Ra Ra Ramen, Redfern
Raving about Ra Ra Ramen
Located at 66b Regent Street, Redfern NSW 2016
If it isn’t the long trailing lines leading out of the Ra Ra Ramen that pique interest, it’s probably the loveable iconography of a lady hungrily slurping a giant bowl of noodles that dons the eatery’s signage.
Tucked away on Regent Street, Ra Ra Ramen is a quaint 28-seater eatery offering a whole host of delicious ramen favourites. It’s styled like an izakaya with counter top seating both at the bar and at the open kitchen. At the open kitchen, patrons have the opportunity to witness the miracle of ramen where the chefs expertly toss together a whole host of ingredients to create that perfect bowl.
After a half an hour wait, we were finally seated at one of the private tables near the bar-end of the restaurant. The table had a great view of the neon sign that was perched above the bar. It was a cartoon of ramen and beer, in a style reminiscent of the signage out at the front of the eatery.
We decided to try the soupless noodle dish — the shoyu mazesoba — as it had been characterised as an exclusive menu item only available in “limited numbers”. In terms of ingredients, the dish consisted of ramen noodles, grilled chashu, fried onion, wombok, egg and subsequently drizzled with an unusual mixture of chilli oil, mayonnaise and a mackerel bonito seasoning. To taste these ingredients in one mouthful was truly a memorable experience! It was an exceptionally delicious dish and I proudly admit that I cleaned that bowl right down to the very last strand.
The mayonnaise and the yolk from the seasoned egg gave the ramen that delicious creamy texture. The roasted pork (chashu) was incredibly smoky with that char along the edges to give it that slight bitterness to balance out the other flavours. The wombok was chopped rather finely and slightly undercooked for that distinct crunch, which enhanced the overall textural complexity.
We didn’t try the broth-based ramen but we have heard rave reviews of the dish. The signature tonkotsu ramen comes with a shio tare, black garlic oil and is topped with the same chashu from the shoyu mazesoba. The broth itself is rich and dense from the laborious process of simmering down pork bones. The soup is “surprisingly clean and almost sweet in flavour for something so rich”. An interesting observation from the foodies over at Time Out!
In addition to the classic pork broth, the restaurant caters for the vegans with their very own vegan soy shio ramen. It is a soy based broth served with grilled tomato, black pepper, seasoned shallots. The lack of meat apparently does not compromise on the bold umami taste, as the tomato and the soy milk imitate the flavours of the tonkotsu. I would be curious to try this dish, having tried vegan ramen in Melbourne and finding myself disappointed by the flavours that are frankly underwhelming.
Overall
There’s a reason why revellers are raving on about RaRa Ramen in Redfern. Try saying that sentence out loud five times — haha! Tongue twister aside, this intimate eatery in Redfern deserves all the hype and attention it has been receiving these last couple of months since opening. The owners Katie Shortland and Scott Gault have really tapped into the innermost cravings of the Sydneysider and unlocked the secrets of creating that perfect bowl of noodly goodness. Even in the hot stinking summer months, RaRa has received plenty of attention with waiting times of up to an hour. I would recommend you get in the door quickly before the winter months creep up and the waiting times extend beyond the one hour mark.
Overall rating: MindBlown
Service: 3/5 (just cause of the lines)
