There were seriously so many options, I had trouble making a decision. On top of the three broths to choose from (tonkotsu, kake and bukakke) you also have a choice between udon or soba noodles which Yuri mentioned are made from scratch in a factory located in Marrickville so you know for certain you'll be getting authentic noodles and none of that pre-packaged instant stuff one can easily find at Asian grocery stores. If you want the healthier option, get the soba which is a thin noodle made from buckwheat with a nutty flavour, otherwise, if you want thick, soft and chewy noodles then udon, made from wheat flour, is the way to go.

Assortment of hot sides

After grabbing your tray and ordering your bowl of noodles, you will then be presented with a substantial assortment of deep-fried or grilled sides ranging in price from $1.20 to $2.50. Since the sides can potentially be left out to sit on the counter for some time (unavoidable for a self-serve type eatery) the crunchiness of the tempura would be sacrificed, although for the price, one can't really complain.

Vegetable fish cake $2.40

 Skewers of sausage tempura, vegetable fish cakes and takoyaki were super tempting and I decided on some takoyaki.

Sweet potato and pumpkin tempura $2.50 and fish cake tempura $2.20

We also ended up with one of each of these.

Cold sides

Next up was the cold section which to be honest I never took much notice of during my previous visits. It housed a variety of toppings such as seaweed, grated white radish, sansai (vegetables), bamboo shoots, chuka wakame (type of seaweed), homemade kimchi, sweet corn and marinated pork cha-shu. They also had potato salad, natto and mochi. Having heard quite a few things about natto I was eager to try it so Yuri happily grabbed a container of natto for me and also two mochi balls for dessert.

Cheap, yummy and filling meal for 2 people

The natto came conveniently packaged in a polystyrene container with a packet of soy sauce and mustard. Yuri kindly demonstrated how to prepare it and involved simply adding everything in and then mixing extremely thoroughly with a pair of chopsticks. 

Yuri said to prepare natto correctly, it needs to be mixed at least 100 times to attain the appropriate consistency and taste. The stringy and slimy texture was fascinating and without Yuri's knowledge I wouldn't have known to mix it to such an extent. Natto is made from soybean fermented with a beneficial bacteria called Bacillus subtilis and during this process, an enzyme called nattokinase is produced. The vigorous act of mixing produces sticky strings that are mainly comprised of polyglutamic acids. Natto is very nutritious, is cholesterol-free and has cardiovascular benefits due to the presence of nattokinase.