In case you hadn’t noticed, a new ramen shop opened up on Lonsdale Street in Braddon. Ramentic is located in a small nook in the Mode 1 building. Canberrans must really love their ramen, as on Ramentic’s opening day, they sold out of ALL the broth including the portion saved for the weekend! There really isn’t a decent ramen joint in Canberra so I know a lot of my friends and I were eager to try it out.
I started off with the pork bun ($6) with pork belly, hoisin, cucumber and sriracha. Expecting a thick cut of pork belly, I was pleasantly surprised to find pulled pork belly instead. It was much leaner and easier to eat in my opinion. Tasty.
There are four types of ramen bowls available – the ramentic (tonkotsu with chashu), chook shoyu, spicy pork, and vegetarian (in a mushroom broth). Prices aren’t cheap from $18-19 for a basic bowl. During my first visit, I ordered the ramentic with an egg. A soft boiled egg is an additional $3 which I thought was a bit expensive. I was happy to see a creamy thick non-translucent broth which is something really lacking in Canberra. It also tasted better than a lot of other places selling ramen. Pork bones are cooked for approximately 12 hours. I found that the broth definitely set the bar for Canberra, but didn’t have the richness and depth of flavour you could get from places like Gumshara in Sydney. The thin ramen were medium in texture – not too hard and not too soft. Very slurpable!
The egg yolk was nice and gooey inside but I do prefer it to be marinated. The ramen toppings included woodear mushrooms, spring onion, bamboo shoots and pickled greens – all a nice touch and value-add to the dish.
I’ve been back a few more times with other friends. A vegetarian friend mentioned the mushroom broth was nice but not as thick or flavourful as others he’s had. I tried the spicy ramen – similar to the ramentic but with the addition of spicy pork mince. It was very spicy for me but J thought it could have been spicier.
To be honest, it doesn’t seem worth it to order the sides. You’re looking at an extra $5 for two very thin slices of chashu, or $3 for an egg. I do recommend forking out the extra $2 for extra noodles as you get a small bowl-full which I couldn’t finish on my own. But it was perfect to share with someone else, so really an extra $1 between two.
Since these outings, the menu has been updated with steamed gyoza and chashu don. I see from Ramentic’s Instagram page that they’ll be introducing mazemen ramen (a no broth ramen) soon too.
Service was very friendly on all occasions and I was greeted as soon as I walked into the tiny shop. There was a self service water station available where napkins and chilli powder can be found. There were only a few tables outside and two long counters inside with stools, making the place nice and cosy – kind of reminiscent of the traditional Japanese ramen joints. Worth a visit.
Ramentic
24 Lonsdale Street, Braddon
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 12.00 – 2.30pm; 6.00pm – 9.00pm.
Foodgasm 7/10
Value for money 6.5/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 21.5/30
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