Makanai, Chatswood

Inside the newly renovated Hawker Lane in Chatswood Westfield, Makanai draws the eye with the abundance of autumn leaves that decorate the exterior of the restaurant. The menu is rather extensive (several pages long) so it took some time to look through the options before ordering at the cashier.

Outside of Restaurant

Viewing Window to Kitchen

There are only a few booth seats inside the actual restaurant but there are heaps of communal tables located just outside. There was a free booth after I made my order so I was able to sit under the faux light decor:

Ceiling of Restaurant	Udon Donut!???

Within 15min, my ramen was ready - I ordered the Makanai Ramen, which contained a slice of Cha Shu pork, chicken karaage, a whole ajitama egg and various vegetables:

Makanai Ramen ($16.90)

Interestingly, the ramen was served with a nori (seaweed) sheet with the restaurant name printed on it:

Seaweed with Restaurant Name

This was a turn-off for my friend, and she subsequently didn't eat the seaweed (yay to me!).
 
I'm not sure whether the air-con was too strong, I was just sitting under the air vent, and/or perhaps the ramen soup wasn't hot enough, but within minutes, the soup started to congeal across the surface and was luke-warm by the time my friend finally received her ramen. I thought the ramen itself was rather average - the chicken karaage was crunchy but soggy where it dipped into the soup; Cha Shu pork wasn't of a fatty, melt-in-your-mouth texture; soup was flavoursome but contained MSG so I were thirsty (and cold) by the end of the meal.

Makanai is ok if you're looking for a quick ramen fix but considering the price and quality, I'd recommend taking a hike to Ryo's in Crows Nest for a better meal.