MELBOURNE | During the lockdown of 2020, friends and ramen lovers Ryan Mahler and Benjamin Reardon launched DIY ramen kit delivery service, Gomi Ramen Shop. Their ramen was inspired by multiple trips to Japan, and several years eating lots of different ramen. The kits, and later pop-ups, we’re so popular, that the duo decided to go all in and open their own permanent bricks and mortar location.
Located in what was previously the site of Beatbox Kitchen (Beatbox is still around, just back to the food trucks only), Gomi Ramen Shop focuses on five different kinds of ramen, along with a few sides, and drinks.
Gone is the bright, colourful interior, replaced with low lighting, a large wooden bar and tables, and lots of black, green and brown. A huge mural by Melbourne-based Japanese Ukiyo-e artist and tattoo master Bang Ganji graces one of the walls.
The particular ramen on offer at any given time rotates with the seasons and available ingredients. The kitchen is minimal waste, with a focus on sustainability and a nose to tail menu. For example, the delicious fried chicken skins with peach and ponzu sauce, use skin from the chickens used to make the chicken shio ramen broth.
Ingredients are Australian where possible, sourced from like-minded producers, and almost everything is made from scratch on site, including the wonderfully springy noodles. They’re made using Eden Valley Biodynamic whole wheat flour.
On my visit, the roast shiitake ramen and the pork tan tan maze soba both impressed. The former with it’s wonderfully smoky shiitake broth, and the latter with just the right level of spice and textural variation. The dessert, a sable biscuit topped with poached rhubarb, meringue, and matcha crumb was a perfect light and summery way to complete the meal.
A welcome addition to Melbourne’s ramen scene, that’s doing things differently in a crowded space. To quote Ryan and Ben “Our food is obviously inspired by Japanese principles and philosophy, but we aren’t Japanese and don’t pretend to be. We take this ethos and apply it to our own experiences and culture here in Australia.” I say they’ve done a cracking job of things.
Gomi Ramen Shop
692 Sydney Road
Brunswick
Victoria 3056
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9191 0008
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Wed – Thu: 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Fri – Sat: 4:00pm to 10:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 4:00pm