Welcome to Isaac’s weekly ramen blog a.k.a. iFat – Food Chronicles.

Once upon a time, Ramen vs. Pho was a debate for me. I even detailed it here.

It reminds me of a teacher’s staff room debate in which they try to project which one of their students will go on to greater heights. What, you don’t think this happened? I used to call one of my primary school teachers and we’d break down the rest of my classmates. It happens.

I’d be the worst type of teacher. Hell, I’d discuss which kid brought the best lunch if someone was willing to have that conversation.

Sorry, got sidetracked.

Let’s go back to projecting the success of students. We all know who the superstar of our class was; this person was consistently excellent and established themselves early. However, beneath them was usually a pool of students with varied track records and abilities. Maybe one was an excellent mathematician who failed to string coherent sentences together (not me). You had the one kid who was secretly an idiot but was so eloquent he was able to fool his teachers into thinking he had something resembling brains (maybe me). Or the one kid who showed flashes of brilliance but had too much going on to get his head in the game.

The teachers knew what they were getting with the consistently excellent student, but the one with intrigue, untapped potential and a limitless ceiling?

Mr. Lai thinks pho is excellent but ramen, when everything comes together, has the ability to blow everything away.

You know where everything comes together? Ramen Ikkyu on Sussex Street

Ramen Ikkyu has occupied pole position on my ‘ramen places to visit’ list since the creation of my list.

I have long heard hallowed tales of it’s incredibly bowls of noodles and soup. My desire for Ikkyu’s ramen rivaled my desire to get slaughtered in a rap battle with Kendrick Lamar and the opportunity to get dunked on by Michael Jordan.

Hmm; guess I do have masochistic tendencies. This explains all of my choices in women.

Time for something that isn’t painful:

That photo is definitely a contender for the best one I’ve ever taken of something edible. Just look at the glorious pork ribs jumping out of the bowl and attempting to flee. This is definitely a rack I’m not letting out of my sight.

All of Ramen Ikkyu’s soups use a combination of chicken and pork stock along with some random seafood elements. The soup was rather thick but Gumshara’s reign as thickest soup in Sydney remains unrivalled. It’s kind of crazy that they were able to concoct thick broth out of chicken stock. This voodoo magic is the reason I believe that I will eventually be able to find (or create) a girl that is ok with me playing Hearthstone for three hours a day.

I love how they throw in a bunch of toppings free of charge; places that charge extra for egg/mushrooms don’t sit well with me. I was already unlikely to finish the bowl considering they throw in half of Pumba in there but then they throw in some bamboo shoots, black fungus AND a gooey egg?

The pork was incredibly tender. The skin wasn’t crispy but it was marinated and the subtle sweetness made my taste buds very happy. I would’ve loved it to be a bit fattier but that’s more of a personal preference than a critique.

Oh, I haven’t even spoken about the best part yet:

Say what you will about America, but free refills are something I’m very passionate about. I think it’s an excellent idea and I’m glad Ikkyu does it as long as you preserve some of your soup. I’m sure there are ways to sneakily get some extra things but I’ve long retired my acts of seductive mastery.

Here’s the TL; DR for everyone who doesn’t want free refills of my blog:

– I have bad taste in women. Consider it an insult if I ever fall in love with you.

– I know a thing or two about pole positions. Again, not that I go to strip clubs or anything.

– Pork rib ramen. Get on it.

– Bring a takeaway container for the free noodles!

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Ramen Ikkyu, Haymarket

Shop F1A 401 Sussex St 
Haymarket, NSW 2000

Sussex Centre Food Court

Open 7 days

Noon – 8PM (or until everything is sold out)

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