There’s no escaping it; Sydney is freezing and it’s only Autumn. Luckily for us, the kind folks at PaperPlanes are bringing back their slurptastic bowls of hot ramen- sure to put the feeling back  into your fingers.
PaperPlanes exudes New York-Tokyo cool with quirky decor of skateboards up above and cute paper cranes dropping from the ceiling. All the staff here are friendly and happy to have a chat.

At the PaperPlanes’ exclusive preview of their ramens, the lovely Matt told us that the the all-important  tonkotsu (pork bone broth) simmers away for ten long hours to achieve its taste. This allows goodness such as calcium and collagen to dissolve into the broth. That’s right…collagen. The stuff that fights wrinkles and makes your hair grow. You can choose to have the traditional broth with your noodles or if you want to turn up the heat, go with the spicy broth. And if all this talk of pork bone is freaking you out, then there’s a vegetable based broth with kombu. Never fear.

It’s important to understand that a ramen is more than just noodles and soup; the toppings are oh so important too. We decided on the kara age chicken, lightly battered, but still juicy pieces of chicken, and the chashu pork. The thin slices of chashu melt in your mouth. Both ramens also come with corn, bamboo shoots and half a tasty soft-boiled egg, spring onion, nori (seaweed) and kamaboko (pink and white surimi disc). There’s also tempura prawn or tofu and vegetable option.
So how do we rate PaperPlanes’ ramen? Like this:

The ramen at PaperPlanes is not heavy like other tonkotsu ramens. It’s not a gigantic bowl of never-ending noodles that you can’t finish. You’re full, but there is still a bit of room to enjoy more dishes, and trust us – you want to! A must-order is the pork belly bun with jalapeño mayo and pickled vegetables. A PaperPlanes’ pork belly bun is bigger than your average pork belly bun, and we like our buns BIG. It also come with a refreshing wet towel, as if they knew that we were going to make a mess!

PaperPlanes also do some killer cocktails, and being a lychee lover I go for the Chee Chee Mule –  a twist on a Moscow Mule using lychees and cinnamon. The refreshing nature of the lychees in this generously-sized cocktail is much appreciated. My lucky dinner date ordered a glass of the gewurztraminer – also known for its lychee notes.

When a Tokyo Pot Plant zooms by, we’re tempted to get dessert. But the special sushi roll has been shouting at us, crying all night from it’s illuminated sign above the bar – brown rice sushi roll with seared salmon, rocket, avocado, tobiko and panko-crumbed barramundi topped with a coriander-ginger mayo and a balsamic glaze. Sushi or dessert, sushi for dessert? Hell yes! The flavour of everything together is brilliant. Their sushi chef is a genius. Our dessert order doesn’t surprise the PaperPlanes team.

PaperPlanes ramen is available during lunch 11.30am – 4pm Friday – Sunday, or for dinner, from 5.30pm  Sunday to Thursday. Ramen is also available for takeaway and home delivery.
On the first Monday of each month, you can get a bowl of ramen for $5 with a purchase of a drink. That’s right! Five measly dollars for a bowl of delicious ramen that took a chef ten hours to concoct.
Check out their Facebook page for more deals, like all you can eat sushi for $30 and the Mother’s Day banquet lunch menu for $40.