RAMEN Takara
We took a break from our Kingsland crawl and ventured over to Ponsonby Road for a birthday treat lunch. We always love a good celebration and it was birthday gal, Mel’s, turn to choose where to go this time round. Not disclosing her age (and still feeling as young as her 30-something self *wink), she took us to her favourite Japanese restaurant, Ramen Takara. This place has been around since 2008 and is still producing really authentic, tasty and fresh flavours. The main attraction is their perfectly cooked ramen, featuring their lovingly made broth – 3 hours each morning it takes to get this baby right! There’s a sumptuous range of ramen to choose from including soy, cloudy pork, shrimp extract, kombu seaweed, black sesame, miso and sour and spicy. If you’re in a group, or just feel indulgent and hungry, ordering a few small or large sharing plates is a fab way to get a taste of the extensive range of flavours. We would totally recommend a sharing plate of edamame and renkon chips while you wait on the main dishes to arrive! We didn’t give any of their tap Asahi or Saporro beers a nudge, nor their traditional Japanese Sake (saving these for another time), but we did treat ourselves to some cocktails ‘cos #birthday!
Louise had the quinoa salad and a mojito. She said “I was having a super zzz day and managed to spill my mojito all over myself before I had even started – super impressed with how fast they replaced it though! Lovely plating and, though tasty, I found my salad overwhelmed by the sauce. Karaage chicken and renkon were 🔥 as always!”
Mel had the tonkotsu ramen, edamame beans & renkon chips. She said “What a treat to spend my birthday lunch at one of my fav Japanese spots, this place never disappoints, hence it was my first choice to visit to celebrate yet another year of becoming wiser lol! Love snacking on the edamame beans and renkon chips while waiting for the ramen to be served! Yummo.”
Sam had the salmon salad noodles and drank a mojito. He said “Super nice food, and everything on the menu looks good, I will be back to try something else for sure.”
Sarah had the vegetable gyoza, some karaage chicken and edamame beans and drank a Lazy Luigi (a house made lime soda). She said “The mocktail had a good citrus-y flavour but just a bit too sweet for me. I thought the service was really great – fast and friendly. And the karaage chicken was the highlight for me on the menu.”
