Ryo's Noodles - Crows Nest - Sydney, Australia

Ryo's Noodles

It has taken many years to get here and after three trips, I have finally made it to Ryo's Noodles. On the first instance, we drove around in circles, mind you, it was pitch black at night, and failed to find Ryo's due to the lack of signage. Fast forward a few years, we go back once again, and to our dismay it's closed for the holiday season. Just my luck. On this third occasion, we caught public transport there, Miss Booklover insisting we catch the train, unfortunately, it had some problems resulting in delays. Fret not, we end up catching the M20 bus straight to Crows Nest despite some initial hiccups, and after a few minutes of walking we finally arrive at an opened Ryo's Noodles!

 

My anticipation and expectations in the lead up to this has gone beyond any other restaurant I've ever wanted to go to, having read so many positive reviews and hearing so many great things about the ramen here. Miss Booklover had previously come here once, raving about how delicious it was and how she absolutely loved the ramen here.

 

 

Upon walking in, I noticed how quiet the place was. Not in terms of the amount of people but the noise of the place. It actually felt a bit awkward talking cause I felt as though everyone could hear what we were saying. The restaurant became full after we got there which was around the 6pm mark, and as we left there was only one group of three waiting. I guess we were lucky that day as I hear queues can go metres long.

 

 

The interior reminded me of a quintessential, no-frills, Japanese kind of place that serves authentic food, fuss free. Minimal décor with it's Japanese menu scattered throughout the walls and a number of wooden tables. I hear the place only seats approximately 20 people.

 

The 'Tonkatsu Ramen (Pork Soup) - Spicy ($13.50)' is our preferred ramen. It is a ramen in spicy hot flavoured soup with roast pork, a full egg and shallots. The stock is relatively thick but not as thick as the one at Gumshara. I like how it is packed with flavour and hits the spot. They are generous with their fatty and melt in your mouth pork slices. I find the noodles a bit too soft for my liking. It isn't 'al dente' as I like my egg noodles, as its missing that chew and bite factor. If you don't like bean sprouts in your ramen, then you will definitely like this ramen.

The 'Gyozas ($7.00)' come as five pan fried dumplings with pork and cabbage I believe. It was fried to perfection and was still sweet and juicy. It tasted excellent with soya sauce.

I was so full after downing a whole bowl of ramen and 4 gyozas. Greedy me. Miss Booklover had trouble finishing her ramen so she insisted I eat more of the gyozas, given her small appetite.

She also ordered a 'Grape Fanta ($3.50)' which I haven't seen sold anywhere else, but I hear it is available in Asian supermarkets. I didn't try it myself but she says it tastes like cough medicine. Didn't sound appealing to me.

 

I personally wouldn't say it is the best ramen in Sydney as I've had better. It was good but not great. Even though many have exclaimed it is the best ramen they have ever tasted, I did not find the wow factor about it. I guess everyone has different preferences as to how they like their ramen. Miss Booklover likes it so much she even said we should go once a month. A bit far and inconvenient to get to though. I would like to try some other items and I know I will be definitely be back in the near future.

Where?
125 Falcon St
Crowns Nest NSW 2065
Australia

Phone no. 02 9955 0225

Opening Hours
Open Everyday Except Wednesday
Lunch - 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Dinner - 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Website
NA