The hype hits hard in Sydney, when it hits the food scene. We felt it when David Chang’s Momofuku Seiobo arrived, Din Tai Fung as well; both global sensations, and we promptly formed lines to get in. Now Tokyo’s Wagyumafia, started as a members-only wagyu beef restaurant, has brought wagyu ramen and Mashi No Mashi to The Star. Cue excitement.

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In Tokyo, Mashi No Mashi’s signature wagyujiro ramen will set you back $110. This is the team also behind Tokyo’s most expensive beef chateaubriand sandwich – at a mere $250. Wagyumafia has lured in Hong Kong heiresses and Japan foodie elites and now we are here for the wagyu-slash-ramen zeitgeist that has allowed chef and founder Hisato Hamada to open 11 restaurants in Tokyo, three in Hong Kong and now one in Sydney.

The wagyu karaage ($18) comes as little nuggets of dark brown crunch. They’re like hot beefy gumballs, chewy and flavourful, but it’s hard not to wonder whether it’s a waste of wagyu. Wagyu gyoza ($18 for 6) are tender pan- fried pillows, pleasing and beefy renditions of this izakaya classic.

We order from the five options under the “ramen” section of the menu. What arrives is not ramen exactly, but tsukemen ($38), or cold ramen noodles with a hot broth for dipping.

There’s a spicy “Samurai bomb” – or shichimi pepper ball with wagyu fat – for mixing into the broth. In the bowl are thick udon-like noodles with two thin sheets of rosy wagyu draped on top, torched lightly with a flame to just take it out of raw status. There’s a pile of blanched white cabbage, menma and half a ramen egg, plus two squares of nori branded with the Mashi No Mashi monkey mascot. More interesting is an accompanying cup of dark stock, the “dipping sauce”. It is rich and beefy, with small chunks of the Kobe beef ribs and thigh bones that have simmered for 24 hours within.

The noodles themselves are cold, begging to be warmed and doused with the accompanying rich broth but our waitstaff insist – several times – we should hold the cup of dipping sauce over the bowl and dip each mouthful into the stock, enjoying the hot-and-cold contrast and slurp, they said. The first mouthful is indeed a delight – the noodles soften and the silky hot broth envelops; it’s savoury and sweet, and umami rich. It’s a nice idea, but by mouthful three the hot broth is hot no more. The thin-sliced beef won’t break apart with chopsticks, and is too big, impenetrable and chewy to carry to the dipping cup and eat whole. It doesn’t shout wagyu, at all. The flavour is all ramen, umami rich and beefy, but it’s turned cold and I have order envy for the bowl of steaming Wagyujiro next to me.

Now that’s a bowl of ramen. Wagyujiro ($48) is a 24-hour stewed Ozaki beef bone broth in which the signature Hong Kong-developed thick noodles bathe. Here are the generous juicy slabs of buttery wagyu we’ve heard about, here is the gravy-like broth making an entire bowl of noodles glisten and steam, the tower of bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and a garlicky concoction that smells heroic and dive-in-able.

This bowl, it turns out, is the hero of Mashi No Mashi, the Sydney rendition, so far. It’s the only hot soup-style ramen available, the others being either tsukemen, dry mazemen or a “Wagyjiro Ice”, which involves thick flat noodles, cold sliced Ozaki beef shabu shabu and organic watercress.

There’s so much “concept” to Mashi No Mashi, it feels very much a glossy brand – the neon yellow tees worn by staff, the hashtags – #slurplikeaboss – plastered on the walls. It’s cool, it’s fun, but is it actually delicious? Well, yes. And no. The elements are good – the broth, the noodles, especially when hot – are special. And the thick pieces of wagyu on some dishes, buttery and slightly charred in parts, are worth the hype and price, if you order right.