Felt like some Ramen, I had been to some really good places for Ramen in Melbourne but decided to try another place. Shujinko on Russell St is rated really highly on Google so I thought why not try this place out. FYI, Shujinko has numerous eateries in Melbourne but I went to this because of its rating.
Karaage Chicken
Japanese-Styled Fried Chicken served with Fresh Salad, Mayo and Lemon
I was surprised to see how much mayo was on the plate when this dish arrived, it was bigger than the individual pieces of chicken. However, the karaage chicken was nicely coated and had a nice seasoning on the chicken. It was crisp and went really nicely with the fresh lemon and the mayo. The chicken was cooked well and the batter was light. The salad was also really good as well, even though it was just there to balance the plate out.
Shujinko Ramen
Our Signature Original Ramen in Tonkotsu Soap Base (Pork Broth). Serve with Bok Choy, Spring Onion, Bean Sprout, Marinated Egg and Signature Grilled Pork Belly.
The bowl they serve the ramen in is huge and the amount they put in looks depressing to the eye. However, there is ample food in that bowl. The tonkotsu soup was so nice and tasty and full of flavour. It was rich and full of body. I totally loved this soup. The ramen was cooked nicely and you didn’t even know there were bean sprouts in there as it complimented everything else so nicely. Loved the number of chopped spring onions in the bowl and the bok choy was good but not really needed. The grilled pork belly had a lovely charred flavour to it and cut really thin. Wasn’t sure if I was meant to try and cut it with my chopsticks as it was so long, but just ended up eating the whole thing. The marinated egg was really good and bought everything together. Overall a really good bowl of ramen.
Tsukemen
Also known as Japanese Dipping Noodle served with special broth contains chopped pork belly separately. Dip the thick chewy noodles (room temperature) into the warm pork-based broth and seafood seasoning.
I have never had Tsukemen and I was really interested in trying it out. I loved the texture and temperature of the ramen and it was loaded with spring onions on top. The broth packed so much flavour. I loved the chopped pork belly which adds so much flavour and the really soft onions really brought a sweetness to the broth. Adding the noodles into the broth and you have a real winner. You slurp your way through it which I think adds more flavour as you get more air into the food. But don’t forget the egg, they cook it really nice here and was really good in the broth.
Shujinko Gyoza
Signature handmade pan-fried dumpling. Crispy outside and juicy inside. Best side dish to go with ramen.
I usually do not order gyoza because I can easily make them at home. However, as I was overseas I thought why not. I loved the crisp dried gluten on the gyoza and they must have put some sesame oil on the top as you could clearly identify the flavour. The gyoza was made of just pure meat without any other filling inside. There was also some dipping sauce which taste liked like vinegar. Overall so really good gyoza and highly recommend.
I love their motto here: “Put your heart into the noodles and your love into the soup”. The food here is so good. Also, this place is open all day and all night, yes 24/7. This place during meal times is really busy and don’t be surprised that you have to wait for a table. However, the food comes out relatively fast and the service is really good. Overall a real winner here.
Address: 225 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: Shujinko
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