Ka Sushi Ramen — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

My husband and I were hoping to get shabu shabu (Japanese hotpot) from a nearby restaurant but unfortunately, the place was closed at that time. Most of the other good restos in the vicinity were also closed. Ka Sushi Ramen was fortunately open (one star for that) and the place was quite full. I have tried Ka Sushi Ramen a couple of times before and I remember that I was not quite satisfied with the food. Still, we decided to give it a try. Our expectations were not really that high**(see note below). It was cold and we just want a decent bowl of noodle soup. I ordered a bowl of udon topped with nori (seaweed) and beef. My husband ordered a karai ramen (ramen with spicy minced pork) with chashu (slices of pork). We also ordered fried gyoza and squid tempura rings (like calamari) on the side. The noodles in both bowls were cooked well (the second star), everything else were not so good. The broth in both bowls do not have enough flavor. The beef was tough (they were already thinly sliced like gyudon style) and the slices of pork were stale. The egg on the ramen was also stale. The minced pork tasted like it was not properly thawed before cooking. The seaweed in the udon was too fishy. The squid was overcooked which made the meat too tough and rubbery. The gyoza was okay (would have given a 0.5 star for that, if possible). Overall, we think the restaurant has to re-evaluate their strategy for cooking. Maybe we were just unlucky. Or maybe we did not order their best sellers. The noodles with tempura ordered by other customers looked good (and maybe worth trying IF I decide to try my luck in this resto again). Those who ordered something with rice also looked satisfied. Or maybe, like us, the other customers were just looking for something decent to eat.

**My husband and I lived in Tokyo, Japan for 5 years. We have a good idea of what a good ramen tastes like. We also know that Canberra is not really the best place to get a good bowl of ramen. We never expect to get the same quality of ramen as those that we get in Japan. We just crave for a decent bowl of ramen...

It's more 3.5 stars, but I rounded down

What I had was the spicy mince and pork ramen for $14.50. The mince was ok, a bit grainy. Pork slices weren't the typical round ones, so seems smaller, and there wasn't a lot of it, though it was tender. The noodles were nice, and the soup was great and not heavy. Overall, decent for the pricing

I also had the chicken kaarage. They have a $20 EFTPOS limit, so I added that on for $7.70 The chicken was juicy and tasty when hot, though they weren't very thick pieces, and the batter was a bit thick. The Mayo was good though.

Setting was very casual. Tables are linked in long rows, is well lit and quite big. It's well set out for larger groups to come in. Perhaps as a feed before heading out for the...

Quite good value Japanese cuisine. It's not the best I've had, but for $15 is quite serviceable. The broth is slightly weak though. The place looks quite good, nice and modern. Tables are sparkling clean. Sushi was quite great, pork was tender.

Toilets are clean, spacious and modern. Just a bit confusing when I first tried to go (mens on the left and women on the right).

Overall presentation is excellent, and the place is in a good location right next to the ANU.

Edit: Came back the next week and got the curry omelette rice with fried chicken pieces, this is much better. Needs some soy sauce or more msg in the rice, but I will be ordering this over the ramen from now onwards....