As much as we have all enjoyed sampling seasoning sachets over the past two years, now that the world is opening back up we’re ready for the real thing. Not two-minute noodles but 12-hour boiled bone broth, filled to the brim with springy handmade noodles, chashu pork and a just-set soy egg – hold the dehydrated veg.

While no ramen joint opens quietly in this town, Rushcutters Bay’s latest offering, Bones Ramen, is making an extra splash. That may have something to do with the fact that it’s owned and operated by Jacob Riwaka from Rising Sun Workshop (aka the home of the bacon and egg ramen) and local restaurateur Michael Mu Sung from nearby diner, Farmhouse.

The slurp-and-dash soup spot is tucked away at the bottom of Bayswater Rd, just a short stagger from the Kings Cross party strip. The tiny 20-seater space has been given a bare-bones fit-out. Raw concrete and exposed brick come together haphazardly to create a grungy ramen dive that’s right at home in this neck of the woods.

The menu is focused around its liquid assets. There are four ramens to choose from and a handful of snacks. The Japanese potato salad is not your usual mound of mush. Here, it’s spun from potato noodles and slicked in a smoked chilli dressing. There’s also lacto-fermented pickles and karaage chicken, served with a
seriously punchy yuzu mayo.

The main event is the Tokyo shoyu ramen, made from a long-simmered broth of pork bones seasoned with a soy-flavoured master tare. Stir the murky waters and you’ll find a tangle of toothsome noodles as well as two types of pork, the classic chashu, streaked with gelatinous fat piggybacked with a strip of smoked pork neck, infused with Japanese barbecue flavours. The shoyu broth is light but not lacking, the flavours are rich and deep with a surprising clarity of flavour.

Despite arriving early in the evening, stock was already running low. The seafood ramen, made from a kombu, sardine and anchovy broth, filled with floating sheets of scallop silk, had already sold out. However, there was still “plenty of the vegetarian miso ramen left”, we were told.

This didn’t surprise us, but what did was the umami bomb that arrived. Made from brined, roasted and blitzed celeriac, the ramen is deeply savoury, layered with meaty toppings like enoki mushroom, roasted tomato, a spliced soy egg,
finished with a golden stack of crispy Jerusalem artichoke chips. Next time, it’ll be at the top of our list.

If you have any more room for fluids, the all- Australian drinks list includes four natty wines and four local beers. Instead of the usual Asahi, there’s VB, Hawkes and Furphy, or try the Trutta Pet Nat Rosé – a Ribena-red sipper that doesn’t overwhelm the ramen’s rich flavours.

No, the desserts haven’t run out. They just don’t have any. Which means, it’s time to vacate your seat and make way for the next person in line. We’re in and out in less than an hour. It may not be two minutes, but it was more than
worth the extra time.

Related recipes: Hopeless ramen-tic? Prepare to fall in love with these 30 noodle soups