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MELBOURNE | No. 18 Ramen Richmond is the second venue from the team behind the popular St Kilda ramen spot of the same name, and offers a ramen experience that differs from most in Melbourne. Rather than focusing on tonkotsu, or pork broth ramen, the specialty here is Ohako, or chicken bone stock, ramen, along with other ramen that use chicken or chicken and fish bone as the basis of the broth.
The signature Ohako ramen is light, and almost reminiscent of a chicken soup, which makes sense. It’s generously filled with egg-noodle, naruto, menma, duck, spring onion, and seaweed. Egg is optional. We didn’t mind the taste of this ramen, and the serving was quite large, however we couldn’t shake the fact that it didn’t really satisfy our ramen craving. It also got quite thick and gluggy after a while. If you go into this expecting more of a ramen x chicken soup dish then you can manage your expectations.
We also tried the Helles Red, a chicken and fish stock ramen with 4 chilli oils and Japanese pepper along with chicken mince, onion, leek, and seaweed. This was more along the lines of what we were expecting, and delivered on the promise of a spicy ramen dish which really packed a bunch, with a very flavoursome broth.
A range of sides and other dishes like rice bowls are offered for those who don’t want ramen. We quite liked the pork gyoza and tori karage (fried chicken) topped with a house made tartar sauce rather than the more common Kewpie mayo.
The space is small, and the service efficient and friendly. We admire No. 18 for doing things a bit different from the rest, and while the menu is a bit hit and miss, there’s enough on there to make a visit worthwhile, just manage your expectations and order accordingly.
No. 18 Ramen (Richmond)
392 Bridge Road
Richmond
Victoria 3121
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9445 8958
E-mail: n/a
Website: Website
Open
Mon – Sun: 11:00am to 3:30pm; 5:30pm to 9:00pm