Senpai Ramen’s Ramen Omakase has been on my radar since I read about it a few months ago. Keen to check it out, I made a dinner booking for Jik and I immediately after I booked the ticket to Sydney. On a Tuesday night, after finishing my WFH-from-Sydney day, I met Jik at Chatswood train station and Google Mapped our way to Senpai Ramen for some Ramen Omakase that I have been talking her ear off about.
(Not) A Ramen Omakase
It was the first day of the Summer Menu in Senpai Ramen which sounded pretty exciting, but the feeling soon depleted when I read through the menu and realized that I wouldn’t be eating a ramen Omakase. At least not what I thought a Ramen Omakase would be – multiple courses of ramen served in small-ish bowls. It was one of those times when not doing a proper research and hoping for a nice surprise let me down.
The 9 Course of Senpai Ramen
Wagyu on Toast
The first course was Wagyu Toast – a spread of Wagyu Tartare on a tiny piece of toasted sourdough. The crunchiness of the bread matched well with the flavoursome Tartare. I only wished that it was a wee bit bigger. Little did I know then, that it’d be a reoccurring theme for the night.
Sashimi Platter
Next came a plate of Kingfish, tuna and sweet shrimp sashimi. All three were pretty good, with the sweet shrimp being my favourite as the mix of prawn taste and soft texture with slightly sweet and crunchy nori bed was a new experience to my palate.
Wagyu Nigiri
Another new experience for the taste buds: sushi rice wrapped in Kagoshima A5 Wagyu sushi topped with Amaebi (sweet shrimp) and drizzled with what the menu called “liquid gold”.
NGL, this was the most unappetizing-looking dish I have eaten in a restaurant for a long time. So much so that Jik gave me her portion.
It tasted better than it looked. But for a Nigiri the portion was slightly off as I had a hard time fitting it into my mouth. Not a dish I’d ever order for myself again.
Chawanmushi
Although she skipped the previous course, Jik bounced back with this beautifully presented bowl of dashi egg custard with foie gras, chestnuts and spicy sauce. It was her favourite of the night and I ought to agree. It was warm and flavoursome. We only wished the portion was more than a few tea spoons.
Korokke
Next, presented in front of us was King crab and squid Kani cream croquette topped with Hokkaido scallop and three pieces of Tobiko each. Man, I do love me so croquette and this one delivered. A delicious seafood shympony in my mouth and it was also the right size for a change.
Inaniwa
Though the previous course was really good, I think the next one was my favorite of the night. It was a small bowl (again too small!) of cold Udon with pieces of raw tuna and (what the menu said) nashi pear, though I couldn’t taste nor see the pear bits. Nevertheless, this dish was perfect taste-wise, the only complain we both had was again about the portion.
Btw, I had never been a fan of Udon before. But after feasting on this dish, I wondered whether it was just about preference. All the Udon I had tried before was the hot version until that night. Maybe it’s time for me to give a (normal sized) bowl of cold Udon a try.
Robata-yaki
The next course was an big let down. It was Marble Wagyu skewer, which was the one dish that I couldn’t wait to try because it’s a Marble 5 Wagyu. Unfortunately, they botched the cooking method, the meat tasted nowhere as juicy and tender as the one I had at the pop-up stalls in Tsukiji Fish Market. Worse, the sweker was dipped into flavourful but overpowering brown sauce. Even with a lettuce wrap it didn’t help much to balance the taste.
A side story: we also drank umeshu and sake between these courses, which made me want to pee. So with a key given by the restaurant, I walked outside a few doors down to use the toilet in another building. I swore I heard a faint sing-song noise when I entered the bathroom. Me being me, when I saw the only locked toilet stall, I waited to see whether any movement or sound was coming from it – nada. So I peeked down to see whether there was anyone inside – nada. With that, I left the place immediately. I have seen enough horror movies to know when not to be stupid.
A Bowl of (not) Ramen Omakase
Back in the restaurant, we are finally served a bowl of ramen of our choice. I opted for the classic Tonkotsu (Paitan pork broth cooked for 12 hours with pork chashu, black fungus and ramen egg topping). Meanwhile Jik went for Chili Miso Butter (Chintan chicken broth and chilli miso butter topped with Hokkaido scallops, pork chashu, corn and ramen egg).
We were both satisfied with our own choice. I even got the scallops that came in Jik’s ramen since she wasn’t into it.
Basic Dessert
The dessert was a SMALL bowl of roasted green tea panna cotta with Shiratama mochi. It was a good dessert, but that’s it. Nothing special to remember about it.
Speaking of which, I don’t think any dish served on Senpai Ramen is worth reminiscing about. Well, maybe the Udon, but that could be because I am hungry right now and craving a small bowl of Udon. Also, almost every dish was a little too small portion-wise. Both of us were hungry once we reached home and started munching on snacks while watching White Lotus season 2. Not the kind of night I envisioned after spending upwards of $85 per person for a meal.
So does it mean you shouldn’t visit Senpai Ramen? On the contrary, I think you should – at least once, especially if you live in Sydney. But keep your expectation at bay and don’t come thinking that you’d be experiencing the world’s first Ramen Omakase, like the fool that I was.
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