Mensho Sydney

The hype around the new Mensho Tokyo opening in Sydney has reached peak level, this Michelin ramen is a not so hidden gem in the heart of Sydney’s CBD with queues galore and waiting times of up to 2 hours every night. The question on everyone’s lips “Is the ramen worth the hype?” Let’s find out!

Photo credit: @menshosydney

Sydney has weathered its fair share of dreary weather over the last few weeks, shivering through bouts of rain peppered with thunderstorms and gale-force winds - the grand opening of Mensho Sydney was a perfect coincidence, is there anything better than a hot bowl of ramen to get us through the winter months? The Mensho Group serves Michelin ramen led by Tomoharu Shono who has been experimenting with pork bone soup since high school. The Mensho brand has since expanded beyond Japan to Australia, the US, Thailand, China, and India. But in today’s age of convenience - is waiting in line for a walk-in-only ramen restaurant for anywhere between 1-2 hours worth it? Let’s get slurping.

Kurozu Karaage

Kurozo Karaage $15

Before we get into the ramen my tummy needs a little bit of an appetizer first so when I saw a photo of this karaage on the menu the eggplant caught my attention (to be honest I thought the whole dish was eggplant when I saw the menu photo, signs of intelligence where art thou?). Whilst the karaage was perfectly fried and crispy the highlight was the deliciously soft and umami eggplant. The dipping sauce tasted like a thickened and sweetened soy honey dipping sauce which was different good.

Would I re-order this? No - simply because this karaage was comparable to what you can get at other Japanese restaurants and we should be saving stomach space for the ramen.

Signature Toripaitan

Signature Toripaitan $32

Here is my rating system for ramen - broth, noodles, chashu, egg, other toppings, and overall flavour. Let’s break down this bowl of ramen based on my rating criteria:

Broth (10/10) - The toripaitan broth uses a chicken broth based on mizutaki (a Japanese hotpot dish), this broth is made by simmering chicken, kelp, and vegetables for six hours and then refrigerating for 24 hours to develop the depth of flavour further. The resulting creamy white broth is bursting with umami and distinct from any other ramen broth I’ve tasted in Sydney - it was deliciously smooth, warming, and not too thick or overpowering (unlike Gumshara which is another beloved ramen restaurant albeit divisive due to the incredibly thick broth).

Noodles (9/10) - moving onto the noodles, the signature bowl has a generous serving of curvy, springy noodles which are the perfect accompaniment for the broth as the broth clung to every single strand of noodle making each bite delectable. If you are a fan of noods you will not be disappointed - springy yet not too firm and moreish, what more can you ask for?

Chashu (8/10) - the signature toripaitan is elevated from the classic version as it includes four varieties of chashu (duck, chicken, pork, and chocolate wagyu), I’m a big chashu fan however couldn’t taste the real difference between the duck and chicken versions compared to pork. The chocolate wagyu was melt-in-your-mouth tender but the chashu blended into one for me after a few bites. Delicious but if you prioritize umami broth and noodles in your ramen over the chashu then I would stick with the classic toripaitan.

Egg (11/10) - I’m a big fan of ramen eggs and this one was soft-boiled to perfection with a jam-like runny yolk filled with umami flavour, words do not do it justice so please refer to photo:

Other toppings (6.5/10) - the signature bowl comes with truffle paste and enoki as additional toppings but the truffle flavour got lost in the umami and creamy broth, the enoki was nice and contributed to the overall balance of the noodles however it just didn’t stand out for me as much as the egg, noodles or the broth.

Overall rating - 8/10

Mensho Sydney is delicious and a great place for a weeknight dinner if you are near the CBD area, although I rate the ramen broth, egg and noodles I’m of the view that $32 is quite a steep price tag for a bowl of ramen. Despite the selection of chashu, enoki and truffle paste that’s served with the signature ramen I would’ve preferred the classic version if I were to visit again (note classic toripaitan does not come with an egg, adding an egg will set you back $4.50). Should you add Mensho as a must-try ramen restaurant to your foodie list? Yes - I think it’s worth visiting at least once to try the unique toripaitan broth (note there are other options available such as shoyu and vegan ramen but I recommend trying the toripaitan as this is Mensho’s signature chicken broth) but I wouldn’t be returning anytime soon due to the long wait times (some customers end up waiting up to 2.5 hours) and expensive price tag on the ramen.

Address: 2 Temperance Ln, Sydney NSW 2000

Opening Hours: 5 - 10p.m every night except Monday (Closed)

Website: https://www.mensho.com.au/

Instagram: @menshosydney