Chocolate Buddha, Melbourne

Tori Miso Ramen, $13.90

    A short trip back home to Melbourne, but long enough to have some ramen withdrawals. This meant I would have to be on the lookout for a ramen shop. Luckily enough, one popped right up in front of me as we were wandering through Federation Square right in the centre of town along the banks of the Yarra. We chose counter seats so we could get a nice view out the window.

      The restaurant itself was certainly different form anything I've encountered in Tokyo with a much more aesthetically pleasing dining area with many ornamental pieces scattered around. It certainly didn't strike me as an ordinary ramen shop which, to be fair, it isn't. It offers a great deal of Japanese food from udon to curry to sushi. So the atmosphere is much more about dining out rather than a quick slurp during your lunch break.

     We both decided that we would go with the tori miso ramen as it sounded quite interesting with the addition of carrot, red onions and bok choy to more traditional ingredients creating a mystery - 'How is this going to taste?'

     It certainly was different to what I've become accustomed to. The red onions gave it a sweeter taste than what I was expecting but it actually felt like a healthy kind of ramen (if there is such a thing). The soup was perfect for a winter day in Melbourne, but probably a little weak. On a couple of a occasions I came across a clump of miso that hadn't completely dissolved which seemed a little old - Perhaps the soup is made to order?
No matter...

     As I've said before, the beauty of ramen is that you can essentially put into it whatever you like and if you chose to call it ramen, it's ramen. Apparently Chocolate Buddha here follow the same philosophy. It was a great lunch and quite good, but very different to what I call ramen.

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