Come winter, nothing beats a heart-warming bowl of soup. Here are a few of our favourites from restaurants and cafés around the country to keep your cold-weather blues at bay. Slurp away.
SYDNEY
ACME
Sydneysiders are still raving about Chaco Bar‘s lunchtime ramen after it branched out from its yakitori roots earlier this year. At dinnertime, check out Acme’s playful alphabet number, a rich duck and celeriac broth garnished with spring onions and pine nuts – it’s an A-plus in our books. Acme, 60 Bayswater Rd, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, (02) 8068 0932
HOBART
TRICYCLE
Stifle winter’s bite with a wholesome bowl of Tricycle’s organic Dutch cream potato and swede soup with toasted hazelnuts and chives. For a spicier alternative, go the duck congee – half jasmine, half brown rice – with chilli sauce. Tricycle Cafe & Bar Salamanca, 77 Salamanca Pl, Hobart, Tas, (03) 6223 7228
BRISBANE
TARO’S RAMEN
Taro Akimoto is on a quest to produce Australia’s best ramen. Among the familiar red tonkotsu, shio, shoyu and tsukemen ramen on the menu, you’ll find monthly regional specialities such as the noodle-rich iekei ramen. Taro’s Ramen & Café, 363 Adelaide St, Brisbane, Qld, (07) 3832 6358, and Taro’s Ramen-Ascot, 1/145 Racecourse Rd, Ascot, Qld, (07) 3868 2833
PERTH
THE RAW KITCHEN
The spiced tomato and fennel soup at The Raw Kitchen is a bright, wholesome meat-free answer to winter comfort eating. It’s served alongside their popular cashew and vegan-cheese toastie. The Raw Kitchen, 181A High St, Fremantle, WA, (08) 9433 4647
DARWIN
RENDEZVOUS CAFÉ
Tracking down Darwin’s best laksa is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, but the bowls at Rendezvous Café are definitely top contenders. The chicken and barbecued pork in a flavoursome coconut broth with rice and egg noodles seasoned with spices and sambal is the one to beat. Rendezvous Café, shop 6/32 Smith St, Darwin, NT, (08) 8981 9231
MELBOURNE
POPE JOAN
Forget the medicine cabinet. Pope Joan’s chicken broth is our kind of cure for winter ailments. The clear broth is infused with konbu, spring onions and soy sauce, then served with diamond-shell clams, pickled ginger and shallots. Pope Joan, 77-79 Nicholson St, Brunswick East, Vic, (03) 9388 8858
CANBERRA
THE CUPPING ROOM
This is a café with a foot in both the food and coffee camps, so when a straight cup of Joe won’t beat the chill, an aromatic Korean broth enriched with pork belly, rice noodles and a soft-boiled egg will do the job. The Cupping Room, 1/1-13 University Ave, Canberra, ACT, (02) 6257 6412
ADELAIDE
HEY JUPITER
This pint-sized café might be modest in size, but its winter bowls are packed full of flavour. Go for the creamed cauliflower with Roquefort, or the spiced pumpkin with cumin and coriander. We’ll take one of each. Hey Jupiter, 11 Ebenezer Pl, Adelaide, SA (no phone)
Too cold to go outside? Here are some of our favourite winter soup recipes to keep you warm.
