Fukuryu Ramen – First in Australia

panda 4 rating

Menu:
The 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

Fukuryu Ramen on Urbanspoon

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Lil Boy Blue – Great Combination of Ingredients

panda-3-5-rating2

My friends and I headed to Lil Boy Blue for breakkie/brunch on a Sunday. I had seen some of my other friends visiting this place for dinner and the food looked amazing, so decided to check it out.

Lil Boy Blue is a restaurant and bar in Kew by owner/chef Joshua Clarke and is located in a heritage listed buildling. The place has a modern yet rustic feel and is filled with wooden tables complete with blue water glasses (which I really want for my house by the way), a brass horn which is mounted on the wall and the look is completed with a sketch of a little boy (done by local artist Conrad Bizjak). It really does live up to its name!

There is the main dining area at the front of the restaurant, and you can walk through to where the kitchen is and there are higher tables where you can dine as well. There is an upstairs function area which is available for bookings as well as a private sunroom.

The menu is a mix of simple Modern Australian food, where an interesting mix of ingredients are put together in each dish and consists of Breakfast (served till 2pm on weekends), Nibbles, Lil Plates and Big Plates are also available on the menu which is available later on in the day and into the night. There is also a dessert menu, and sweets which are made in-house every morning by the chefs which are located in the front cabinet.

My friends and I were seated on the higher tables and were given the food menus to peruse. I had had a quick glance at the menu before coming here so had an idea of what I wanted to have already, but was still torn between certain dishes as to what to order. I was tossing up between the Salmon Gravlax with Polenta Chips, the Piklets and the Poached and Crumbed eggs (you know how much I love my crumbed poached eggs =p). I settled with the Poached and Crumbed eggs, as P was getting the Salmon Gravlax and I was going to try some of hers. We also agreed to share the Pikelets at the end – as our dessert for brunch =p
T also wanted to try out the Popcorn Pork Belly Popcorn (which is under the Nibbles section and was only available after 12, but the waitress asked the kitchen and we were available to get this dish). That’s a big tick for customer service! Our waitress also asked us if we wanted to wait until we finished our food before the pikelets were put thru so they would be fresh when they came out – thoughtful – another big tick!

We started off our meals by getting our coffees that we ordered. The coffee here comes from Allpress and was nutty and creamy and all round delicious.When our dishes came out, they were visually pleasing and this proceeded in all three of us taking many pictures of our food (yes we were those people =p). Once we were done, we tucked into the food. My dish was Poached & Crumbed Eggs with Trio of Mushrooms, Soldiers, Salsa Verde, Pickled Capsicum & Goat’s Curd. T had the same dish as me but added salmon and P had the Salmon Gravlax with Polenta Chips, Avocado Puree, Poached Egg & Creme Fraiche,  Dill & Mustard Dressing.

My dish was delicious – I loved the trio of mushrooms and they were juicy and flavoursome, this coupled with the pickled capsicum and the soft texture  and tanginess of the goat’s curd completed the dish. I liked the addition of  soldiers – pieces of buttered sourdough. The poached crumbed egg was perfectly cooked, and the yolk was runny just like how a poached egg should be. One addition that I would have liked would have been a sauce or some sort – to dip the soldiers into.

P had the Salmon Gravalax – this means that the salmon has been cured in salt, sugar and dill which adds to the flavour and yummyness of the salmon. The Polenta chips were fluffy and fresh, and were perfectly cooked – crunchy on the outside and soft and like clouds on the inside. The avacado puree was smooth and the creme fraiche had the perfect tanginess to it. As a whole the dish was cleverly put together and tasted fantastic. Definitely a dish try. T and P enjoyed the Popcorn Pork Belly that came with Apple Aioli. I thought the combination was quite interesting and as I dont eat pork, I only tried the apple aioli which was sweet and fresh.

The Pikelets came once we done with our savoury dishes. The Pikelets came with pear, apple, vanilla & spice compote, cinnamon ice cream & almond praline. The Pikelets were fluffy and lightly sweetened and the combination with the poached pear and apple was fantastic. The ice cream was my favourite component of the dish – I have never had cinnamon ice cream before. Eventhough I was really full from my savoury dish, I really couldn’t leave any of this dish behind – it was that yummy. I must say it is one of my favourite pancake / pikelet dishes to date.

Lil Boy Blue is a great find in Kew and the atmosphere is welcoming and the place is buzzing with conversation. The service is friendly, warm and attentive. I do want to come back and check out their dinner dishes and see if they are just as good as their breakkie ones. Lil Boy Blue is open seven days a week and goes right through to dinner and cocktails from Tuesday to Saturday.

Rating: 3.5 Pandas
Price:$$$
Menu: The menu can be found at http://www.lilboyblue.com.au/menu
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Relaxed, Buzzing with chatter and warm, great for a catchup with friends
Standout Dish: Pikelets with Pear, Apple, Vanilla & Spice Compote, Cinnamon Ice cream & Almond Praline
Service: Friendly, Warm and Attentive
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
www.lilboyblue.com.au
309 High Street, Kew
Tel No: 9853 5003

Opening Hours:
Monday: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday to Saturday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Lil Boy Blue on Urbanspoon

Stokehouse – Beachside Beauty with Divine Food!


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– John Dory Fillet, Hickory Smoked Clams, Banana Chillies, Baby Onions, Carrot Purée
– King Prawn and Bug Tortellini, Smoked Tomato, Peas, Baby Gem Lettuce, Saffron and Shellfish Veloute
– Seared Magret Duck Breast and Leg Pastillas, Poached Rhubarb and Fennel Salad, Garlic Purée, Smoked Kaiser
– Crispy Chicken with Pancetta, Mushrooms and Greens
– Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse and Nougat Crunch, Salted Caramel, Honeycomb, Malt Ice Cream
– The Bombe – Frozen White Chocolate Parfait with Strawberry Sorbet and Toasted Meringue

The Stokehouse has the perfect location setting with views overlooking St Kilda beach. There are two parts to this restaurant – the Upstairs which is the elegant more stylish part and the Downstairs Bar & Grill which is a more casual setting and serves pizzas, pastas etc – perfect place for a casual catch up with friends all year round. The Bar & Grill is currently closed for renovations and will open up in November 2012. A new Stokehouse Cafe is coming soon as well – keep checking back to their site or follow them at Twitter to find out more information (@Stokehouse). Stokehouse menus are created by executive chef Anthony Musara and head chef Oliver Gould, and represent the best of Modern Australian fine dining.

My friends and I headed to Stokehouse Upstairs for Dinner and it was the first time there for all of us. We were shown to our tables by our friendly waiter. The place is decked out in white but in a classy and elegant manner. There is a balcony which overlooks the beach, where you can have some casual drinks before retreating to your table. The view is not only relaxing but calming. We ordered the King Prawn and Bug Tortellini, Smoked Tomato, Peas, Baby Gem Lettuce, Saffron and Shellfish Veloute as an Entree to share. The home-made pasta parcels were fresh and cooked perfectly. Even though in the picture there appears to be a lot of “foam” aka Veloute, there wasn’t. The mixture of King Prawn and Bug was flavoursome and together with the other elements of the dish worked perfectly. My main was the John Dory Fillet, Hickory Smoked Clams, Banana Chillies, Baby Onions, Carrot Purée. The combination of the Fish and the Smoked Clams were fantastic and dipped in the carrot purée created a smoky sweet mixture. The presentation of all the dishes had a touch of elegance and even though there were so many elements present on the plate. The dishes weren’t too cluttered, and the use of white plates enhanced the fresh colour of all the ingredients.

Next was my favourite course – DESSERT! I had read about The Bombe – as it the most talked about dessert at the Stokehouse and has been a feature on their menu for a very long time, and it sure did not disappoint. It comes standing proudly in the centre of the plate – a cross-section of frozen white chocolate parfait, strawberry sorbet on a sponge base encircled by a thick layer of blow-torched meringue, which taste like clouds in your mouth. It is simply delicious and you find yourself savouring every mouthful. The strawberries that come to the side don’t even need to be there, the Bombe on its on is all you need. The other dessert we had was the Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse and Nougat Crunch, Salted Caramel, Honeycomb, Malt Ice Cream. This was pretty spectacular as well – the mousse was light and fluffy and together with the salted caramel and honeycomb somewhat offset the powerful chocolate taste. I have never had malt ice cream before, so this was a nice addition.

The Stokehouse to put it simply has great food, wine, service, ambience and views which makes for a memorable dining experience no matter what time of day you go. You can catch the sunset or even just enjoy the night time view of the sea.

Note: The restaurant upstairs can acommodate up to 135 guests seated for an a la carte meal or up to 300 standing for cocktails. Exclusive use of the restaurant space is suitable for wedding ceremonies or any other special occasion.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $$$$
Menu – A la Carte – can be found online
Upstairs at http://www.stokehousemelbourne.com.au/upstairs/,
Bar&Grill – http://www.stokehousemelbourne.com.au/bar-grill/.
All new Stokehouse Cafe coming soon – http://www.stokehousecafe.com.au/
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Stylish yet casual and has lovely views. Great for a dinner with friends, a private function like a wedding (where you can hire out the entire Stokehouse Upstairs) or for date night.
Standout Dish:
Service: Fantastic, Friendly and Attentive. Stokehouse is known for their great service and they didn’t disappoint when we went there.
Online Booking: Yes via website –
Upstairs – http://www.stokehousemelbourne.com.au/upstairs/,
Bar&Grill – http://www.stokehousemelbourne.com.au/bar-grill/.
All new Stokehouse Cafe coming soon – http://www.stokehousecafe.com.au/
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.stokehousemelbourne.com.au/
30 Jacka Bvd, St Kilda
Tel No: 9525 5555

Opening Hours:
Lunch:
Monday to Saturday: 12pm – 2:30pm
Sunday: 12pm – 3pm

Dinner:
Monday to Sunday: 6pm-10.30pm

Stokehouse (Upstairs) on Urbanspoon