In most ways Yasaka Ramen’s 24-seat restaurant is just like the original in the CBD. It’s bright orange, relatively small and the menu is almost identical. The homemade noodles, the broth and the tare (seasoning) are all the same. But it tastes different. This is down to the cooking method.

Instead of using pressure cookers the make the broth, the way the team at the CBD store does, Yasaka head chef Takeshi Sekigawa makes it the traditional way. Neutral Bay is the Japanese community’s old heartland, so Sekigawa is making ramen how it’s been done for decades, with just heat, a pot, bones and water. It's thicker and sweeter.

The other difference in the menu, besides the lack of don and curry, is just as subtle. Neutral Bay serves bao buns. There are two options, char siu and kakuni (soft bone pork). The char siu (Chinese-style pork belly) is a mixture of Chinese, Japanese and Italian flavours.