Asuka

People at work have been raving about this place for ages, so I was very eager to check it out, unfortunately, half of Sydney also decided that this was a good place to have lunch...

Food

We took us ages to order, but once we did, the food arrived promptly. I've had a thing for Tonkotsu/tonkatsu (depending on which way they want to spell it) ramen ever since I spied it on the menu at Ichi Ban Boshi. When I saw that this was on the menu, I went for it. Asuka's Tonkotsu Rahmen ($9.80) was described as "rahmen noodles in special white soup and vegetable on top". The noodles were the best of any noodles I've had, springy and tasty, the broth was pretty good too. What I wasn't so happy about was that they only gave me 3 small, and I mean small pieces of pork (which was nicely done), a few seaweed sheets and some corn. It was definitely not worth my $9.80.

We had to order the Chicken Bento ($9.80) as takeaway, as it took so long before we could order. The menu described it as "assorted chicken (teriyaki & schnitzel". Four compartments arrived including a teriyaki on rice, which had a nice sauce but only ok chicken. Another contained one lone broccoli with sesame. The broccoli was crunchy but I don't see the point of it except to look pretty. The chicken katsu was the pick of the four, a satisfying schniztel with a nice coating and top-rate sauce, lying on top of the ubiquitous coleslaw with mayo. The last compartment had a deep fried chicken which wasn't worth mentioning at all...

I have to say, disappointing, but maybe we ordered wrong as some of the other stuff look pretty good...

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Situated beneath the BT office tower at Darling Harbour, it's an out of the way place, akin to an alleyway in Japan. Unfortunately this place has been discovered. People have packed out all the wooden tables and all the other room taken up by people waiting for a table or waiting for takeaway. The walls have Japanese written menus and Japanese beer advertisement. There's a bit of Japanese decoration also.

Because of the people, this place certainly has a buzz, if you have the time and patient to wait, or come at a less busy time, and you will probably be in for an almost authentic treat.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Ok, I had heard that this place was popular, but not this popular. No one greeted us when we walked in, and the staff didn't even appear. We just took a seat when some people left, and I had to fight through the crowd to get my own menu. After that I had to go up to the counter to order and pay. We couldn't attract the staff attention at all. If they are that run off their feet, they really should consider hiring some extra staff. It was ridiculous having to wait for so long just to order.

The staff were all Japanese, so I was expecting more service, but they did apologise and I guess the staff can't do anything if they are just over busy.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

The food was good, but the serving and the service definitely don't justify the price. It's cheaper for takeaway so maybe I'll go for that option next time.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

Shop 2,
1 Market St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9261 4337