Ippudo, Sydney

#underwhelming

That could be my entire review of my Ippudo experience.  

I don't think I need to give much preamble to Ippudo, right?  Chain, famous for ramen, yadda yadda.  

I didn't go for ramen, and I didn't go to dine-in however.  I visited the Westfield Mall location in Sydney, for takeout, at lunchtime.

Small Takeout Meal.

I got my food for takeout, since I didn't feel like dealing with table service.  The location was right next to my hotel AND in a food court, so it was easy to just walk 3 feet away and sit at a table and be left alone, or I could have crossed the street back to my hotel.

I really wanted to try the "Japanesian Coleslaw", with hakusai cabbage, native herbs, and yuzukosho dressing, but alas, not on the limited takeout menu, and, no exceptions.

My items took about 15 minutes, which seemed a bit long, but I think they were prepared fresh.

Yamaimo Fries. $8.

"Japanese yam fries, soy mayonnaise."

Well, sadly, these were not good.  And I was so excited for them!

On the plus side, they were clearly freshly made to order, piping hot.  But they were greasy, crisp but not crispy if that makes sense, and didn't really taste like much.  The batter really looked like it should be great, but alas, they weren't.

The soy mayo at least would be great right?  Nope.  Not sure what it was about it, but I actually really, really disliked the flavor.  It was honestly repulsive to me.

I kept trying the fries, thinking as they cooled maybe I'd like more, but they got worse, spongy as the oil all absorbed in.  I tried dunking in other dips, but alas, just nothing worked.

At least the portion was meager.  Clearly would not get again.

Prawn Katsu Bun. $6.

"Fried prawn cutlet, sweet chilli sauce."

I can't say I was impressed by the looks of my bun.  It was pretty much falling apart.  It had very little cabbage, and very little sauce.  It looked like a fast food item.
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But it was decent.  The bun was soft, slightly sweet, fluffy.  Nicely steamed.  Clearly, they do a nice job with the buns.

The prawn cutlet was ... ok.  It was juicy, it had plenty of prawn, it was nicely coated and fried.  Not particularly exciting, but fine.

Really, what made this kinda sad was the garnish.  The sprinkle of cabbage really was laughable.  The tiny smear of sweet chili sauce wasn't nearly enough.  I had other sauces with me that I used, but otherwise I would have been pretty grumpy.

So overall, I saw promise, but it wasn't amazing.