And the full experience, it has to be said, is excellent. Zool Zool, in the room formerly occupied by Haru No Yume, is the creation of Toru Hirae, of Soi in Remuera, and Kazuya Yamauchi, whose eponymous Symonds St restaurant is one of the city's outstanding and distinctive fine-dining places.
A sushi- and sashimi-free zone - although there are tempura veges with a nice spicy edge - this place specialises in the noodle broth called ramen.
It also functions as a drinking establishment the Japanese know as an izakaya bar, in which food (there's a small list of bar snacks including generous bowls of tempura squid and fried dumplings) is incidental. You can buy a three-litre glass barrel of beer for $42, with a tap for self-service. They offer nine sakes and there's a display of Japanese whiskey on the bar that seems more suited to a trade show than a restaurant.
Ramen may be a staple, even downmarket dish in Japan, but at Zool Zool, it's definitely a cut above the food-hall competition. The noodles are silky and fragrant and have a definite al dente body and the menu offers dry (broth-free) and slurpalicious broth versions.
The fact that none of the meat is free-farmed is a matter for regret, particularly since all the broths are chicken-based and include pork. The dry ones include a vegetarian and a beef option.
It seems to me we should be moving beyond the time when factory-farmed meat should be acceptable in any place styling itself a restaurant.
That said, the soy broth in the shoyu had a deep and layered flavour and the other inclusions (crunchy bamboo shoot, spinach and a crisp leaf of nori) made for a very satisfying dish.
The slow-cooked beef cheek in the dry version was meltingly tender, with an agreeable vein of fat, although the dish as a whole didn't really cohere - corn kernels, presumably from a tin, seemed distinctly out of place.
Meanwhile, a dish of seared seafood that paired balsamic vinegar and soy sauce was great.
The real surprise, though, came at the end: a sorbet of yuzu, an astringently sour citrus and little balls of icecream with a gummy, chewy skin of rice cake called mochi, a big mouthful each with lovely dipping sauces of fig, pineapple and pear.
The service was a bit vague, although very warm, but this was a rewarding meal in a cheap-as-chips neighbourhood place that was unsurprisingly packed on a Tuesday evening. And my shirt washed up fine.
Dishes $6-$18
Verdict: A ramen house a cut above the competition
Cheers
By Joelle Thomson
The whisky-wine connection
Double-barrel matured sounds like a staunch Scottish single malt whisky recipe, rather than a winemaking feat, especially now that less oak is often seen as more desirable for many wines.
But if any country was going to add more to its already full-bodied reds, it would be our nearest neighbour, Australia, home to Jacob's Creek. Recently JC launched its Double Barrel Cabernet and Double Barrel Shiraz in New Zealand.
The wines appeal to whisky drinkers as much as wine lovers because they have matured in old whisky barrels, says chief winemaker Bernard Hickin.
Pernod Ricard, a large global spirits producer, owns the company in France. It also owns Aberlour distillery in Scotland, home to single malt A'bunadh, which is aged in old sherry barrels so tastes of complex cinnamon, brown sugar and spice.
The new double-barrel matured reds from Jacob's Creek have been matured for up to 18 months in 200-litre wine barrels and secondly for about 12 weeks in old whisky and bourbon barrels. This softens the astringency in youthful cabernet sauvignon and accentuates the rich fruit sweetness in shiraz.
Flavour, body and quality
The 2012 Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and 2012 Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Barossa Shiraz taste several steps up from big JC's everyday wine range with more flavour, body and quality. They are $24.99 and widely available.
