarian fungus and sesame), the Chilly Hot teriyaki Beef ramen $9.90 (Tonkotsu noodle soup topped with teriyaki thinly sliced beef mixed with vegetables, served with boiled bean sprout, sesame and chili) and get my two stamps and am on my way, albeit quite far away, to qualify for the free “Monthly Dish” when I order 20 noodle or rice items (after 10 items you can get a free soft drink).

All of their ramen soup stock is Tonkotsu (based on pork bone) which I adore, its thicker, gelatinous consistency providing much needed comfort and sustenance. Just out of curiosity, we try the Buta Mayo Gohan $3.50 (Chopped roasted pork, mayonnaise, dried seaweed, shallot, sesame served on top of a small bowl of rice). The decor is nicer than most ramen places, its modern black and white with curiously, an entire wall full of what looks like twisted up coat hangers although they’re not quite the safety hazard they look as they are springy when touched-a Picasso style mattress inner spring. Prices range from $6.50 for the “plainest” ramen with BBQ pork slices to $9.90 for ramen with much more substantial toppings like the Katsu which we’ve ordered. There’s also soba, udon and bento boxes.

While waiting, we check out the heavily staffed and busy kitchen. There are enormous vats of the Tonkotsu stock about 1 metre tall being stirred with a huge stick. We don’t have to wait long for our meals, it seems to high amount of cooks means that one need not wait very long to eat. Our Buta Mayo Gohan arrives first, a fairly decent sized bowl of rice topped with finely chopped dried seaweed, shallot and sesame on which tender, flavoursome chopped pork sits artistically splayed with mayonnaise. Its filling and delicious for $3.50 the best value meal you can get. Forget McDonalds or any other fast food, this is the way to dine for $3.50.

The ramen arrives next, the Chilly Hot Teriyaki Beef ramen is mine and I dig in with my spoon (which breaks halfway, not my fault Your Honour! I didn’t heap on too much ramen I promise!). The teriyaki beef slices are wonderfully soft and sweet and this imparts a sweetness into the rich pork stock. The chili is a perfect counter to the sweetness and saltiness of the teriyaki and I eagerly help myself to more than my alloted half of the bowl.

My husband’s Tori Katsu ramen looks good although soon after the pieces are swimming in the ramen, losing the crunch. I fish out two pieces from on top to try and its good although as its chicken, its missing that flavour that you get from Pork Katsu. Not to matter, I squirt on a sqiggly line of hot chilli sauce which gives it a boost and I’m happily enjoying them. I try some of my husband’s soup but after the chili, sweet and salt fest of mine, it appears a litlte bland by comparison. He loves his though as he is finding mine too sweet and I love mine so for once, our bowl swap only lasts a minute. As for the million dollar question, how do the actual noodles stack up against Ryo’s Noodles? Well of course, Ryo’s wins again for the ramen itself but Menya’s Tonkotsu broth is definitely my style.

I’m beat, with the pork mayo rice and my sizable bowl of ramen I can only finish 1/2 of it. My husband valiantly tries to finish it but the hot weather, lack of decent air conditioning and finishing his own dish means that he can’t quite make it either. We leave our communal table and good timing it is as there is a crowd gathered at the window deciding what to order and inside the door. We go for a walk to walk off some of the ramen and come across a man cutting out peoples profiles for $2 a piece just near Emporer’s Garden and doing a rather great job at it too. He has a line snaking down the mall. He’s rather popular too you see.

Menya Ramen

Tel / Fax : +61 (02) 9212-1020
Shop TG8, 8 Quay Street Haymarket NSW 2000
(Entrance from Thomas St., next to Burlington Centre)
Open Mon-Fri Lunch:11:30am - 3:00pm, Dinner:5:00pm - 9:30pm
Sat & Sun Lunch:11:30am - 4:00pm, Dinner:5:00pm - 9:30pm
Menu here: http://www.yakiniku.com.au/images/menu_pdf/menya_menu.pdf

Housed in one of Manly Corso’s little arcades, this little Japanese noodle house does a steady trade of well fed Northern Beachers. When we lived in Manly, we used to walk past this eatery, always curious but never quite getting the chance to eat there instead partaking of Manly’s many other restaurants. Not tonight though, we’re here, we’re hungry and we’re ready to eat Ramen!

There are two waitresses hurrying and flurrying about tonight so we seat ourselves in the arcade section and peruse the menus laid out on the table. I immediately gravitate towards the Mabou tofu ramen ($11.50), remembering, very fondly, the delicious mapo tofu from Iron Chef Chen Kenichi. Of course I know it won’t be anywhere near as good as his but a girl can reminisce can’t she? We take the easy route here and order the Bento box ($16) which consists of your choice of two of the following: Tonkatsu (deep fried pork), Shoga-yaki (sliced pork ginger sauce), Ebi-fry (deep fried prawn), Yakiniku (pan fried sliced beef), Teriyaki chicken or Fish or Karaage (deep fried chicken); with salad, rice, miso soup and gyoza. I select the pork with ginger and the chicken karaage. We opt to try their takoyaki ($6.50) and their Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4).

Takoyaki Octopus balls ($6.50)

Oddly Jipang has no bathroom so I’m off to the nearby Ivanhoe to avail myself of their facilities and by the time I am back minutes later, all of our food is arriving at once. The waitress thanks us for waiting and places our food on the table. The takoyaki is tried first, sprinkled with thinly sliced matchsticks of dried seaweed. They’re smaller in size than at Ramen Kan but more in number with 7 on our plate. They’re slightly crispy on the outside and softish on the inside but as they’re quite small, they’re not as beautifully squishy inside as others we’ve tried. They’re also needing a bit more okonomiyaki and mayo sauce. Not bad by any means, but not as good as Ramen Kan’s.

Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4)

The ebi prawn roll is next, its very fresh and crispily good if a little homemade looking with the rice being packed loosely in parts. Still the taste is there and I manage to cajole my husband into give me his extra pieces.

Mabou tofu ramen $11.50

He’s too busy contending with his mabou tofu ramen which is blisteringly hot. Even though it has sat there while we ate our entrees it remains mouth burningly hot and my husband tries to fan it furiously enticed by its delicious aroma. After a good 5 minutes of blowing and using a smaller bowl, he manages to get some of an edible temperature. He’s enjoying the chili broth enormously so I try some. The noodles are thicker, much like Ryo’s ramen which we both like but they’re softer than Ryo’s and I like my noodles to have a bit of a bite to it. The chili soup is heartwarmingly good with the smooth soft tofu and the pork mince providing texture and flavour. My husband doesn’t like the mince as much finding that the texture interferes with his enjoyment but I disagree, I like all of the components. Although as expected, it isn’t a patch on Iron Chef Chen Kenichi’s Mapo tofu!

Bento box with Shoga yaki (sliced pork with ginger sauce) and Karaage (deep fried chicken) $16

My bento box’s meat offering of pork slices with ginger is very, very flavoursome and I am enjoying it so much I could easily order this in a dish by itself. The Chicken karaage is hot and freshly cooked but it could do with some mayo or sauce. As it is, I drag each piece over what little okonomiyaki sauce there is left over from the takoyaki and this gives it the much needed moisture. The salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil, is a tad disappointing (lettuce, cucumber and tomato without any seaweed) but the gyoza are very good though, with just the right amount of meat to cabbage, without being bitter from overuse of cabbage.

Feeling warm from the ramen and stomach expanding meal, we exit stage left, to the cool breeze of Manly beach now that the sun has set and the ocean breeze beckons with its cool hand.

Jipang Japanese Noodle House

37-39 The Corso Manly 2095
Tel: +61 (02) 9977 4436
Open Tuesday-Sunday 11:30am-9pm

“Crocodile what-what?” Tuulikki asks when I tell her the odd name of the restaurant we plan to eat at. It takes her a few goes to get the name right and even then, I’m certain she’s not convinced. But from the number of seated patrons enjoying meals, we aren’t the only ones to have noticed this oddly crocodiled theme Thai restaurant on a strip of town bursting with eateries. The decor is full of dark brown wooden tables, square stools, large sprays of tiger lilies, delicate spun straw orbed lights and …crocodiles. Everywhere. And in every incarnation you could possibly think of. Even our waitress takes our order using a Crocodile pen. We don’t know what crocodiles have to do with Thailand but they have an awful lot to do with this place.

A quick glance of the menu shows that prices are rather low, from $8.50-$12.00 for the most part. There are 8 different varieties of Som Tum (Green Papaya salad) which I adore so I know I shall have to choose one of these. Apparently the difference in each is the topping which ranges from tiny mud crabs (which I’ve ordered) to grilled scampi, soft shell crab and deep fried salmon. I had also read that the BBQ pork with rice although dull sounding, was good. And of course the crocodile chef on the menu just beckons you to order the Noodles Senior style where you choose the type of noodle (hokkien, egg, rice) then choose the sauce (thai basil, chili, chinese, malay or cashew nut) and then choose the topping (tofu, veges, chicken, beef, pork, roast duck, prawn or seafood). We choose the thin rice noodles with malay peanut sauce with tofu.

Looking around at the signs, there are specials that are written in Thai only so there must be a fair amount of Thai patronage. And should you want to call friends in Bangkok, they have two clocks, one set on Sydney time and one set on Bangkok time. The music is pumping and loud, especially towards the middle and back of the restaurant and the plasma screens show Thai singers singing various pop and disco songs like “I Will Survive”.

Som Tum Pu (with small mud crabs) $8

Five minutes after we’ve ordered, our square plate of Som Tum Pu (with mud crab) arrives. Its a small but pungent dish. I personally love it but know that people are usually divided by it, only being swayed when being told how healthy it is. It is indeed tangy and pungent with fish sauce and packed with tiny dried prawns, shredded carrot and green papaya and very salty tiny black mud crabs. Some crab pieces are a little too big and when you’re trying to chew them, it takes a good crunching with your teeth of the larger pieces. The salad itself is good although I must admit I find Sailors Thai Canteen’s Som Tum better (and its not just because it comes with gorgeous caramelised BBQ pork sitting on top).

BBQ Pork with rice $8.50

Our BBQ pork with rice arrives next and its a huge plate with two types of BBQ pork. One the fatty belly pork crunchy and fried to a crisp, and another like thinly sliced Char Siu. The sauce coating the dish is unusual and strong with sweet cinnamon and star anise. I don’t know if I love it as much with the sauce. One of my greatest pleasures is eating Char Siu with plain rice. To me the sauce is too mysterious and a little unbalanced and almost powdery.

Noodle Senior: thin rice noodles with malay peanut sauce and tofu $9

Our Noodle Senior arrive last and its an impressive tangle of rice noodles. Its packed with coarsely ground peanut pieces and vegetables with three fat triangular chunks of deep fried tofu and stir fried egg. I didn’t expect to like this very much as I’ve found most satay noodles drowning in the sauce but this is subtle and nicely flavours giving the right hint of Malay satay sauce but not drowning or overpowering it. Its soft noodles and crunchy peanut and vegetables are perfectly seasoned and its easily the best dish of the night.

We’re stuffed by the end of our meal and still no wiser as to what Crocodiles have to do with Thailand!

Crocodile Senior Thai

768 George Street
Haymarket (opposite Marigold Citymark)
Sydney
+61 (02) 9211 6300
Cash only
No split bills
Open 7 days from 11.30am until 10pm

Its early on a Sunday night when I decide that I just can’t be bothered cooking and that the time has come to try another Ramen restaurant. There aren’t an awful lot of good Japanese Ramen restaurants and a lot of them are concentrated on the North Shore but I’ve heard a few recommendations for Rahmen Genki in Artarmon which is near Artarmon train station. Its a lot bigger than we expect and very brightly lit with photos of the dishes displayed on a board and there’s an outdoor seating area or you can sit inside under the fluorescent lights. Patrons order and pay at the counter and take a number. Looking around us, there are a lot of young students slurping noodles and forking up great scoops of curry and rice.

We order one special Genki set dinner : Miso Ramen, 3 pieces of Gyoza, salad, Combu and Rice for $12.50 and one Katsu Curry $12 and an order of Gyoza to start $5.50 and take out seats with the numbers. We notice that they too have an autograph wall but we don’t ask who the celebrities are as all of the people working there are rushing around hurriedly. As more people come and sit down, our orders arrive 10 minutes later.
Gyoza $5.50

The Gyoza arrives first, 5 slickly oiled pan fried dumplings. Biting into them, we taste a lot of cabbage but not a great deal of pork. The skin on this gyoza is a little firmer and there’s an oily surface on them from being pan fried. They’re not bad but I’ve definitely had better gyoza and the cabbage taste is a little too pronounced in these. One is unpleasantly burnt and tastes that way too.

Katsu Curry $12 (beef curry with crumbed pork fillet on rice with side salad)

Our mains arrive and the Katsu Curry sits on a huge oval plate. Its an enormous pile of rice with salad on the side and a Pork Cutlet on atop a large pool of curry. I bite into the Cutlet and its beautifully crisp, even the parts that are coated in the curry. I lament that there are only 6 pieces of this and enjoy every bite. I’m not a huge rice eater so I leave most of this behind for my husband. The curry itself is a beef curry with small pieces of beef flecked throughout the curry. If you’re unfamiliar with Japanese currys, they’re different from other curries in that they’re milder and they taste less creamy and almost a little powdery.

Miso Ramen, part of Genki set with rice, side salad and 3 Gyoza $12.50

The Miso ramen has two pieces of soft thin BBQ Pork floating on top and a jumble of assorted vegetables lurking subterraneanly in the huge bowl. The soup is rich and delicious but alas the ramen is tangled up with bean sprouts and isn’t particularly plentiful. The bean sprouts don’t allow you to fully appreciate the toothsome texture of the ramen by itself but separating small pieces of ramen shows that its softer than I’d like. I’m not a huge bean sprout fan and they remind me more of a Chinese noodle soup dish than a Japanese ramen dish.

Condiments

Out of Ryo’s in St Leonards, Kenta Ramen in Neutral Bay and Rahmen Genki in Artarmon, both my husband and I definitely preferred Ryo’s as their noodles are unfailingly the perfect consistency and you just cannot beat the Miso Bolognaise. I however loved Rahmen Genki’s Katsu Curry’s crispness (if only there was a bit more cutlet) whereas my husband preferred the proximity and prices at Kenta!

Autograph Wall

Rahmen Genki

6 Wilkes Ave
Artarmon 2064 NSW
Phone: (02) 9410 3777
Wed-Mon 11.30am-2.30pm, 5-9pm
Cash Only

P.S. Across the street there is the cutest vintage store with a window that fascinated me for a good 10 minutes. It reminded me of a shop window from a Christmas fairytale!