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khiemtranWe were just leaving Cronulla beach yesterday when I got an sms from some friends inviting us out to dinner at Kuro Neko, a Japanese ramen place in our home suburb. Which was something of a surprise, because we'd never heard of any ramen place in Sutherland.
Sure enough, it turned out that it had only opened that very day. In fact, I think it was only the soft opening and they may actually have a "grand" opening later on. In any event, it filled up quite quickly when we were there, and by the time we left, every table was occupied. I think they've really hit a niche because there's no decent ramen within half an hour's drive anymore. If it takes off, I suspect we'll think back wistfully of the day we walked in into Kuro Neko ("Black Cat") on a Saturday night and got a table straight away.
The early signs were mixed, as you might expect on a first night. The menu was small but focussed, with tonkotsu ramen (pictured above) in different forms and a short list of interesting side dishes (lotus root chips, seaweed salad, gyoza etc.). The staff didn't speak Japanese (but the manager turned out to be Malaysian!), but the food was all well-made. There were a number of little hiccups in the service, and none of the desserts were available, but it was promising enough for a second visit. The prospect of a decent ramen place in our vicinity is certainly exciting.
On the way out, a man who we at first took to be another customer starting talking to us about the food, and then held the door for us as we left. After we had left, one of our friends, who was Japanese, whispered that she'd seen him on television somewhere but that she'd forgotten his name. Apparently he was a celebrity Japanese chef.
After we'd walked back to our place for tea, we tried all sorts of internet searches to try to work out who he was, before eventually conceding that we'd have to wait until our friend had talked to another Japanese friend who "knew everything" about the local Japanese food scene to find out. (We did canvass other ideas like driving back to check if he was still there, or next time asking for his autograph and hoping we could read it.) You know how frustrating it is when you can't quite remember a name, and then you spend all night trying to recall it?
After our friends had left though, I tried one more search (for images this time) and found it was Dekura Hideo, Master Chef, author and restaurant consultant. I sms'ed the name to our friends and got the reply back: "Now we can all sleep!"
So, there you have it. Thanks to the internet, no further stalking is needed.
Sure enough, it turned out that it had only opened that very day. In fact, I think it was only the soft opening and they may actually have a "grand" opening later on. In any event, it filled up quite quickly when we were there, and by the time we left, every table was occupied. I think they've really hit a niche because there's no decent ramen within half an hour's drive anymore. If it takes off, I suspect we'll think back wistfully of the day we walked in into Kuro Neko ("Black Cat") on a Saturday night and got a table straight away.
The early signs were mixed, as you might expect on a first night. The menu was small but focussed, with tonkotsu ramen (pictured above) in different forms and a short list of interesting side dishes (lotus root chips, seaweed salad, gyoza etc.). The staff didn't speak Japanese (but the manager turned out to be Malaysian!), but the food was all well-made. There were a number of little hiccups in the service, and none of the desserts were available, but it was promising enough for a second visit. The prospect of a decent ramen place in our vicinity is certainly exciting.
On the way out, a man who we at first took to be another customer starting talking to us about the food, and then held the door for us as we left. After we had left, one of our friends, who was Japanese, whispered that she'd seen him on television somewhere but that she'd forgotten his name. Apparently he was a celebrity Japanese chef.
After we'd walked back to our place for tea, we tried all sorts of internet searches to try to work out who he was, before eventually conceding that we'd have to wait until our friend had talked to another Japanese friend who "knew everything" about the local Japanese food scene to find out. (We did canvass other ideas like driving back to check if he was still there, or next time asking for his autograph and hoping we could read it.) You know how frustrating it is when you can't quite remember a name, and then you spend all night trying to recall it?
After our friends had left though, I tried one more search (for images this time) and found it was Dekura Hideo, Master Chef, author and restaurant consultant. I sms'ed the name to our friends and got the reply back: "Now we can all sleep!"
So, there you have it. Thanks to the internet, no further stalking is needed.
