Rara - Redfern

Small place with limited seating. Hubby and I arrived at 18:20 this Sunday evening and waited 20min for a table. For starters we ordered edamame $5.50 , pork gyoza 5 pieces $8.00 , grilled pork bao and vegan sauteed pulled jackfruit bao bao bun mixer $12.50 . Presentation of vegan sauteed pulled jackfruit bao was on point however the jackfruit filling was far too soggy and had leaked thru the fold of the bao. I ended up having to use chopsticks to eat the pieces that had fallen out onto the bamboo steamer. Edamame was fairly standard; solid portion size. Hubby enjoyed his grilled pork bao and pork gyoza unfortunately no vegan gyoza option for me to try . For mains I had the Vegan Miso Ramen $18.80 and for hubby the RaRa tonkotsu $18.80 . In the Vegan Miso Ramen the tofu pieces were too thin given tofu isn't expensive this was beyond a tight ass portion! and the seasoning they used was excessively sweet tofu is delicate therefore this excessive sweetness overpowered the senses. The ratio of bean sprouts was unjustifiably over the top, filling at least a third of the bowl which is obviously a strategy to increase their profit margin based on the financial/manual labour cost of producing their signature handmade ramen noodles. The soup base was simply TOO sweet: this meant the overly sweet tofu overly sweet soup base charred sweet corn SWEETNESS overload! Overall I was disappointed with this dish and wouldn't recommend it. I am certainly not in a hurry to return to RaRa to try the Vegan Soy Shio dish and will instead try the vegan ramen at Shim Machi in Newtown that a vegan friend recommended. Side note: Vegan Soy Shio: soy based broth with speciality tare seasoning served with grilled tomato seasoned with black pepper, seasoned bamboo, shallots $16.90. By comparison the Vegan Miso Ramen I chose appeared at first glance to be more value for money based on the difference in the number of ingredients but in the end I was mistaken after realising how disappointing the Vegan Miso Ramen was. Neither dish warrants a $15 price tag. Pretentious pricing. Save your money and spend it and your calories elsewhere at places that never fail to deliver such as Tian C, Golden Lotus and Vina Vegan. I want a refund on my calories; Rara was not worth it IMO.

Hip ramen restaurant with gritty, buzzy vibe. We had to wait for an hour for a table at 7.30pm on a Friday night, and they don't call you when your spot comes up you have to keep checking. Not a huge array of vegan options, but those they do have are so freaking delicious. They make their own noodles from a secret recipe. I'll definitely be back.

Loved both the vegan raman options, but the original was my fav!

Defiantly worth the trip, their edamame beans were the freshest I’ve ever had, the boa buns were mouth watering and the ramen was mind blowing. It’s always super busy and has ques so be prepared for a wait, but it’s worth it!!

This restaurant is not vegan, but they have a few options which are. There are two ramens and a bao starter on offer for vegans. Both are delicious and well worth the wait. The queues can get quite long here so be prepared. Noodles are handmade which is a big plus, nice and chewy. RaRa is also a licensed bar so alcohol is available and you can wait by the bar for a table to free up , as long as it's also not full did I mention this place is popular?