Shizuku Ramen Abbotsford is one of the many ramen joints that opened in Melbourne during 2014, where not a week passed where one didn’t hear of a ramen spot opening somewhere in Melbourne. We’ve had this one on our hitlist for a while, especially intrigued by the promise of not just authentic ramen, but also a very impressive craft beer list. Finally we had the opportunity to eat at Shizuku and here’s what we thought.
To start with, the beer list lives up to the hype. A range of Australian, Japanese and American craft beers can be found on the drinks list which for beer alone spans over a page in length. There craft beers on offer range from solid everyday brews through to the more exotic of the bunch like the Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate concoction from Portland’s Rogue. A decent range of sake and umeshu, along with a small wine selection is also offered.
Food wise, a range of Japanese dishes traditional and modern are offered along with the main feature of the menu, the ramen, featuring a broth that takes 24 hours to prepare.
Lobster Roll ($6.00)
The lobster roll with kewpie, salad, pickled carrot & daikon was really tasty, and a lot cheaper than some of the other lobster rolls out there in Melbourne too. A soft bun and crunchy filling combines to make a texturally well balanced starter.
Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen ($18.00)
This is one of the more powerful tasting bowls of ramen that we have eaten in Melbourne. The pork bone tonkotsu broth is luxuriously creamy and has the undeniable smell of pork emanating from the bowl when it’s placed in front of you. It was saltier than we like (which seems to be a common feature of a lot of ramen in Australia) but apart from that we couldn’t fault it. Really tasty stuff.
Soboro Don ($15.00)
As stated earlier, it’s not just ramen that’s served at Shizuku. Amongst other things a range of rice dishes, including this Soboro Don can be found. We were big fans of the minced pork atop the rice and really liked that there was an option to add a raw egg yolk ($2.00 extra). Raw egg yolk used in this way is such a common sight in Japan however it’s rare to see it in Australia.
Shizuku Ramen has been on our list for a while now and we were glad that we finally go the chance to try it. Apart from some minor service issues things ran smoothly and with a smile and, most importantly, the promise of good food and craft beer was well and truly met. We’d happily return here for another feed.
Shizuku Ramen
309 Victoria Street
Abbosford
Victoria 3067
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9995 8180
Email: n/a
Website: http://shizuku.com.au/
Open
Mon – Sun: 11:00am to 2:30pm; 5:30am to 10:00pm
