Tucked away in Elizabeth Bay is Blancharu, a French-Japanese inspired restaurant run by Chef Haru Inukai. By day, treat yourself to a special lunch menu or a bowl of ramen from Monday to Thursdays 12pm-2pm only; or by night indulge yourself with an amazing dinner menu with a 5 or 7 course degustation available.
Lunch time sees me pay a visit for the oh so talked about ramen.
Aburi Slowly Cooked Pork $7
To start off with and share, we go for the aburi slow cooked pork. Tender pieces of meat full of flavour are drizzled with what I assume is japanese mayo and a sweet okonomiyaki type sauce topped with spring onions all sitting a bed of finely cut lettuce.
Ramen in Natural Salt flavoured in Paitan soup with slowly cooked pork, bean sprout, bamboo shoot, shallots $9.50
with wood ear, nori and an egg $12.50
That egg made my eyes pop out of its sockets. Not only does it look so perfectly cooked, but it tastes absolutely amazing having an indescribable flavour. You have to try this.
The slices of pork served with the ramen is just as tender and succulent as the aburi slow cooked pork. It practically melts in your mouth.
The perfect noodles, the beautiful egg and the glistening pork
The noodles are hand made by Chef Haru on site and proves to be a winner. Cooked to perfection with a bit of a bite – it surely doesn’t taste powdery or spongey like other places.
What makes this bowl of ramen so amazing is the paitan soup, or what is commonly known as tonkotsu soup. The pork bone flavour really shines out and showcases it beautifully. The depth of flavour is heavenly and although may look rich, it isn’t. It is one of those broths where you can slurp every last drop and crave for more. I’m no expert at tonkotsu but this has got to be one of the best ones I’ve had. As a whole, the dish was incredible. As individual elements, everything was superb. A win-win situation.
Despite being inconveniently located for city workers, I sure wouldn’t hesitate to go again, again and again. The ramen is served only on Monday to Thursdays between 12pm – 2pm and it sure does give all other ramen places a run for it’s money.
With a taste of what Blancharu and Chef Haru have to offer, I will definitely be looking at returning to this gem for a dinner service.
Thanks Raff for the recommendation and have a read of how his visit went!
Blancharu
Shop 1/21 Elizabeth Bay Road
Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011
Tel: +61 2 9360 3555
Must visit. Raff has been talking it up, but it’s just hard to get to for a weekday lunch, especially from north of the bridge! Looks fantastic though – might have to make a special trip :)
You need to! Let me know when you do ;) hahaha
mmmmm ramen food porn! I love it now just as much as Gumshara. Both different but both of em are totally awesome. Chef Haru rocks! Every single element in this bowl of ramen is epic.
I have to say it was one epic bowl of ramen. Thanks for telling me about it!!
Funny you should mention that egg. It’s the first thing that caught my attention! Look like a great little place to visit.
It is a wonderful gem. Can’t wait to return back for more!
I was curious about this “paitan broth” – a quick search told me that it’s what Chinese people refer to as “white/milky soup” – 白汤. At home we usually make it out of chicken bones. So it turns out it’s apparently possible to make it with pork bones…are there any particular differences between that and what would be ‘tonkotsu’? Or is it just different names for the same thing?
To be honest I’m no tonkotsu specialist but my mate said it was essentially the same thing as paitan broth. Both pork bone based, one perhaps with a bit more collagen giving a milky flavour.
I didn’t realise it was a Chinese thing to use chicken.
To me, it’s not a proper bowl of tonkotsu ramen with an egg. That egg at Blancharu is perfect, and so is the soup, from what you’ve written :)
The original omits the egg but I heard great things that I just had to get it ;)
Let me just wipe the drool of my keyboard! That eggs looks so tasty…the ramen looks incredible!
It’s definitely something that needs to be tried
Fabulous stuff. While it may be somewhat cliche to refer to it as a hidden gem, it very well deserves the moniker. Look forward to going back there sometime, hopefully in the near future.
I am drooling at the thought of the bowl of ramen. When are we going next Simon? ;)
Want – I want this ramen. I’ve heard great things about this ramen. Too bad about the timing… :/
You. Need. It. Stat. Yeah limited hours but its worth the travel if you can get a bit of a break
Omg that Ramen looks absolutely phenomenal! Like that it’s not as rich or thick as Gumshara :) and the egg and pork look heavenly. Definitely want to try it (looks/sounds like the perfect bowl of ramen) if only they had it at dinner too!!
Yeah the times are definitely limited but that just means its worth it during those hours ;)
Yum! It has been on my ‘go to list’ for a while.
Hope you get to tick it off your list stat!
This ramen looks amazing but such a shame it’s not in the city and only available on weekday lunchtimes! Will have to take a day off to try this :) I’ve been to Blancharu for dinner and it was awesome
That sounds like a great idea. Couldn’t ask for a better meal if you ever took a day off. You will not be disappointed!
That egg really does look like a mouthful of heaven! We really do share an egg obsession don’t we! ;)
I think we dooooooo!;)
Oh Wow!! This looks so good! I love Ramen and Aburi. Thanks for sharing :)
Your welcome. It definitely is a hit
That Ramen looks sensational! Perfect for a day like today.
Shame it’s so hard to get to for us CBD workers :( Wish they did that special over the wkend
I know right? I think the lines would be out the door on weekends. Perhaps it’s a good thing it’s so limited though. Exclusive :)
argh i so wished blancharu had ramen on the weekend!
I’d imagine it would be so ridiculously busy if it was!! Even I’d be there haha
Ohhhhh french and japanese :) those two cuisines go so well together ~ there are so many ramen places now! Looks yum!
Absolutely delicious. I need to try their dinner menu
Thank you very much coming to blancharu.
See u next time!
It was fantastic! Can’t wait to return chef haru :)
Those noodles look amazing! I am a bit of a noodle addict hehe
Me too! I always have been a noodle fan :p
That looks like it was a total flavour sensation!
It was a wonderful suprise
I really want to go try this ramen ever since Raff raved about it! Must take a day off to go.. haha
It’s a must go! Just do it. Treat yourself haha
naw wish they had the aburi pork when i was there! although they had karaage chicken as well which is pretty great too!
I think I’ll have to go back for that kaarage chicken :)