Ooh ah, Ramen Ya

Ramen Ya

Shop 25G, 350 Bourke St,

Melbourne

Nestled in the laneways of GPO is Ramen Ya, busily churning out steaming bowls of Japanese noodle soup, or 'Ramen' for noobs. We joined the queue lining up to order and spotted a pile of cute origami templates on the counter. We ambitiously grabbed four templates, which we would later attempt to make whilst waiting for our food to arrive.

origami templates

We both decided to get the Charshu Ramen (ramen with pork), with different broths. I got the Miso base which was flavoursome but a little too salty.
Bun got the Tonkotsu base, which is a pork bone broth. Bun's ramen had the winning soup. Rich salty broth with a slight sweetness and almost thick in texture- very tasty.
In the soup were generous amounts of noodles accompanied with tender pieces of pork, pickled ginger and radish, spring onions, seaweed, bamboo and half a boiled egg.

We, in our infinite wisdom know what makes a good ramen (based on information obtained from internet land), and we were disappointed in a couple elements of our noodle soup. Firstly, the egg yolk was over cooked, and not the gooey texture it should have been. Our ramen also lacked bean shoots, which, although not necessary, would have been nice.

charshu ramen

To go with our ramen, we also got a serve of Gyoza. Lightly fried and not too oily, these crispy pork parcels had hints of ginger and chives. Once dunked into a tangy vinegar, they were yummeh. Bun enjoyed these more than he enjoyed his noodles.

gyoza

Oh by the way, this is our awesome origami.

our amazing origami skills...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_c5DqjaQk&feature=related

Girls

Las Chicas
203 Carlisle St,
Balaclava

St Kilda may have lost the finals this year, but all is not lost for the...general... area around St Kilda. Situated in Balaclava (a suburb right next to St Kilda) is trendy Las Chicas. Generous offerings of cafe staples, fantastic coffee, and a cool, laid back atmosphere make this place stand out more than most.

 

Latte

berry smoothie

Despite being extremely busy, service was quick and friendly. Bun's latte was creamy and of perfect temperature. My berry smoothie was super thick, I struggled getting it through the straw and resorted to using my spoon to eat it. It was a refreshing blend of sweet and sour - it was berry nice...

brekky burrito

Many have tried to conquer the monstrous breakfast burrito, and Bun was up for the challenge. The soft tortilla could barely contain the filling - made with four eggs, four rashes of bacon, aioli, crisp rocket, topped with tomato salsa, and a heap of avocado. The fluffy scrambled eggs and the fresh juicy tomato salsa were highlights of this very tasty meal.

BBB - bikini blowout benedict

The bikini blowout benedict - avocado, bacon and two poached eggs on bagel toast topped with a giant dollop of hollandaise sauce. Bun's first thought - 'the poached eggs look like balls'. After piercing the sacs and letting the runny yolk cover the rest of the dish, this quickly became a messy wonderpalace. Although it didn't retain its prettiness after my initial hackings, the taste was undeniably delish (albeit a little heavy at parts due to the hollandaise sauce). I had to break up my meal by taking bites out of Bun's. HA!

Make sure you get here early because this place packs out, especially on the weekends. And if the weather permits, ask for a spot in the sun-speckled courtyard out back. We shall return.