On Ramen

Someone said small and cozy, and dang right it’s small, and that’s actually one of my gripes with this place. It’s so cramped that there’s barely a walkway for one person between tables. That aside, I think the bar seating is a nice touch, although I’ve never sat at the bar. Waiststaff can be overbearing and inflexible as well, although it depends largely on who you get.
The ramen here is good but certainly not one of the best, but they do an overall decent job at causal Japanese dining. What I like best here is their katsu curry, which was recommended by a friend after we had pork katsu curry at Poporo at Market City. The sauce/​curry at On Ramen is thicker, sweeter, and more brown than Poporo’s, which is lighter, tangy, and red brown. I also like some of their set menu deals with takoyaki skewers and corn, but again I never thought it was cozy here, but claustrophobic, rather.
I probably wouldn’t stop here again, but hope they do well.

I guess I went there in a quiet time so unfortunately I can’t really say much about the service. I wish I can have the non spicy of tongue ramen, but I wasn’t sure if she knew what I meant (communication barrier) or just not knowledgeable. So, this place left me with no choice than one tonkatsu ramen cause that’s the obvious one and felt like can’t ask much about the other menu… The Tonkatsu ramen was nice tho.

I am a ramen fan. I’ve tried different places in Sydney. This restaurant I have tried many times because it’s on my way to work. First of all, wanna talk about their broth, it’s not cooked by bones and it’s watered down a lot, sometimes will make you feel thirsty afterwards. Their most «famous» ramen is tenderous beef ramen, the beef itself tastes nice but it’s only small amount. The noodle I think it’s the same you can get from a Japanese supermarket. So the ramen it’s like having an instant noodle with a nice topping. That’s all. If you know what good Ramen means, you will agree what I’m talking about. The chef and the staffs none of them is Japanese. They are Korean and Chinese. The environment is nice but very small. The seats are very close. So not ideal for big group.

Below average. Ramen was sweet compared to other places. Very small restaurant. Clearly could tell the waitress were not trained well. Will not visit again. Atmosphere wasn’t great either. Not recommended on my behalf.

The restaurant is small but cosy. We tried three ramen: Tenderous Pork Rib Ramen, Beef Tongue Ramen in Chilli Soup and Tonkotsu Ramen.
The chilli soup of the beef tongue ramen is the best, well-​balanced taste not too spice yet umami. The beef tongue slices we got are the rear part, a bit fatty and soft not the «bouncing teeth» texture we are looking for.
The tenderous pork ribs are surprisingly delicious much better than it looks. So we’d better try tenderous pork rib ramen in chilli soup.
The tonkotsu ramen is a failure, just insipid. Still looking for Sydney’s best tonkotsu ramen!
Like many japanese restaurant, it’s cash only.

On a mission to try the gimmick, I sure as hell better not be disappointed.
I really wanted to try the Ramen Burger. I really really wanted to. Finding this place isn’t too hard. A little red shop on the corner of Hay st. is exactly what is represented on the inside too. The wind picked right up and the certain craving for warm ramen as well.
Dinner time seemed quite empty midweek but that good news for us. I saw what I wanted on the menu and was happy with that. But looking at the rest I just had to try more. Was told the Ramen Burger wasn’t too big so I added a side of Beef Tongue Ramen in Chilli soup… oh what the hell. Takoyaki, Japanese cheese sausage and Soft Shell Crab & fried Oysters please.
The serve was quick. I told you it was a good thing being her on our own. But as soon as the entrees landed so did a multitude of customers. The place was filled up. Before I could start, the mains were brought out. Ok Ok Ok I get it. Eat now talk later.
Takoyaki I’ve had before and this was average at best. Mmmmmm balls! The japanese cheese sausage seemed quite intriguing but failed to deliver what I know from european dishes. The cheese is the sauce on top and not on the inside. Oh well. Sad face. Soft Shell Crab was probably the best part of the entrée as it was perfect. Fully flavoured and light. The fried oysters was picked only because no one had fried oysters before. Chomp Chomp Chomp.
Now came my expectations… crashing down on the burger. I ate it like a proper burger as one does. This was possible because the noodles themselves were way overcooked and crunchy. Was expecting softer noodles that would fall apart. The inside was delicious tho. I could have stopped here because it was filling. A side of watermelon (most unusual but I embrace the unusual) was a plate cleanser for me. Onto the massive bowl in front of me.
The ramen certainly filled me way over the edge. Belt had to be loosen, and the kindness of the constant water service was abused. The ramen had a bite and kick to its taste. I enjoyed the soup. The tongue too! Good meat wasn’t followed by any other ingredients. The egg quick sickened me to flavour and texture that wasn’t of fresh standard. I’ve had better at fast food ramen joints.
I would have given this place a 2 at most but my full on surprise to the final bill total for 4 people was happy smile. 3!
So what did I learn? Gimmicks can be a hit or miss. The latter has the grasp. I’m still happy I had the burger. Perhaps I could improve on.
Mark My Words

I have always walked past this place on my way from Central to Chinatown and been super curious about it, but no one ever really wants to go with me, since a lot of my friends usually prefer the cheap and cheerful Mappen. However, before a recent Laura Marling concert, my friend suggested that we go! Finally!
Like other reviews have said, On Ramen is small, but I like the cosy atmosphere and to be perfectly frank, I love the selection of J-​Pop music that they play. Food wise, On Ramen isn’t cheap, but it also isn’t overly expensive. We are notified that the have a Tuesday special that starts at 6pm, so if we didn’t mind waiting for another 20 minutes, we could have the special.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really want to wait because we were afraid of being late to the concert (which happened anyway!!!) but the special did seem to be good value for money.
My friend chose a fried chicken bento box (~$ 18) and I chose Shouyu (Soy sauce based) Ramen (~$ 14), we also chose a side of curry croquettes (~6 $) to share. My broth was nice enough, not thick at all, but also not the super light broth that Mappen has. To be honest, I didn’t find my dish spectacular, but still nice enough. My noodles were nice and firm, and the pork slices were tasty. It was also a really good serving size too, which I’m very happy about. My friend was also happy with her bento box, and it seemed to be a very large serving.
Service was little slower than expected, but we left full and satisfied anyway.

I stumbled on this restaurant one cold, rainy, slushy day. It advertised the «best ramen in Sydney,» so why the hell not?
Most of the ramens are around $ 13.50. I loooove spicy stuff, so I had the pork tantanmen ramen, but because I love chicken I also had the karaage (around $ 8, I think. Advertised as a side, but the serving was quite big. Yes, I’m a pig — hey that ryhymes.) Yum. The food arrived quickly, and was really yummy. The tantanmen was nicely spicy and the chicken was flavorful. I’d rate both foods as a ⁴⁄₅ — not necessarily the best I’ve ever had, but still pretty damn good.
They have a lot of different kinds of ramens, will have to give those a go next time.

They have unique ramens like beef tongue ramen. Worth a try! The place is not too big though, so be sure to go there early to avoid disappointment.

I’ve walked by this place a few times going to Central and I decided to give it a go after seeing it’s self-​proclamation as the #1 ramen in the city (lol).
It’s pretty cozy and welcoming inside, but when we went it was on the empty side and the staff spoke Korean instead of Japanese, foreshadowing things to come… but to be fair, it was around 8 – 830 when I went. The menu is pretty diverse and there are several bento options available, but forget all that because I came for the ramen.
I opted for the Tenderloin Pork Bento (~$ 20) which comes with a side salad, some salmon, a small sausage, and a piece of takoyaki. The sides were pretty good, no complaints there… but the ramen…#1 in the city? NO WAYYYYY!!!
The broth is pretty watered down and bland, almost tasted like it was from a package and the egg was fully cooked, but the noodles were OK and the pork was good. I might have to try their other ramen dishes but judging by how you can’t choose broths, I would assume it would be the same.
For a place that has ramen in its name, their sides and other dishes are better than their ramen, which is unfortunate. This place is not #1 by far, or even top 5… and it’s cash only.