Gumshara, Chinatown Sydney

A wet Thursday night mooching around Chinatown with the BFF seems to be the perfect opportunity to head on down to Eating World to check out the legendary ramen on offer at Gumshara.  

Ramen-fanatics rave about Gumshara and its porky, collagen-rich broth know as known as tonkotsu.  This small food stall hidden at the back of a food court in Chinatown almost has a cult following.

The tonkotsu is mix of pork bones and water that are cooked until the bones and marrow break down – leaving a thick collagen rich broth behind (check out Helen's blog for a full-blown-behind-the-scenes account of how the broth is made). If this all sounds like a bit too much porkiness, diners can request a lighter, less rich, broth.  But, the BFF and I are here to try the famous tonkotsu. 

I really want to try the Pork Spare-Rib Noodle ($14.50), but as Gumshara only make 20 of these a day I wasn’t feeling hopeful that there would be any available for me to try as we’d rocked up quite late in the day.  Lady luck was smiling on me however as I’m told there are still a few pork spare-rib noodle soups left – yay!

For an extra $1.50 I add a soft boiled googy-egg to my soup. The egg was so tasty, and the yolk so creamy and soft, that I wish I had ordered two.  The BFF and I also make the most of the free condiments on offer, sprinking our broth with sesame seeds, and taking a little bowl of pickled ginger and chilli to the table with us.

This is without a doubt the thickest and most rich ramen I’ve ever tried, though it is much less salty than I had anticipated. I’m normally more of a Miso Ramen gal myself, so it takes a few sips to get used to the flavour of the tonkotsu. I try not to think too much about the collagen in the broth either as it gets me thinking about Angelina Jolie’s lips just a little too much.  The pork spare rib (along with that delectable egg) is the highlight of the dish for me - fatty, tender and melt in the mouth good. I'm not too happy with the BFF snaffles two big bites all for himself.  Hey, get your own dude.

The BFF opted for the Garlic Tonkotsu Noodle ($10.50), sans egg.  This is basically the same as my ramen, but the thick meaty pork spare rib is replaced with thin slices of roasted pork.  The broth is also slightly more salty than than my plain tonkotsu - but still not salty enough for The BFF.  Both of our dishes come with thin, noodles that quickly absorb the broth and become as slippery as worms (especially for those of us who cannot use chopsticks very well). The ramen is garnished with sliced shallots and a sheet or nori.

The BFF finishes every last drop of his ramen, but my stomach quickly reaches capacity and half of my soup goes untouched.  I blame this partially on the richness of the soup, but also the bucket sized serves.

Gumshara can be found at Shop 209, Eating World Harbour Plaza, 25-29 Dixon Street in Chinatown.