Come along as we try a little slice of Japan in Sydney's Crows Nest. Order ramen, drinks and snacks all from a vending machine at Ramen Auru. Find out what the ordering process is like and what the ramen is like too!
"How about ramen?" I say to Mr NQN. He's not particularly in the mood to go out but if I mention ramen I know that that will change his mind. I had heard of a restaurant in Crows Nest where that felt like Japan where patrons order and pay through a vending machine and sit down in a tatami room to enjoy their ramen. I couldn't think of anything better on an unseasonably cold Spring evening.
We arrive at Ramen Auru on Falcon Street street. There are three levels of eateries all by the Hatena group who also own Nakano Darling, Yakitori Yurripi and Nomidokoro Indigo. Ramen Auru is on the second floor.
There is only one vending machine and there are quite a few choices. I stare at the choices that are slightly different from what I saw online. A small, impatient man behind me sighs exasperatedly. "Go ahead," I tell him. He stabs at the buttons like a regular who knows what he wants. But in his haste things go wrong and he grunts frustratedly. Then his credit card keeps getting rejected. In the time it takes him to order, I figured out what we want to order.
There are five types of ramen on offer here. The most popular is Tonkotsu followed by Yuzu Shio and Prawn Bisque. There are also a few other varieties: chuka soba (chicken and chashu soba) and tonkotsu chashu-men with double the chaushu and eggs for a higher protein option. The ramen ranges from $17-$26 and there's also a late night Tonkotsu ramen for $15 which is available between 10-11pm.There are some sides to order as well like spring rolls, kimchi, chicken karaage and gyoza dumplings as well as soft drinks and beer.
We follow the instructions on the vending machine and pay with credit card. If you want to pay cash, you do so inside at the front counter. The vending machine spits out a series of tickets, one for each item ordered.
We walk into the restaurant and show them our tickets. They ask if we want to sit on the tatami mats or at the bar and they give us a number. When they call your number, your food is ready. We pick a soft drink – Calpis water for us. We take off our shoes and sit on the tatami mats.
The gyozas are come out freshly fried and a crispy on the bottom with a pork and cabbage filling. I dip these in the chilli oil and dipping sauce that it comes with.
Everything comes out rapidly in quick succession. The next item is the chicken karaage, three large balls of chicken that are juicy and perfect to dip in them help yourself mayonnaise (some lemon would be nice as well).
The favourite ramen for both of us is the Tonkotsu with a smooth but rich pork and soy based broth. There's also slices of pork belly chashu, bamboo shoots, nori sheets, spring onion, half an egg and shredded black fungus mushroom. I love tonkotsu but I do find I get the meat sweats quite easily with that rich broth. Which means Mr. NQN gets more than his fair share which is fine by me.
The yuzu shio ramen is a lighter ramen with a shio and yuzu broth which is a light almost clear broth made with chicken and seafood. They describe the chicken as "chicken ham" but it's more like very gently poached chicken with thin ramen strands, thinly sliced leek, half an egg, bamboo shoots and nori. The first spoonful or two is a little unusual especially after the gutsy familiarity of tonkotsu but we soon get used to it and it's actually very nice with the citrus flavour to it.
My loose button pressing also gives us an extra serve of the ramen topping but that doesn't go astray Mr NQN adds that to the shio yuzu ramen and slurps down every drop.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried ordering ramen from a vending machine? Would you prefer sitting on the tatami mat or at the bar?
This meal was independently paid for.
Ramen Auru
2F 6/8 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW 2065
Open 5pm-11pm Monday to Saturday
Sunday 5pm-10pm
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