PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIADressed down like an authentic Japanese ramenya, Ichi-ban Boshi’s original noodle shop dishes up delicious house-made ramen soups in simple surrounds. The Bondi Junction store opened more than a decade ago, and has since earned a solid reputation for its authentic menu and convivial staff. The restaurant’s ramen are made in the traditional Japanese style, sticking to stringent standards, in which the ratio of purified water and quality Australian wheat flour depends on humidity and air temperature. The gyoza, too, are made in-house; these delightfully delicious pockets – wok-fried or deep-fried – have secured a steady local following. Take a seat at one of the few tables on ground level, a stool by the open kitchen or upstairs in the basic dining room. With massive portions and low prices, Ichi-ban Boshi’s 40 seats are filled to capacity most days.
Noodles, chashu and broth converge to form slurping-good ramen, a myriad of which grace the menu. Dive into the restaurant specialty, kakuni ramen, for tender, stewed pork, bok choy and corn dancing in a salty broth. The tonkotsu soup is another popular must-try; pork bones are boiled overnight and added to chicken, vegetables and spices to extract a flavoursome broth. The recent addition of cheese ramen – cheese and roast pork on shoyu ramen – is a surprisingly tasty combination. An array of udon and rice dishes, plus a number of set meals, are sure to satisfy all tastes and appetites. If you can’t snare a seat at the Bondi Junction store, you can find all the favourites at The Galeries Victoria restaurant, or take your chosen delights home.
Lauren Barker, November 2008