Ramen Ichiraku review: City soup den tests chilli tolerance with Australia’s second-favourite Japanese dish

Australians love Japanese cuisine. And if our sushi train of thought isn’t occupied by convenient little rolls of rice, vinegar, seaweed and other stuff, we’re thinking about ramen. Business insurance website BizCover crunched Google searches for the 12 months up to April 2024 and discovered that we searched for Japanese food more than any other cuisine, ahead of Indian and Italian. Of those 22.5 million online hunting parties, 7.7m were for sushi and 5.2m were for ramen — the sixth most-searched for dishes behind hot dogs, pizza, sushi, kebabs and fish’n’chips. This data suggests that most of us hit Google for dinner ideas when we are either sloshed or hungover. Close to 11m searches were for hotdogs. Hot-frickin’-dogs, come on, people! Hungover? Get yourself a big bowl of ramen, not a sausage in bread. Ramen is the ultimate comfort food. Noodles, broth, protein, seaweed, umami flavours and as much spice as you like. No wonder it became Japan’s national soup. (Take that, miso!) Everyone has their favourite style. Mine is tori paitan, or chicken broth ramen. It’s lighter and less coma-inducing that the traditional tonkotsu or pork version. Chicken noodle soup cures everything. There’s a reason why there are always lines outside tori paitan specialists Tosaka Ramen Bar in Northbridge. The global popularity of ramen has accompanied the spread of Japanese pop culture, especially here and in the US, where ramen is almost becoming a national dish. Smash hit 1985 film Tampopo, described as a “ramen western” (a play on spaghetti westerns), let moviegoers know that there were tasty noodles beyond the two-minute variety. And ramen joints are a staple in Japanese animation, including the hugely popular manga series Naruto. In fact, there are several restaurants across the world named Ramen Ichiraku, the humble noodle bar frequented by titular hero Naruto Uzumaki, including a 30-seater tucked down a side street in inner-city Perth. Ramen Ichiraku was opened in mid-2017 by three family members, with another relative in chef Carson Chan leading the kitchen. Chan learnt the ropes in Japan, working at his uncle’s izakaya in Shizuoka, south-west of Tokyo. Like many Japanese diners, Ramen Ichiraku isn’t much to look at — sliding glass doors at the back of a small carpark on the ground floor of a small block of flats. But, like many Japanese diners, you never judge an anime magazine by its cover. Nor its ambience, a kind of quirky suburban games room with tables and chairs. Pro tip: don’t simply slide open the door and waltz into this ramen den. First you must read the menu plastered on the window outside. Make your decision. Choose wisely, reader san! You’ll be greeted by Mr Ramen Guy, a three-foot statue of a mummy wrapped in noodles wearing a ramen bowl as a hat. A waiter armed with an iPad will also meet you inside the door. Place your order and pay first. Table second. The menu is hilarious. The spicy Red Dragon ramen bowl ($20) is “a monster not to be underestimated” with spice levels ranging from one (soft, bro!) to “unforgivingly spicy” from level four onwards. “No refunds or exchanges for overestimating your chilli tolerance.” Of course, I took this as a personal challenge. What do you take me for, a wimp? I ordered level three. What do you take me for, an idiot? Other ramen bowls on offer included the best-selling signature Hakata tonkotsu ramen, tan tan Ichiraku with pork mince and “sesame and peanut-based flavours”, the curry king and co-owner Priscilla Chan’s favourite, the dark side shoyu made with soy sauce for ultimate umami. All cost between $19 and $22, plus whatever else you’d like to throw in: mushrooms, a soft-boiled egg or three, bamboo, black garlic oil or wood ear fungus. It’s up to you. That’s another great thing about ramen, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure in a bowl. The pork and vegetable broth simmers away for 12 hours to create the rich umami flavours intrinsic to ramen. Ramen Ichiraku also has a parallel vegan universe of its entire menu. Myra couldn’t resist the truffle tonkotsu ($23) which you can smell leaving the small kitchen. My wife added a soft-boiled egg to her intoxicatingly pungent mushroom noodle soup. Chef does not hold back on the truffle. Before our ramen, we grabbed a serve of the chicken karaage ($10), one of five “small eats” alongside pan-fried gyoza dumplings, takoyaki balls and edamame beans. The karaage had excellent crispy coating and was drizzled with a sweet sauce and came with a small serve of kewpie mayo. Ramen Ichiraku is fully licensed and offers Japanese beers, sweet wine cups and soft drinks. By the time my level-three Red Dragon ramen and Myra’s truffle tonkotsu drifted out of the kitchen, Ramen Ichiraku was full. It’s a busy little joint, despite being somewhat off the beaten track (that is, William Street). There would be many witnesses if I’d “overestimated my chilli tolerance”. Mercifully, the level-three chilli ramen had assertive, growing spice but wasn’t life-threatening. The pork broth was pleasingly thick without being overly gelatinous, which is usually why I prefer chicken to pork ramen. Charred pulled pork and a big slice of roast pork splashed among the noodles, nori seaweed, chives and half a soft-boiled egg. This was truly a feast in a bowl. The bowl lacked presentation, a big part of Japanese cuisine. There was a bit of residue around the rim and, overall, Ramen Ichiraku can’t compare to Tosaka, where they aerate the soup to create an aromatic foamy top. That said, we both slurped up every drop of soup from our bowls and gave Mr Ramen Guy a high-five on the way out of those sliding glass doors. Ramen Ichiraku is one of those unassumingly hole-in-the-wall joints you might find in Tokyo or Fukuoka or Los Angeles or Perth … or on Google. Ramen Ichiraku 43 Monger St, Perth OPEN Tuesday-Friday, 5pm-9pm. Saturday-Sunday, 11.30am-9pm. Closed Mondays and public holidays. CONTACT ramenichirakuperth.com BOOKINGS No THE VERDICT Pocket-sized ramen joint slightly off the radar that has devoted regulars. Full-flavoured ramen in distinctive regional styles plus a full vegan menu. Short small plates and basic drinks lists but, hey, you’re going there for a comforting serve of Australia’s second-favourite Japanese dish. 12.5/20