Located up north of Sydney, in Gordon, is a small Japanese restaurant with uncommon traditional dishes (think chirashis and kaiseidons) and a Chef’s Hat award given by Goodfoods Australia. Kame House is run by Chef Tomo from Hokkaido, Japan; and other than the delicious flavours, they are one of the few restaurants with such a cohesive and modern social media presence. The ramens are only available on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 8 pm to 10 pm. It is a collaboration between Kame House and Zuru Zuru.
Reservations
We made an impromptu dinner decision on Wednesday night and prior to driving, we saw they had 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm spots available online but I didn’t book it (like the dummmy I am 🤦🏻♀️), so when we got there for “walk-in”, only 9:30pm was available.
No biggie. We popped into a nearby sushi train and smashed a few plates which turned out great!! because tell me why do these dumb Instagram foodies keep promoting Kame House as “cheap sushi”. BRUUHHHHH, the cheapest dish starts from $68 (outside of their ramen ~$27). It must be nice to be sponsored and eat for free, huh? 🙄🙄🙄
No biggie. We popped into a nearby sushi train and smashed a few plates which turned out great!! because tell me why do these dumb Instagram foodies keep promoting Kame House as “cheap sushi”. BRUUHHHHH, the cheapest dish starts from $68 (outside of their ramen ~$27). It must be nice to be sponsored and eat for free, huh? 🙄🙄🙄
Food
This was the Classic Tokyo Soy. The broth was light and clear, with a moderate soy flavour giving it that savouriness to it. It warmed the soul instantly. It also didn’t have a heavy greasy residue that ramen often gives. The sesame seeds gave fragrance, and the spring onions added sweetness. Overall, the broth was simple and delicious.
The cured soy egg yolk was done perfectly, with a gooey centre and soft white shell. The sliced chasu was also the right ratio of skin, fat and meat so it had a tender texture. And the noodles were chewy. These elements were the same for the following 2 bowls too.
The cured soy egg yolk was done perfectly, with a gooey centre and soft white shell. The sliced chasu was also the right ratio of skin, fat and meat so it had a tender texture. And the noodles were chewy. These elements were the same for the following 2 bowls too.
This was the recommended Ebi Shio Tonkotsu, with homemade prawn paste.
The broth was creamy and flavourful, with lots of depth of pork flavour coming from the long hours of hard simmering the pork bones (what ‘tonkotsu’ means). There was also sweetness and umami coming from the crustacean paste, which had miso into it to give it a salty flavour too. And the accompaniment of sesame and spring onions added a similar effect of fragrance and sweetness.
Overall it was delicious and one of the better ramens we’ve had in Sydney, but kind of a 7.5/10, not a 10/10, ya know?
The broth was creamy and flavourful, with lots of depth of pork flavour coming from the long hours of hard simmering the pork bones (what ‘tonkotsu’ means). There was also sweetness and umami coming from the crustacean paste, which had miso into it to give it a salty flavour too. And the accompaniment of sesame and spring onions added a similar effect of fragrance and sweetness.
Overall it was delicious and one of the better ramens we’ve had in Sydney, but kind of a 7.5/10, not a 10/10, ya know?
This was the Spicy Miso Butter Tonkotsu Ramen.
It was creamy but still light (surprising! as there was butter added) but the spice did not come through as we expected. Normally a spicy miso butter balance each other perfectly so that you get a really strong heat from the chillis that get mellowed out by the soft mouthfeel of butter. This did not deliver as much heat, making it the most disappointing of the 3 because it was also the most expensive.
It was creamy but still light (surprising! as there was butter added) but the spice did not come through as we expected. Normally a spicy miso butter balance each other perfectly so that you get a really strong heat from the chillis that get mellowed out by the soft mouthfeel of butter. This did not deliver as much heat, making it the most disappointing of the 3 because it was also the most expensive.
We got this dessert to share. It was custard pudding, topped with a strawberry jelly and fruits (peaches, raspberries, blueberries), followed by whipped cream, matcha powder, 2 chocolate pocky sticks and a wafer. It was refreshing and sweet, and looked beautiful but we did give each other the 😶 look because of the price ($25). Imagine getting this for yourself in this inflated market LOL
We finished with matcha and vanilla icecream. Delicious.
Service
The service was fine and kind – nothing to fault there. Keep in mind we had the cheapest and most casual meal here so I’m sure if you had the set menu or omakase, the service would be top tier.
Review
Even if the fish is the freshest and the kaiseidon is the prettiest, Kame House is still really far for us (45 minute drive one way) so we would not be returning. It’s also a hefty restaurant, even for a casual Japanese bite.
But the ramen flavours were delicious! The only shitty thing is they have it open for 4 hours a week which can be so hard to come by for the average 9-to-5 working person.
Our final verdict is if you’re in the area and the time is right and the stars align, please try their ramen. If you have lots of money then go for their seafood because those looked amazing (but the portion did not seemed worth the price tag 👀).
Thanks for reading! Happy eating!
But the ramen flavours were delicious! The only shitty thing is they have it open for 4 hours a week which can be so hard to come by for the average 9-to-5 working person.
Our final verdict is if you’re in the area and the time is right and the stars align, please try their ramen. If you have lots of money then go for their seafood because those looked amazing (but the portion did not seemed worth the price tag 👀).
Thanks for reading! Happy eating!
