Our scrumptious ramen bowls. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
A blast of autumn chill sweeps across our Saturday evening, the clouds aggressively blot out the sun’s warmth and gusts of icy wind whip around my bare shins. I gratefully launch myself into Baby, where my friends are already seated at a booth.
This is my first time dining at Baby. I have enjoyed several dinners at the eatery’s big sister, Lazy Su, in Braddon, and really enjoyed the fun approach to the fusion of Japanese, Korean and American flavours.
Baby is a Lazy Su’s casual, quick service mini-me. My friend regularly enjoys slurping down pork belly ramen as a post-run lunch, so we have come to taste it for ourselves.
The subway tiles and neon tiles give off what I imagine are Tokyo diner vibes. Our booth is comfortable with a wide table.
Baby’s menu is simple. Choose mains from three bowls, three ramen, or four bao-ger flavours.
There are about the same number of sides.
I am a sucker for a poke bowl, and I know Baby’s will be amazing. Packed with sushi rice, edamame, nori and finely sliced cucumber, radish and pickled ginger, you can select your protein from a range of tofu cutlets or gyoza, or for a little extra, add teriyaki chicken, sashimi or grilled salmon. The rice bowl sounds mouthwatering with even more protein choices, including short rib.
Tonight, however, we are focused on the ramen.
The vegan wonton ramen. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Two of us ordered pork belly ramen, while our gluten-free companion ordered the vegan wonton ramen. We each get a side: waffle fries, edamame and the cheesesteak spring roll.
I’ve had a lot of cheeseburger spring rolls in my time, but the one from Lazy Su is the original and the best, and Baby’s is every bit as succulent. Long, luscious strips of Wagyu beef and melty cheese ooze from the crisp wonton pastry. And that teriyaki dipping sauce is so good, I want to eat it on its own. The waffle fries are perfect, crunchy and coated with delicious kimchi salt. The edamame is the most generous bowl of edamame I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Tender and buttery, covered in an umami miso soy glaze, you cannot stop eating it.
The wonton ramen comes out with plump wontons sitting in a vegan Tori paitan broth that looks creamy and luxurious. We don’t taste it, but our friend assures us that it is amazing, full of flavour, with chilli bean tofu scramble, Hakata noodles, pops of corn and the thing we envy the most: the crisp lotus root chips.
Our pork belly ramen is delicious. The pork belly slices are crispy around the edges, their middles tender and ribboned with fat. The pork broth is brimming with Hakata noodles, corn, egg and Naruto Maki, lollipop-hued fish cake slices, nori, sesame seeds and shallots. I break up that pork belly and mix everything together. I have asked for my chilli oil to be on the side, tentatively adding just a little bit at first, but its flavour is irresistible and I end up pouring more than half of it in. It is the perfect bowl of comfort food on such a cold and blustery night.
Baby is located at 54 Alinga Street in the city. It is open every day from 11:30 am to 9 pm on weekdays and from 12 pm to 9 pm on weekends. Follow Baby on Facebook and Instagram.
Original Article published by Michelle Taylor on Region Canberra.
