Menya Ramen

Ramen is a popular talking point with Sydney food bloggers - Grab Your Fork and and several others have reviewed some great ramen bars but as I headed to Haymarket for my ramen fix last weekend I thought I'd thow my two cents in as well.

Menya Ramen is in a little courtyard center surrounded by some great Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants, we are always torn when we get to the little collection of restaurants - dumplings or ramen, freshly made noodles or gyoza. Last weekend the cold wind and an SBS documentary the night before making us nostalgic for our time in Japan sealed it - Ramen!

Menya is owned by the company that runs Koh-ya, a fantastic yakiniku restaurant in Neutral Bay with equally bizarre decor. Koh-ya has brightly coloured bikes hanging on equally bright walls - Menya has a wall covered in a tangle of silver wire. Could be futuristic, could be a fencers worst nightmare.

In true Japanese style you order and pay as you enter the restaurant and then sit on a long communal bench while you wait for your steaming bowl of noodles. We ordered variations on the same thing - Miso ramen and Negi (spring onion) miso ramen. The soup is thick and tasty - with thick slices of tender pork piled on top.


Apart from the many types of ramen served, including spicy tantan men, they also serve several Japanese standbys - tonkatsu donburi (deepfried pork cutlet ricebowl) and unagi donburi (bbq eel ricebowl). I haven't ever got past the ramen but they look good too.

Menya Japan
Shp 8tg/ 8 Quay St Haymarket 2000
(02) 9212 1020