manpuku, kingsford

Manpuku is small joint located on the busy strip of Anzac Parade among all the Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants. I've been here twice before during peak hours and it was filled with uni students. I found myself waiting about 5-10 minutes for a table.

Like most Japanese restaurants, you're greeted by bubbly staff upon entry which seems to resonate throughout the whole store. From the wooden menu panels and the noren to the calligraphy artwork on the walls, it feels like you've just stepped into Japan.

Manpuku specialises in Japanese ramen with a small range of flavours on offer - from variations of soy based tonkotsu broths to chicken and miso based broths. There are also sides and small rice dishes you can also order but we're here today for the ramen experience.

When you approach the counter to order, you'll see trays of rolled up fresh-looking noodles ready to be cooked in the hot water. Yay - thumbs up for Manpuku.

If you're having trouble deciding which ramen to get, you can play a simple game of amidakuji and let fate decide for you.

takoyaki ($5.50):

We decide to get some takoyaki, which are Japanese style octopus puffs. Five takoyaki balls arrive in a tiny dish with a heap of squirming bonita flakes. The tiny puffs are piping hot and the chewy centre is encased by a crisp yet fluffy batter. I think they're the best takoyaki I've had in a while.

Now, on to the ramen.

shio tonkotsu ($12.90):

The Shio Tonkotsu is salt based pork soup with pork belly, cabbage, sliced mushroom, shallots, seaweed and egg. The pork belly and flavour of this broth was particularly memorable for me. The slice of pork belly was charred, smokey and oh so tender - it literally melts in your mouth after bathing in the rich and milky broth. Fortunately there is a generous amount of mushrooms and cabbage to help cut through the richness of this ramen and make the whole experience extremely pleasant.

kono deaini kashashite aijou to jonetsu komete isshoukenmei tsuki ha uchirano icchan sukina manpuku shiwase ramen ($12.90):

This is Manpuku's specialty ramen with a soy based pork soup, pork belly, egg, shallots, bamboo shoots, bean spouts and a seaweed sheet. I can only understand parts of its long name like - 'made with hard work' and 'happiness ramen' (correct me if I'm wrong). It arrives in a relatively smaller looking bowl to the shio tonkotsu but don't be fooled - it's equally as filling. I thought the broth was the best - it was perfectly salted, rich but not too thick and paired very well with Manpuku's thin wavy noodles. It truly was the happiness ramen.

miso ($12.90):

The 'Miso' is a miso based pork soup with pork belly, egg shallots, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and a seaweed sheet. Miso is just fermented soy bean paste and while there is that deep and rich flavour, it is not as creamy as the other two in terms of texture. At some places, the fermented soy bean flavour is sometimes almost non-existent but I think it's perfect at Manpuku.

Although the menu is limited, there are plenty of options to jazz up your ramen like adding extra toppings, adjusting the richness of the soup, the saltiness of the soup and the type of noodle (wavy or medium straight noodles). Although the soft boiled egg, pork belly, soup and noodles here are consistently perfect, I personally would prefer thicker noodles - but that's just me being picky. I think Manpuku would definitely be pretty high up on my non-existent list of favourite ramen joints.

Manpuku 
482 Anzac Parade
Kingsford, NSW 2032
t: (02) 9662 1236