Fukuryu Ramen - Melbourne's Restaurants

Ramen makes the world go round. And people's faces, too.

It was like Ramen Wonderland in here, coupled with free matcha ice-cream if you uploaded a selfie with your bowl of ramen... as if we aren't gonna do that already! Fukuryu is one of the big names when it comes to ramen-hunting in Melbourne. It has an edge over the rest of the popular joints for its the many different flavours it offers (it reminded me of the Singapore-equivalent - Suzuki Ramen Bar) and its huge restaurant space which meant zero waiting time. Been there twice and I never had to wait despite its popularity. Great for tourists who are running on a tight schedule and looking for a lunch stop at Melbourne's Chinatown!

I become so incredibly hungry every single time I look at this set of pictures, I swear it feels like my stomach eating itself. In my two visits, I managed to try the Red Dragon Ramen (extra, extra spicy!), Summer Shio Ramen, and Signature Tonkotsu Ramen. I had ordered the signature myself the first time and introduced it to my mother when I brought her there. So yes, that's a sign of approval. The Signature Tonkotsu Ramen's broth was robust and deep, clearly simmered with pork bones for hours to achieve this consistency. The nitamago is also adorably perfect - that gooey yolk that threatens to flow but holds itself - every single time, which definitely scored points on my end. The Red Dragon Ramen was crazily spicy, so if you want to challenge how much you can tolerate... go for it. The Summer Shio ramen was relatively disappointing because as a citrus-fan (I squeeze lemon in nearly everything I cook now, it's my secret ingredient!), I thought there's no way it can go wrong. But the yuzushio soup base I was expecting was quite superficial and not intense enough at all. 

Fukuryu Ramen routinely gets someone to hand out flyers at the main street due to its obscure corner, and usually the flyer says something like Takoyaki at half-price (or similar)! Well, being hungry people, we obviously ordered it. Let's just say it wasn't very nice. It's a stomach filler, overly-fried, bare flavours... wouldn't recommend it. Stick to the ramen! Or something even better:

MATCHA ICE-CREAM. I would just like to say... I was so thrilled after trying it, and it became hands down the best matcha ice-cream I've tried (until I went to another place weeks after, which topped this :o). It was legit matcha, very very very intense matcha flavour and I felt transported to matcha world. I cannot believe I got this for free for posting a selfie with my ramen on Instagram, I would have so gladly paid for this. Please try this. I miss this so much! Details on your table when you sit down for the How Do You Fukuryu promotion.

Please note that it can be quite tricky to find this place if you're not familiar. Either equip yourself with a good ramen hunting partner (like me) or note the following: 

(1) Corrs Lane is one of the smaller lanes that branch out from Little Bourke Street.
(2) Update from reader Chi Ken: You can get to Fukuryu from Lonsdale Street via a very narrow lane next to Yamato. 
(3) It is located in the block flanked by Russell Street and Exhibition Street, Little Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street.
(3) Um, equip yourself with GPS!