There’s nothing better than a bowl of ramen on a winter’s night, so when I heard a new ramen eatery was opening up in Sydney, I decided to book myself in for their soft opening. Sekka Dining has just opened in St Leonard’s Square, and numerous Broadsheet articles have said the head chef has formerly worked at Manpuku! Given Manpuku is one of my favourite ramen places in Sydney, I was very excited to try.

Location: Shop 1, St Leonard’s Square, 480 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW, 2065

What I ordered: Tonkotsu Ramen ($19), Tonkotsu Black Garlic Ramen ($20), Pork Gyoza (6x $14)and the Karaage Chicken ($14).

With the full izakaya menu not available yet given the soft opening, I ordered the classic tonkotsu alongside their black garlic tonkotsu and selected two sides to sample.

The karaage chicken was delicious, juicy, tender and the perfect batter to meat ratio. The accompanying yuzukosho mayo added great acidity to the dish (quick google search tells me yuzukosho is made up of yuzu peel, chilli and salt, fermented).

The pork gyoza I found slightly lacking. It fell short of other places such as Manpuku and Yakitori Yurripi. The skin was chewy rather and I’m impartial to gyoza with a crunchy lace as well. I did find the house made XO sauce interesting as they added what I thought to be small dried shrimp.

Onto the main event: tonkotsu ramen. The broth was delicious, creamy and thick without being overwhelmingly salty, the noodles were slim and al dente (just the way I prefer them) and the addition of fresh onion added a nice element. The main winner of this dish was the char siu, with the meat slightly torched so it gave off a delicious smoky crunch. I will note they gave you two pieces and a whole egg.

Black garlic tonkotsu next – I thought this one was overwhelming. The black garlic oil to tonkotsu ratio was unbalanced, at least for my taste buds, so the rich pork flavour became lost. Char siu was just as delicious, however the black garlic oil really threw off my balance here in that it was all I could taste. If you are a massive fan of this style of ramen, perhaps you will enjoy it more.

Melissa – 3.5/5: Delicious in its own right although pales when compared to Manpuku

Overall, Sekka has a nice ambience and slightly more upmarket feel than Manpuku or some of the other ramen joints around Sydney. Definitely a must-visit if you are a ramen lover or looking for a slightly nicer date-night venue. I would say my preference here is Manpuku, given it is both cheaper, equally (if not more) delicious and with the best gyoza I’ve had in Sydney. I’ll definitely be back to sample some of their yakitori menu when it opens up for a comparison to nearby Yakitori Yurripi!