Shop 43 Pineland Plaza Shopping Centre, 663 Beenleigh Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109
Open Mon-Sat for lunch 11am–3pm, Dinner 5-9pm, Closed Sundays
Phone: (07) 3243 7198
https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/ramen-story-springwood
I'd developed a pretty concise list of Brisbane Ramen-Ya's in my mind with intention to gradually cover on this here blog. One that I was completely unaware of though was Ramen Story in Sunnybank Hills. It's not very far from my work office so I stopped in recently after I spotted it while driving past. Turns out it also has a sister restaurant a few km's away in Underwood. I can't find any information about this shop online though, so maybe that's why I wasn't aware of it until now. Don't let the above listed street address mislead you, though the shopping centre that this place is in is listed as on Beenleigh Road, access is actually from a driveway on Pinelands Road.
There's a bit of a Korean approach at this place, most evident in the fried chicken dishes and the 'Donkatsu' Ramen option as the basic dish. Other options include a dish with extra pork, a shoyu seasoned soup, a miso soup, a Kara (spicy) soup with pork mince and a dish with extra garlic added. There's also a few side dishes including the previously mentioned fried chicken, Takoyaki, Koroke (like deep fried potato dumplings), rice dishes etc etc. No beers or alcohol on offer, just the standard options of soft drinks and bottled water. There's also a chilled water dispenser.
I rolled in just before lunch to an almost empty restaurant so my dish arrived really quickly. There was nothing much Donkatsu about it though, the pork included wasn't breaded, but just the basic charshu style shoulder. The dish was presented vey well though I must say, clean and tidy, and actually massive, possibly one of the biggest bowls that I have had as standard in Brisbane. Good value in that respect.
The broth was a bit of a let down. There was a clean pork flavour happening, but the seasoning was virtually non existent and there were no condiments anywhere in the shop for me to use to liven it up a little. It was a little thin too, not fatty enough. I think that with a few more hours over the flame and the correct tare, this thing could have been quite a bit better.
Noodles were less than average too. This would be the first time that I've run into such below par noodles in Brisbane. They were soft from over cooking, and I'm confident in saying that they just weren't very good quality examples to begin with also. The pork was nice though, held together well and maintained a bit of structure and texture. Standard inclusions were the previously discussed elements, along with sliced spring onion, HEAPS of bean sprouts, a complementary side of kimchee (more Korean) and an over cooked egg half. Bit of shame really. I've had worse cooked eggs, but none the less, this one was virtually hard boiled, and I don't think that they had given it the Ajitsuke treatment.
In regards to serving ware, the bowl they used was really nice. Probably the highest quality bowl that I have seen in Brisbane; heavy, large, with wide tapered edges, a PROPER Ramen bowl, and it was perfect for direct sipping. They had slippery plastic chopsticks at each table and metal western styled spoons also. As mentioned previously, the portion was huge so value for money was all there.
The shop was clean and tidy and pretty standard. Lots of dark wood and dark bricks. The lighting via modern hanging lamps was perhaps a little too low. Only a slight view of the front of the kitchen so no idea on the cleanliness but if it was anything like the shop, I'm sure it would be fine. Payment options include cash, card or pay tap.
Would I come back here? Perhaps a little harsh, but most likely not. There's potential I guess, but there were certainly not enough redeeming factors today to draw my interest again.
No comments:
Post a Comment