When it comes to ramen cravings, there are no shortage of places to visit in Melbourne. One of the newer additions to the Melbourne ramen scene is Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. Barely over a year old and situated by the Flinders street end of Russel street, it is a very convenient place to dine, being only a few minutes from Flinders street station.
A well lit entrance
Clean and stylish interior
The mascot
An open kitchen
Small bar to the side
Yuzu Gyutan $10
When I ordered the Yuzu Gyutan I was expecting the dish to have a light citrus dressing, however unlike other Japanese restaurants there was no citrus flavour and for some reason it was actually quite spicy.
Potato Croquette $10
The potato croquettes were one of my favourite dishes of the meal. The light and fluffy potato center combined with the crispy crumb coating created a great mouthfeel and flavour.
Chicken Katsu $10
The chicken katsu was cooked well, the chicken remained tender and juicy while the outside was nice and crispy, however the portion was quite small.
Ikkoryu Original Tonkotsu $15
All of the ramen we ordered was made from the same tonkotsu base soup, but we decided that we would each order a different style or flavour of the tonkotsu. The Ikkoryu original tonkotsu is the most basic type of ramen that is offered in almost all ramen shops. This particular tonkotsu has a nice flavour but was quite thin and very fatty.
Spicy Tobanjan Tonkotsu $17
The spicy tobanjan tonkotsu is a tonkotsu that is flavoured by spicy tobanjan paste. We chose the second of the 4 heat levels offered, which turned out to be a good decision as the ramen was very spicy. The spicy flavour was nice though and complemented the tonkotsu well. However I would probably avoid ordering the highest levels of heat as the second level was already very spicy.
Yuzu Tonkotsu $17
The yuzu tonkotsu is a recommended and signature dish of Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. Originally I was confused as to why the broth was green and tasted nothing like the citrus fruit, yuzu. But after some explanation I found out that it is actually flavoured with a green spice from the Kyushu region in Japan named yuzukosyo. The flavour was quite balanced, with a flavour from the spice that was quite hard to explain.
The ramen offered at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen has quite a lot of variety, however the price point is higher than almost every other ramen store that I have been to. The ramen only comes with either chashu or pork belly and base garnishes. This makes it so that if you want to have the extra ingredients that may be included at other ramen restaurants, such as the egg, you may be paying upwards of $20-25 for a single bowl of ramen. Even with variety and well prepared and tasty food, there are just too many other good ramen stores in Melbourne that are much cheaper.
Food Rating 7/10
Overall Rating 6/10