r a m e n

r o m a n c e

Head west along Gouger street, get to Krispy Kreme and keep walking (no seriously, keep walking). In a few steps you’ll come across a set of red curtains billowing out from a doorway onto the street. Whatever is hiding behind you may be wondering? Ah, the mystery! Oh, the intrigue!

What you will find within is Ryo’s Noodles and their generous bowls of salty, brothy  goodness, otherwise known as ramen. Opening roughly 6 months ago, Ryo’s is one of only a handful of Japanese ramen restaurants in Adelaide. On the menu there are 10 different soup dishes to choose from, all featuring the standard salt, soy or miso bases, accompanied by slices of roast pork and traditional soy marinated boiled egg. 

Each bowl also comes with a couple of slices of naruto, a cured sarimi which is essentially a Japanese seafood extender. It’s also that weird white and pink spiral food emoji which you’ve probably never really known what it was. See, we’re all learning something.

If roast pork or spongy seafood segments aren’t your jam, there is one vegetarian option in the form of a vegetables and an egg atop the chewy noodles – sans broth. Before you start your slurping, have a look into the entrees. Octopus balls, fish roe Onigiri (rice lump), roast pork slices, kim chi and my favourite – the Gyoza dumplings.

On offer on the daily specials menu on the evening when I dined was a soft shell crab entree, for $7 it was salty, crunchy and the size of my fist.

The service at Ryo’s was quick but slightly disjointed in the large group I was with. However, the food was good, serving sizes were decent and the prices are extremely reasonable. The restaurant is not licensed nor do they offer a dessert menu but this doesn’t come as a disappointment because it’s all about the ramen.

Next time you arrive in Chinatown and start having to decide on your dining destination amongst all the obvious options, seek out those red curtains and start a romance with Ryo’s ramen.