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Just Open: Ippudo Central Park

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

Ippudo's akamaru shinaji ramen with miso paste, garlic oil and and pork belly.
Ippudo's akamaru shinaji ramen with miso paste, garlic oil and and pork belly.Supplied

Poor old University of Technology Sydney food court. First Din Tai Fung moves in to the Central Park complex across the road and lures students with pork dumplings and dan dan noodles. Now Ippudo has set up shop in the "urban village" and its ramen is set be the lunchtime hit of semester two.

Ippudo is not your mom-and-pop noodle shop. The noodle franchise began in Japan in 1985 and the land of the rising sun now has more than 80 of the ramen restaurants, with another 40 stores globally. Ippudo Central Park is the second restaurant of the franchise to open in Australia - the first Aussie Ippudo "ramen brasserie" opened in December 2012 at Sydney CBD Westfield.

"In the next few years we're expecting the [Central Park] area to become a new centre in the city where a lot of people will gather," says Sho Yoshimura, Ippudo operations manager. "Central Park also opens us up to a whole new demographic different to the customers we get in the Westfield shop. The area is more inclined to younger, international students. We want to offer a casual ramen dining experience in their neighbourhood so they don't have to come into the city."

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Yoshimura has done his research. Until recently, "there's nowhere to score good ramen around here" could be heard in Chippendale as often as "the line for Pappa Rich is too long, let's go to Oporto." No more.

The tonkotsu broth at Ippudo is thick, rich, and milky. Not rib-sticking thick like at Gumshara (the cult ramen store at Chinatown's Eating World), but more chicken-soup-in-a-can thick. You can eat a full bowl without falling into a collagen coma.

The menu has 17 ramen options. The tonkotsu broth is best enjoyed in the classic shiromaru motoaji ($15). It's the Big Mac of the franchise, consistent in quality at Ippudos across the globe; tonkotsu served with thin noodles (ask for them to be cooked firm), pork loin, bean sprouts, black mushroom and shallots.

Casual ramen hotspot: inside Ippudo at Central Park.
Casual ramen hotspot: inside Ippudo at Central Park.Supplied

The akamaru shinaji ramen ($16) is similar to shiromaru but flavour-bombed with blended miso paste and garlic oil. There's also a vegetarian shojin ramen ($15) served with mixed vegetable tempura.

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For about $2 each you can jazz your ramen up with things like flavoured egg, pork belly and roasted seaweed. Ippudo Central Park also has you covered for steamed pork buns ($4 each), gyoza dumplings ($6 for five), and karaage fried chicken ($4 for three).

Whereas Westfield Ippudo was set up as a destination-dining restaurant, the Central Park branch is far more casual - this is somewhere you can drop into after picking up groceries at the nearby Woolworths, slurp some ramen, and continue on your way with shopping bags in tow.

Lower Ground, Central Park, 28 Broadway, Chippendale, 8036 4534, ippudo.com.au

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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