I love Rising Sun Workshop, that’s pretty much all I need to say about this. Their philosophy, their space, their people, their food. Gah, it’s the coolest little loved up community I’ve come across in a while. Kicked off as a crowd-funded communal workspace for motorbike enthusiasts, the RSW team still have their feet firming planted atop two wheels while serving up delicious ramen and great coffee.
As director and chef, Nick “the Word” Smith said, “we wanted to combine the three things we love – motorbikes, ramen and coffee.” And why the hell not?
Currently popping-up in Newtown (secret permanent location close-by to come, apparently some people know where it is but I don’t and the control freak in me in freakin’-the-wig-out), the RSW space is quite literally a converted garage, half of which is dedicated to motorbike workshopping. They offer the space to one and all, serious rev-heads and occasional riders alike, to tinker with bikes, share passions and connect. The other half is a simple but stylish mess hall-style set up where the crew serve ramen, coffee and some delectable cakes.
There’s no menu per se. They make three types of ramens @ $15 per bowl:
SALT // The Light – Chicken, bonito and 3x salt broth
SOY // The Darkness – shoyu tonkotsu or pork style broth
MISO // The Monk – Miso based broth (can be veg/vegan but I of course added a big fat slice of pork belly for $3)
I’ve had all three. The Light is, as it should be, very light. Too light for my flavour-loving palate but by no means plain. The Darkness is salty and packs a flavour punch. And yesterday I tried The Monk (top photo), which is heavier than the others and follows with a nice little chilli kick. I can’t decide if I love The Darkness or The Monk more, but really, they’re all amazing. It also helps that The Light and The Darkness both come with the thickest, juiciest piece of pork belly, an option that is easily added to The Monk (and yes, you should).
The Darkness
The Light
They’ve also introduced gyozas, which were tasty ($8 for 6), but I’m wondering whether RSW should focus on just ramen and not fall into the endless pit of menu expansion. Having said that, the gyozas were a great way to whet our appetites and we were raring to go once the ramen hit our table.
I have no photos of cakes. I haven’t tried any of their cakes (I know, what!) because I’m hanging out to try these lemon curd donuts I’ve heard so much about. Supposedly only available on weekends, they didn’t have any yesterday but I’ve been promised they’ll be back soon.
So. In the meantime, you can find RSW on Lennox Street in Newtown (behind IGA) before they shuffle off to I-don’t-know-where. I have my suspicions, like maybe the ex-Mitre 10 venue would be an awesome workshop? But I’ll wait as patiently as my impatient self can and continue hovering around their pop-up until I get the lemon curd donut in my gob.
Rising Sun Workshop (pop-up)
Corner Mary & Lennox Streets
Newtown, NSW, 2042
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