Fukuryu Ramen – First in Australia

Entrance to Fukuruya Ramen

The kitchen at Fukuruya Ramen

Inside Fukuruya Ramen

Inside Fukuruya Ramen

At the table

The Red Dragon Mural Wall

Making of the food

Vegetable Dry Oil Ramen

Vegetable Dry Oil Ramen

Chilli Sauce

Making of the food

Green Tea Ice Cream

Green Tea Ice Cream

Menu:

I had heard lots about a new ramen place that had opened up in the city called Fukuryu Ramen and decided to check out what all the fuss was about as I am a hugeee ramen fan!

Fukuryu Ramen is in Corrs Lane in the heart of Chinatown in the Melbourne CBD – where other restaurants such as Sichuan House, Brutale are located – upstairs in the large first-floor space which has been renovated. Fukuryu which means Lucky Dragon in Japanese is owned by the Indonesian restaurant group – Hakata Ikkousha – which is also involved in the popular chain of ramen restaurants in Japan and South East Asia – Ikkousha. This is the restaurant group’s first venue outside of Asia.

The space is spacious, bright and has a red wall with a dragon mural on it – really funky! As you make your way up the stairs you can hear the shouts of ‘irrashaimase!’ from the waiters. Rather welcoming! When I went there was of course a line to place your order and sit down, but the turnover rate was quite quick. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and super friendly so you don’t really mind the wait. Whilst standing in line you can see the cooks lining up the bowls of ramen as well their other dishes.

The venue sits around 70 people – there is the option of small wooden tables for parties of 2 to 4 or more as well as bench seating where you can be part of the action and watch the chefs preparing your meals. This is where I sat.

The menu is broken up into 3 different sections – Traditional Ramen, Modern Ramen and Small Plates. There are 4 different types to try out under the Traditional Ramen – featuring the famous Signature Tonkatsu Ramen, Miso Ramen, Shoyu Ramen and Shio Ramen. The Modern Ramens consist of dishes such as the Dry Oil, Vegetarian Dry Oil Ramen and Tam Tam Ramen – which is meant to be Spicy! Small Plates consist of Gyozas, Chicken Wings, Edamame, Pork Belly and Tofu as well a selection of two Salads – Ramen Salad and Fukurya Salad. The Ramen Salad sounded really interesting to me – chilled ramen boodles with wombok and citrus miso dressing.

As I don’t eat pork there was only really one dish that I could try – one of the modern ramen dishes – the vegetable dry oil modern ramen. The dish came with the ramen noodles, a gooey egg, wood ear fungus, nori and bamboo shoots. I also asked for some chilli paste – which was actually really nice – not too spicy but just right and mixed together with the contents on my bowl was really tasty. The noodles were cooked perfectly – and had the right amount of bounce and chewiness to it – and I especially loved the gooiness of the egg. That too was cooked just right. As a whole the combination of ingredients and the oil and chilli paste made for a really tasty dish! I would definitely come back to have this again.

It is a pity that I couldn’t try the any of their traditional ramen – as even the miso soup ramen had the pork broth. From the crowds and the lines – it is safe to say that Fukuryu
Ramen is good at what they do and people really do enjoy their meals. After all they did open the original Ikkousha restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan – home of the tonkatsu ramen.

Fukuryu Ramen were offering complimentary green tea soft serve to every patron and the offer is currently available until the 16th of May. The ice cream had a brilliant green tea flavour and was creamy and refreshing – a perfect end to a great meal.

If you love ramen and different takes on the ramen dish check this place out!

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to menu attached above
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Lively, Warm and Inviting
Service: Super friendly!!
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
https://www.facebook.com/fukuryuramen
Level 1
22-26 Corrs Lane, Melbourne
Tel No: 9090 7149

Opening Hours

Mon to Thu 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Mon to Thu 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Fri to Sat 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Fri to Sat 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Sun 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

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Brutale – Homely Croatian Food

Brutale Entrance

Hanging Pig at Brutale

Painting inside Brutale

Another Painting inside Brutale

Inside Brutale

Table at Brutale

Utility Set at Brutale

Bread

Cockta at Brutale

Drinks at Brutale

Eggplant with Paprika

Father’s Chips with Salt, Pepper and Dobra Spiced Mayonnaise

Grilled Calarami with Garlic, Parsley and Olive Oil

Pierogi – Polish Dumplings, Soured Cream

Shopska Salad – Tomato, Cucumber, Pickled Onion, Paprika, White Cheese

Croatian Doughnuts – Flavoured with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Raisin, Vanilla and Served with Walnut Rakija Cream

It was time for another catchup dinner with A and I selected Brutale as both of us had never eaten Croatian food before. Brutale is located in a laneway in the heart of Melbourne CBD in Corrs Lane – and is under Berlin Bar (where the old Eurotrash nightclub was). It is the latest restaurant from chef Daniel Dobra (ex-The Aylesbury and St Ali), and he gets to share and promote his Croatian heritage by showcasing delicious Croatian food which he grew up with.

Dobra is all about family and Brutale is his way of sharing a piece of his family with us. The restaurant could almost be mistook for his very own family living area – aside from the disco ball bomb, soldier helmet lightshades, not to mention the full pig’s carcass hanging behind the glass at the entrance as well as the interesting artwork (such as huge pictures of broads with the faces of pigs) around the room and a DJ playing records in the background.

The menu consists of appetisers, larger dishes and finishes with desserts and consists of genuine family recipes handed down to him by his father and grandmother. Dishes like his Dad’s oxtail goulash are an example, where it is cooked in the restaurant just as his dad would at home. There are also dishes such as Grandma’s Greens – which is a simple stew of vegies that his grandmother cooked with every meal- and Father’s Chips which pays homage to his family. The Cabbage Rolls and Croatian Donuts are also a recipe passed down from his grandmother. Additionally you can select the ‘Dobra Family Banquet’ and be one of the family for the night. Most of the dishes are cooked in the tailor made kitchen and are cooked over wood and coals to give it a truly authentic flavour. There are other Croatian homestyle techniques such as spit-roasting, pickling and cooking in the peka – a roasting dish with a domed lid.

For drinks there is a selection of unusual Croatian wines, including some grape varieties that aren’t grown anywhere else. The most famous is the Rakija – a spirit distilled from plum and other fruits. This variety continues with their non-alcoholic drinks with drinks such as Cokta – which is described as the Croatian version of Coca Cola. I ordered this and despite not being a huge fan of Coca Cola – this drink was refreshing and addictive (and has the added bonus of having vitamins added too!). A ordered the *orange* drink and said it was an interesting flavour.

We were told by the waiter that most of the dishes were designed to share so that is what A and I decided to do. We weren’t sure if we had ordered too little or too many dishes, so the waiter helped us out with that as well.

We ordered the Pierogi – Polish Dumplings, Soured Cream – which was stuffed with wild mushrooms. This was a really great dish and the sour cream really complemented the dish. The dumpling casing was cooked perfectly and tasted just as good. Another dish that we ordered was the Grilled Calamari with Garlic, Parsley and Olive Oil . This was yet another stand out dish – the calamari was charred perfectly and the combination of the garlic, parsley and olive oil added moistness, flavour and tang. The serving was quite a huge size as well.

The Father’s Chips with Salt, Pepper and Dobra Spiced Mayonnaise was really great as well, although I found that it had a bit too much salt. The Dobra Spiced Mayonnaise was definitely a hit – I could eat this by the spoonful! It was smooth and creamy with a hint of spice and I think you can use it as an addition to any dish really.

We also ordered the Shopska Salad which was very colourful dish and contained Tomato, Cucumber, Pickled Onion, Paprika, White Cheese. The dish was tangy and salty all at the same time and was quite a refreshing dish that I quite enjoyed. The serving size is very generous and we couldn’t finish this dish in its entirety.

The last dish we had was an eggplant dish that had red onions with paprika and coriander on top of it. Usually I am not a fan of eggplant dishes but this was really great. The eggplant was soft and easy to eat and the flavoring complemented the eggplant.

At this point we were really quite full, but decided to share a dessert as well. I sure do love my sweets! We went with the Croatian Doughnuts – Flavoured with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Raisin, Vanilla and Served with Walnut Rakija Cream. Seriously these are the best donuts I have ever tasted. They were served warm and cinnamon, nutmeg, raisin combination was fantastic. This is definitely a dessert you have to try and after all it is Dobra’s Grandmothers recipe.

What is also quite different about Brutale is that there is no bell to let the floor staff knows that a food dish is ready, they just clap their hands and the staff know to go and pick up the food. I really like that idea. The service was great – friendly and helpful but sometimes it was quite hard to get the attention of the waiter if we needed to order something or ask something. And one more downside is that if you want bread you need to order it off the menu, it isn’t served otherwise. Overall Brutale serves delicious Croatian food that is both authentic, simple and delicious in an atmosphere that makes you feel at home.

PS The dish that is highly sought after and talked about is the free-range organic pig – hand-reared on a farm in Bendigo – which is spit roasted for five hours then served with crackling and  jugs of apple purée and roasting juices. I of course couldn’t eat this dish, but is a must try for most people that have been to Brutale.

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $$$
Menu – Refer to http://www.brutale.com.au/#!food/c1rcm
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Warm, Inviting and Homely. There are also interesting pieces of artwork and objects that will keep you amused through dinner
Standout Dish:  Pierogi  and Croatian Donuts
Service: Frienldy and Helpful, but most times it was hard to get the attention of the wait staff.
Online Booking: Yes via http://www.brutale.com.au/#!bookings/chva
Restaurant Details and Location:
brutale.com.au
18 Corrs Lane, Melbourne
Tel No: 9654 4411

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday: 6pm–1am