Visited 26/12/2018, Gold Coast
**Dairy Free Approved/ Vegan Options**
Kiosk 8.01/6 Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
Ramen Danbo is listed on ‘TripAdvisor‘ with a solid 4.5/5, giving me no excuse but to try the most well received ramen around Surfers Paradise. I don’t know if I’m just bad at interpreting google maps, if Ramen Danbo is placed inconspicuously out of sight or a combination of both, but it took me well over 10 minutes to find it, just as I was about to give up. It’s located in the outskirts of ‘8 street’, an Asian food plaza, sharing its enclave with an Indian eatery. If you were aiming to find it, I’d say looking out for the obnoxious, large chopsticks hanging over the restaurant ‘Chop Chop’ next door will do the trick.
Ramen Danbo is a quaint store with a small counter and an equally small kitchen, it’s floors filled with tables for communion and tall bar stools at the edge for the solo eaters. It was decorated from wall to wall with dim fairy lights, setting the scene for a cosy dining spot. It had a modest and curated menu, giving you a 4 base ramen types to choose from.
I ordered a ‘Classic Ramen With Nitamago’. I didn’t worry much about whether it was dairy free, most “traditional” ramen places make their own broth which they simmer for hours, it’s the more instant ramens you have to be wary of, as dairy is used to achieve an artificial creaminess. You get a choice of noodle firmness, soup thickness and spice level. I chose the standard firmness, full thickness and standard spice level so not as to overpower the soup.
The noodles were perfectly al dente with a satisfying grit that made them easy to pick up and a fantastic soup vessel. The added spice didn’t do much other than add a bit of sourness and I don’t think it’s supposed to, so if you were looking for a sPiCy ramen, Ramen Danbo serves offers a ‘Rekka Ramen’ version of their base ramens, turning broths into lava red concoctions.
And finally, the pièce de résistance, the broth itself, simply put, it was amazing. The broth was complex, tasting of chicken consommé with a shoyu (soy sauce) base. It had a satisfying saltiness and left a clean feeling on the palate. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by it at any point as the negi (spring onions) on top added pops of fresh zing. However, you are sensitive to salt, I’d suggest lowering the soup thickness.
I did snag a bit of the tonkotsu ramen broth from someone on my table and it was good, but I can’t describe it in detail because the Nitamago Ramen made me forget all about it.
The pork on the side was break apart tender, dare I say the most tender pork I’ve had in a ramen yet, it practically melted into the broth and was devoid of gaminess.
I had the most overdone eggs on the table, other orders of the same ramen had beautifully runny, glistening yolks; it did taste great nonetheless.
Ramen Danbo is very big on self serve, once you receive your food-is-ready-beeper, picking up your ramen and accompaniments is all up to you. There was a table off to the side of the counter where you can retrieve sauces for your potential sides, as well as additions for your ramen including minced garlic, hot oil and pickled ginger which you can generously take advantage of.
With all these factors considered, it did not strike me as odd when 30 minutes after ordering, the dinner rush brought everyone to Ramen Danbo. It became packed with families as we ate, an elderly even suspiciously glared at our spread in contemplation before sitting down; the presentation must have had an impact. By the time we got up to leave, there was a ratio of 10:1 between the ramen and Indian restaurant.
I plan to go back to Ramen Danbo if I were to ever travel to the Gold Coast again, it was delicious, reasonably priced and above all, a good bowl of diary free ramen. I also saw a sign above their menu saying that if you’d asked, they could make a vegan version of their ramen too.
DF NAVI 