Manpuku Ramen - Kingsford, NSW

My father-in-law said during dinner that "Manpuku means immense happiness in Japanese". I can't exactly verify that as a fact (I'd studied Japanese at UNSW for three years, kanji was always my worst enemy) but based upon the intense satisfaction I felt during consumption...I'd say he was pretty on track. When I was studying, I'd never ventured previously to try this ramen joint... mainly because one of my closest friends (and occasional ramen buddy), Zhen said that this place wasn't worth the visit. That was when they'd first opened and years later, after the second shop in Chatswood opened up, their popularity steadily grew as you could undeniably see the jump in instagram posts. So, when I knew we were all heading to Randwick on Tuesday night, I'd quickly jumped on it and made the suggestion to take everyone there.

Upon entering, the server greeted us with a lovely, cheerful hello and as we made small talk, he asked us if we were Indonesian as we'd come in in a large group but I mentioned that the Mrs and their family were Filipino. He then broke out into many Filipino words (most of which I still hadn't learnt) and that, I believe, endeared him very much to my in-laws. It wasn't too busy and we weren't in any particular hurry to order so we took our time in deciding and boy...I really needed it. My choice should have been obvious as I have one rule when visiting a new ramen restaurant: always try the miso ramen. But ever since I was lucky enough to try Chase Kojima's first gyoukairui tonkotsu...I'd been addicted to gyokai style ramen (pork bone stock mixed in with fish stock). Naturally then, I'd picked the gyokai with the most: the manpuku mk II.

The whole package is a sight to behold....droplets of flavoursome black garlic oil sits in this milky white broth that's barely viscous. On top are bean sprouts, sliced wood ear mushrooms and not one, but two eggs and two sheets of nori. And then...the piece de resistance: tender, fatty and decadent pieces of braised pork. I am not lying when I say it's incredibly delicious....it can't not be. The broth lacks the finesse and layering of Sokyo's gyoukairui but that doesn't matter, because it's own charm is how well it owns the flavour. The pork is a definite highlight of the dish...you don't even care that you don't get chashu as each bite brings you to a transient state of porcine enjoyment. The noodles aren't my favorite yellow, wavy variant but that's hardly a detriment.

My mate, Preston who joined us for dinner that night ordered the tsukemen. A thick layer of oil hides this opaque and aromatic hot broth which by itself is rather intense but when mixed with the thicker noodles is simply divine. Amongst the other condiments provided, the most notable is the sheet of branded nori and a chunky slab of the same tender, braised pork I got in my soup.

The brother-in-law chose to have the miso ramen (we'd ordered it before he arrived just so it'd we could save some time) and luckily for him, it's arrived not long before he walked through the door. The magic of ramen is truly a wonderful thing...it can turn an exhausted and agitated man into a calm and collected individual through the meditative and therapeutic slurping. As he took each spoonful of soup and each strand of noodle, you could see the grin of utter satisfaction grow on his face. The soup of the miso is nutty and filled with umami. Have a big enough spoonful and you'll taste the slightest hint of a kick for what I assume is the chilli bean paste mixed in with their house blend of miso. The two slices of chashu are torch seared slightly to give it a charred, smokey ambient flavour which works really well in this dish.

The Mrs reaaally missed out as she was on a no-carb diet (faux pas on my part...taking her to a noodle bar) so she stuck to salad but she did order an interesting item which were these two pancakes (at the time, she didn't realise they were made with flour) which were served on sticks and topped with aonori, bonito flakes and kewpie mayo. The filling had bits of seafood and cabbage so basically...an okonomiyaki on a stick....delicious. The father-in-law also order teba gyoza or chicken wing dumplings which were these two chicken mid-wings stuffed with dumpling fillings and then deep fried.

Although we all agreed that Menya was our preferred ramen establishment, Manpuku definitely has it's place on my list. The soup is thick but still drinkable and plenty flavoursome and the ramen is actually a pretty solid and satisfying bowl. If I was ever in the hood again (or in Chatswood), I think I'd certainly return for a bowl of the ramen with the unbelievably hard to pronounce name.