Open 7 Days at 4 Anzac Road, Browns Bay, Auckland.
Takara is famous for their ramen and the good pricing, even been featured in Metro Magazine's Cheap Eats more than once. It's always been talked about in my circle of friends. Those who have tried it rave about it and those who haven't always say Takara is a place they want to try out. So as someone who loves Japanese cuisine, I was also keen to try it out. A week ago, it was Shuyiin's birthday and we all thought it was a perfect opportunity to finally make the journey.
We didn't make a booking and arrived early with four of us. We weren't picky with the timing and was prepared to wait. When we arrived, it was clear that the restaurant was busy and we were greeted by a staff member once they noticed us loitering outside. He seemed to relax a little when we told him that we were happy to wait until a table was available and he asked for our name and number and offered to call us as soon as a table became available so that we don't have to stand around blocking up the entrance. It wasn't a long wait at all and we were called soon after we left our contact information.
After we received the table, service was good and whenever the staff came to our table, they were polite and friendly if not a bit rushed. There's not much to say really as we didn't interact with staff too much. There is a section of the restaurant with a few tables that is secluded off from the main open area of the restaurant so it seemed like the restaurant was smaller than it is. We were in this section and even though it felt a little tight, it was comfy.
Kotteri Shio Ramen $14.50
Sea salt and shrimp extract base. Pork belly and vegetable stir-fry, garlic chips, spring onion - gluten free option available upon request.
The Kotteri Shio Ramen was the special of the night. Now in my experience, the special of any restaurant can mean either one of two things. The first being, it's kind of like an experiment/the restaurant has got some amazing ingredients and the second being, the dish isn't as popular as the others and the restaurant would like to promote it so they don't need to waste ingredients.
Since we ordered pretty early on in the night, I was very surprised when we tried to order two specials, they told us they've sold out and only one was available. Well, no matter, we just changed the other order. If you don't mention anything, then the ramen given is the thin and straight noodle. You can opt for thick and curly or add $1 for gluten free rice noodles. Takara makes their noodles fresh on-site everyday and use only quality NZ ingredients. Due to this, I wish the staff member prompted us instead of assuming as we intended to get two thick ones for the experience but we were distracted and completely forgot about it. Their broth is prepared every morning for over three hours which is a shorter time span than the usual 6+ (some even over 24 hours). So of course, it should be expected that the soup to be lighter than I've experienced. However, due to the name 'kotteri', I thought that would reflect the dish and get a richer/thicker and more oily soup. We also found the soup from our other orders to be lighter, less saltier as well as less flavourful than the usual ramen. The real let down was the pork belly which I expected to be melt-in-your-mouth or at the very least tender. Unfortunately, the meat was hard and dry. I suspect it was braised too long or the ingredients were old.
Not sure if there were garlic chips in the dish but it came with an egg which I didn't expect as it wasn't included in the description.
Tori Shio Ramen $15.00
Sea salt and shrimp extract base. Chicken chashu, egg, bean sprouts, yuzu flakes, shredded leek, nori seaweed.
My friend ordered the chicken version which uses the same base so the review was much similar to the pork belly option - light, less flavourful and not very salty or oily. Ingredients were delightfully fresh.
Shoyu Ramen $10.00
Original soy base. Chashu pork, egg, bok choy, spring onion, bamboo shoots.
Shoyu Ramen with corn and butter additions $12.00
You can add extra toppings to your meal! It costs $1 each for extra corn and butter which I think is slightly expensive. My friend who ordered this only had one comment: why do I get less spring onion than the original Shoyu Ramen?
Shoyu Ramen with corn and butter additions $12.00
The butter melting in action.
Ramen Takara Dinner flatlay shot
Karaage Chicken 10 pieces $18.00
Takara's famous fried chicken, salad, mayo, lemon.
Unfortunately we were all disappointed with this dish. We absolutely love fried chicken so we had high expectations. The table next to us received fried chicken that looked better than ours did. In comparison, ours looked like they were over fried but that's not too much of a big deal as the chef did a good job with draining the oil. Our karaage wasn't super oily which is always a plus. The pieces look like they are huge. But unfortunately they were more crunch than meat. The protein sizes were inconsistent where some pieces were a fair size with proportional batter while other pieces were almost all batter (or skin) with only a little bit of meat. But, the familiar karaage marinade was obviously present and despite the inconsistent protein sizes, there was a great deal of crunch which is a major part of what makes fried chicken so irresistible. Pushing aside our high expectations, it was a good dish.
If 10 pieces seem too much for you, a smaller 6 piece option is available for $12.00.
Took a bite out of my chicken piece!
Compared to other ramen both in NZ and Japan, Takara goes down lighter and less hearty, feeling healthier, fresher and you stay comfortable afterwards instead of feeling lethargic, bloated and regretful. If that's what you're looking for, then I would definitely recommend this place! But if you're after the signature ramen taste of heavy, thick, salty, hearty comfort food flavours then this probably isn't what you're looking for.
Overall an enjoyable experience, and if I'm on the lookout for fresh and light ramen, then I would definitely return.
