In Japan, there’s a minor thrill in finding a ramen bar in unlikely corners – unassuming alley ways, busy railway stations, the turn of a street corner. Here in Sydney, you might reloop your footsteps once you walk by Rising Sun Workshop in Newtown and realise that this communal motorcycle garage does double-duty as a noodle joint, too.
Even if your hunger has no overlapping interest with bike-tinkering, Rising Sun Workshop easily redirects your attention with its slurp-worthy selection.
Run by Nick Smith and Daniel Cesarano (who were previously at Single Origin Roasters), this establishment gives you three reasons to be nose-deep in a noodle bowl: there’s ‘The Darkness’, which builds its long-simmered broth from smoked ham hocks, pork and soy – and a serious dash of ‘darkness and fear’, too, we’re told; ‘The Light’ gets a savoury boost from bonito, chicken and a triple-dose of salt: black volcanic, truffle and pink Murray; ‘The Monk’ does not abstain from flavour, and is a crash site for miso-cured eggplant, picked shiitake, boiled egg, and a generous lacing of ginger, all banked on a miso-konbu base. Unlike a lot of vego-friendly ramen, ‘The Monk’ is neither a salt bomb or a watery tragedy, but is grounded in a satisfying, flavour-layered broth. You can have a vegan version without the egg, too.
Will didn’t battle any darkness or fear with his noodles, but his ramen was a chopstick-hunt through ‘earth bones and smoke’ (as the menu describes): a meat-saturated broth that was a dark, heavy distillation of the hours of simmered pork and ham hocks; his bowl dense with pork slices, egg, seaweed, shiitake, bamboo and noodles that were crafted to have plenty of chew. Like a proper tonkotsu experience, he definitely had the sweats after conquering it.
If you smash through your ramen and need to apply some delay tactics because this light-filled establishment – with its timber-slatted surrounds, vintage-style signage, bright-red benchtops and repurposed Young Henry’s bottles – seems a little too nice to leave, there’s good coffee (of course, given the crew’s Single Origin Roasters history), excellent house-made ‘Ginger Boy’ soda, iced green tea and a line-up of sweets, too (salted caramel and dark choc sponge cake, donuts dusted with mandarin sugar, etc).
And if you’re thinking of dropping by, don’t hold out too long – the Rising Sun Workshop is only in this spot for seven weeks.
Good news, Rising Sun Workshop has had its lease extended, so this pop-up will be open until around September. And PS, The Monk has gotten a feisty transformation – it now has burnt butter corn and kimchi salsa.
Rising Sun Workshop, 36 Lennox Street, Newtown NSW, www.risingsunworkshop.com. Follow Rising Sun Workshop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Oh wow, great find! The broth looks thick too, just the way I like it.
Thanks Isaac – yes, these are thick, dark broths (except for maybe The Light ramen, of course)!