A while back a bunch of Melbourne food bloggers got together and hunted around for Melbourne’s best ramen. If Twitter’s not playing up, you can probably find live updates of these adventures by doing a search for the hashtag #ramenhunters.

I finally had long enough for lunch up the road from my work and decided to check out a place called Momo Sushi on Swanston Street. I’ve walked past it countless times and never been able to have sushi. When I finally made it, the sushi offerings were scant as it was past the lunch rush. I took a punt on the place’s chashu ramen instead.

To be honest, it was pretty disappointing as far as great examples of ramen go. The noodles were unremarkable, the meat (shredded, rather than finely sliced) was so chewy that it made eating a chore. However, it came out very quickly. I slugged it down quickly like my old Japanese coworkers used to slurp their noodles. I still can’t quite do it as well as them.

The highlight was the coffee. This tiny, modern place has a goddamn Synesso and someone who actually knows how to use it! After my lunch, I had a soy latte to take away. Not quite as rad as my Seven Seeds Magic fix (sadly, Seven Seeds is just a little too far to walk to get work coffee).

Given the name of the eatery, I vowed to return to get some serious sushi action. I’m not a big fan of the whole cooked fillings in nori rolls schtick, so I went two rolls of raw salmon (oi! Don’t knock the classics, you hear?) and one nori-wrapped onigiri. Beautifully fresh and way better than the prepared pizza lunch work had organised for everyone, I thought slightly snobbishly, hehe. I don’t recommend having onigiri if you’re sloshed, however. Refer to the photos below for eludication…

Don’t worry, it’s a rewarding experience and worth the effort.

I couldn’t really contain myself and ordered a large soy latte and said to the barista that their coffee was fucking awesome. He beamed and told me he’s a big coffee geek and the blend I was drinking was a four-bean blend with Guatamalan coffee and hints of barley. His planned one for the day after was a three-bean blend. If you’re in the area, stop by, grab some coffee and fresh sushi and have a chat to the barista, he’s lovely. It erks me that they’re cash-only but I can harden up and get organised beforehand.