Kajiken Sydney is a very popular abura soba eatery and international chain in Sydney's Haymarket Chinatown area that draws in crowds every day. Find out what Abura Soba noodles are like and the types that you can get here!
It's 3pm on a Saturday when Sophia and I are wandering around looking for somewhere to have a late lunch. Our original plans for a restaurant hadn't worked out (weird vibe, weird menu, weird service, I'll tell you tomorrow ;) ). Sophia points out Kajiken Soba which was on my to eat list. "There's always a big queue," she remarks and it's true. As someone that doesn't like queuing it always got shuffled down the list whenever we'd see the lines of people standing outside.
But at 3pm? Well Kajiken is still very full with almost all tables taken except one table and some bar seating. We take the regular table and have a look at the menu that features mainly abura soba with a few side dishes. So what is Abura Soba? Abura Soba originated in Tokyo and are also known as "oil noodles". It is a brothless ramen dish. Traditional ramen is served in soup but Abura Soba is brothless and features thick, chewy noodles with blend of oils, soy sauce and vinegar. The idea is to mix up the ingredients together for 20 seconds and eat. If you're a soup person then you're out of luck here but if your thing is springy, chewy noodles you'll be in heaven.
Kajiken is a Japanese franchise that first started in Nagoya, Japan in 2010 and has since grown to over 100 locations worldwide with branches in Baltimore, Maryland and San Mateo, California. In 2024 they opened their first branches in Australia with Haymarket and Chatswood stores in Sydney.
To order at Kajiken you use the QR code at the table - this also requires you to pay at the same time. There are a lot of types of abura soba from vegetarian to unagi, sukiyaki and chicken karaage. I was recommended the meat lovers and the wagyu beef abura soba so we order these along with the prawn croquettes. Service is efficient and friendly and reminds me of the Michelin starred Mensho ramen except more well priced. The food comes out quickly and the chopsticks, spoons and napkins are located in a drawer at each end of the table.
The prawn croquettes come out first and are large and golden crunchy with prawn paste and pieces of prawn inside them. I dip one into the lightly spicy mayonnaise and enjoy it immensely.
The Wagyu Beef Abura Soba comes with paper thin slices of wagyu beef with onion sauce, yogurt, fried onion and egg yolk. You can also pick the type of egg you want and we chose the onsen egg for both as it mixes up to create a luscious, creamy dressing for the noodles. The noodles themselves are thick golden ropes that have a fantastic springy texture. Even though we were warned that you have to eat the abura soba quickly, you really don't as they don't go soft because of the lack of broth.
The Meat Lover Abura Soba is a special and as the name suggests encompasses a lot of varieties of meat from diced chashu, 2 slices chashu, pok belly, diced beef as well as nori, menma, spring onion and an onsen egg. This one is more flavoursome and sweeter thanks to the seasoning in all of the meats. The meat is plentiful, particularly the diced chashu that has a light vinegar flavour to it. You can also add sesame seeds, vinegar, chilli oil, garlic and chilli powder to your ramen although I found them completely moreish like this and never felt like I needed to add anything to them. It's very filling so I don't know if I could ever finish an entire bowl in one sitting so as far as bang for your buck and flavour it's a yes.
We had every intention of trying their deep fried taiyaki fish but completely forgot to do so in favour is seeking out other sweet treats in Chinatown.
So tell me Dear Reader, when is the last time you queued for food? Or do you prefer to go early or late to avoid queues?
This meal was independently paid for.
Kajiken Abura Soba
Shop 1 and 2/605-609 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Sunday to Thursday 11 am–9 pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-10pm
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