Kyushu to Canberra via the kitchens of Nobu: Secrets of one of Canberra's best ramen bowls revealed

It’s 11:45 am and all is quiet in Ramen O. True to the saying, the calm before the storm, the lunchtime rush is imminent. But for now, I sit and watch the sands run through the hourglass – a real hourglass served with your teapot! When the sands run out, your tea is perfectly brewed and it’s time to sip.

The meditative feeling that comes with patiently waiting for a tea to brew is so fitting for Ramen O. Having spent time with owner Shunsuke Ota, his warm and quiet nature pervades every area of the Japanese ramen business he started with his wife in 2020.

Only a man with a quiet confidence and still heart would open a restaurant during a worldwide pandemic. Shunsuke, known simply as Shun, opened the doors of his first venue in Belconnen and patiently waited for the tides to turn as he quietly built a business now revered as serving some of the best ramen in the state.

With venues now in Belconnen, Woden and the city of Canberra, Shun is as far from boastful as a man this successful could be.

“I started Ramen O because I wanted to make people happy. I thought if I had happy staff, I would have happy customers, and if customers were happy, they would come back,” Shun says.

“I also wanted to share traditional Japanese culture with Canberra, I felt our traditions weren’t well represented here.”

He doesn’t take the responsibility of sharing his culture lightly and his desire to do so is supported by a culinary background that makes him well placed to be an authority on the subject.

Born in Nagasaki in the Kyushu region of Japan, where the pork bone broth version of ramen known as “tonkotsu” was born, Shun began his career in the kitchens of fine dining venues serving traditional Japanese food.

Moving to Australia, Shun worked at Melbourne’s Nobu, a globally renowned group of restaurants serving a blend of Japanese and Peruvian food, a fusion cuisine known best in Canberra at Inka.

Ramen O has been a chance for Shun to get back to his roots. He says all the dishes are his creation, many served exactly how you have them in Japan. Some, such as the yuzu infused dishes, are his modern spin on the dish.

Perusing the menu, I have a chuckle at the names of the dishes that feature exclamations like Oh!, Wow! and Oh my God!. This chuckle, it seems, is exactly the reaction Shun intends from his diners.

“We just want people to feel comfortable and happy when they are at our restaurants. We believe food should be tasted by the heart, not the brain. This is the inspiration for the name of our ramen. We hope people feel Oh!, Wow! or even OMG! when they have our ramen,” he says.

“Whenever I create our dishes, I put the dish on our menu if I feel happiness inside myself and smile when I taste it.”

Taking Shun’s recommendation, I order a number of new dishes to me: the deluxe yuzu tonkotsu ramen, pork gyoza dumplings and the memories of Kyoto tea.

Shun tells me the tea selections are in partnership with Spring Street Gardens, an organic Japanese herbal tea shop in Canberra. They are specially designed to complement the flavours of the ramen.

As I sit and watch my tea timer mark the passing of the minutes, I take in the surroundings of the Woden venue which opened in June 2022. In the Japanese way, the aesthetic is pared back, the charcoal coloured chairs are slid under simple timber tabletops. The crisp white walls are lined with high bench seating where diners can perch on a stool to enjoy their bowl.

The back wall of the restaurant, where a display of Japanese teapots sits on individual plinths, showcases a flair for design and subtle drama. Bringing that drama to the decor is Shun’s wife, Yuki.

In Japan, Yuki designed the colourful and dramatic costumes worn by Kabuki performers. The form of theatre, where traditional dance and dramatic performance combine in a glamorous display, has taken place in Japan since the early 17th century.

Much like the ever-decreasing hourglass, the design feels contemplative. As if thought has gone into allowing your mind space to enjoy the food.

The gyoza arrives at the table first and I note the char on the delicate wrappers. Shun explains the charring on all the dishes is created by blow torches and the grill.

When the ramen arrives, the tender pork seamed with wonderfully rendered fat is also beautifully charred and feels as if cooking on charcoal. It strikes me as very “cheffy” to recreate those flavours without the need to cook on charcoal and clearly a light and experienced hand has mastered the balance of flavours.

Dipping my spoon into the yuzu tonkotsu broth, I scoop up a cloudy liquid flecked with glistening golden fat and smattered with sesame seeds. The buttery mouthfeel is testament to a broth slowly cooked from bones in the traditional way. Two halves of a boiled egg lay face up, their yolks like two glowing suns balanced on the surface of the soup.

Beneath the cloudy surface lies the namesake of the dish, the noodles. Originating from China, where they were known as la mien, these particular noodles have an al dente chew to them, just as they should be.

As I finish my meal and prepare to leave, a group of customers dive at my table. Now 12:30 pm, the restaurant is full and the buzz palpable.

Shun parts with a message, one he feels is important to share.

“We really appreciate the Canberra community. We are not here without everyone’s support, I would like to express our appreciation to everyone around us.”

Ramen O recently added a range of vegan and gluten-free dishes to the menu at all its locations. See the full menu on the Ramen O website.