02 Aug Shizuku Ramen, Abbotsford

Still only a year old, Shizuku recently revamped its menu and has been rebranded by BTP Design to highlight its focus on ramen and craft beer. Shizuku is probably best known for being the first restaurant to introduce ramen burgers to Melbourne. One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was its rather funky set-up and intriguing light fixtures, which were designed and created by Earl Pinto in Collingwood. The menu has an extensive selection of dishes to share (zensai), which go well with their wide range of alcoholic beverages that include beer, cider, wine, sake, umeshu and shochu. Although Shizuku is known for ramen (and of course their famous ramen burger), there are also rice dishes available.

We started with a lobster slider (kewpie salad, pickled carrot & daikon) and tuna tartare (ground tuna in Shizuku dressing with deep-fried gyoza skin). I wasn’t expecting the lobster to be in semi-paste form, mixed with the kewpie mayo, but it was still delicious and the amount of filling had a good balance with the sweet, soft and fluffy bun. The gyoza skin that was to be eaten with the tartare could have been a bit more crunchy, but the refreshing tuna and its seasoning were very good.

Our choices of ramen today were the Hokkaido miso ramen and ebi shio ramen. The rich, hearty Hokkaido miso ramen had hints of ginger and the cha shu was some of the best I’ve had so far – tender, not overly fatty and not paper-thin. The egg was also nice and gooey. I haven’t had shio ramen before; the simple but well seasoned broth allowed the texture of the ramen to really shine. In fact, the stock contained three different types of salt to achieve its flavour: Hakata salt, Mongolian salt and Fleur de Sel. I also appreciated the fact that they weren’t stingy on the extra ingredients and neither did the ingredients overpower the main star – the lovely, springy house-made ramen.

We also tried out some dessert: espresso pudding and miso caramel ice cream. The miso caramel ice cream was actually vanilla ice cream that had been drizzled with the miso and banana toffee/caramel sauce. It was quite an interesting and strong-tasting flavour combination that was better when eaten with more ice cream.

There’s quite a variety of things to try at Shizuku, making it ideal for regular visits, celebrations and casual catch-ups. Due to improve their ramen recipe soon to make the texture of their noodles even better, it’s well worth a visit.

Disclaimer: I was invited to dine at Shizuku Ramen as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own and not influenced by the restaurant in any way.

Shizuku Ramen
309 Victoria Street
Abbotsford, VIC, 3067
(03) 9995 8180
http://www.shizuku.com.au/