Lonely Mouth by RaRa

The thought of vegan ramen might be heresy to noodle purists. But given the Japanese masters and ramen consultants behind RaRa Ramen’s secret tonkotsu recipe – which was handed down to Katie Shortland and Scott Gault to serve at their Redfern and Randwick RaRa outlets – are totally on board with the non-meat ramen recipe, perhaps tradition shouldn’t be the sole definer of what’s acceptable.

Lonely Mouth takes its name from the Japanese word kuchisabishii , which roughly means the longing to put something in your mouth, even if you’re not hungry. It’s tiny, and doesn’t have Redfern’s neon or Randwick’s noodle theatrics – just a whole lot of understated raw oak and devil’s ivy, with a low communal table in the centre of the room and high stools along the walls for counter-style dining.

The stars of this show are the three vegan ramens, which are chalked up on a blackboard opposite the bar. Each one shares the secret tare seasonings (the soup-broth flavouring) and signature thin Hakata-style noodles found in RaRa’s famous pork soups.

Top of the list is a hempseed-and-sunflower-based vegetable-broth ramen, which mimics the creaminess and umami of unctuous tonkotsu. Next is a sesame-and-soy-milk tantanmen , which is both nutty and fiery. And finally, the one that started it all: RaRa’s miso broth topped with grilled tofu, sprouts, charred corn, purple cabbage, fungus and pickled bamboo.

Simple izakaya-style sides rotate every few weeks, but past dishes have included pickled cucumbers, kimchi, cauliflower karaage (breaded and fried), and tempura corn flecked with numbing Sichuan pepper.