Sydneyโs fried chicken and Champagne temple, Butter, is prepping for winter by bringing back their incredibly popular experimental ramen โ the โfried chicken ramenโ. And as exciting as that news is, as a standalone headline, whatโs even juicier is the announcement of a full Butter Ramen Club Tour โ a collaboration with four of Australiaโs best chefs to create 6 experimental ramen bowls over the next 6 months.
From today until 26th October, the Butter Ramen Club Tour will enlist the considerable talents and distinctive styles of Kirby Craig of Ume Burger, Nick Smith of Rising Sun Workshop, Louie Tikaram of Brisbaneโs Stanely, and Luke Powell of LPโs Quality Meats. In addition to Butterโs Executive Chef Julian Cincotta, all involved will working to express their respective specialities through a limited edition, soul-warming bowl of ramen.
RELATED: Where To Find The Best Ramen In Sydney
Each month will see a new ramen variant available for that month only. Although youโll only be able to slurp them up in-store at one of Butterโs three locations across Sydney โ Surry Hills, Parramatta, and the newly opened Chatswood. Although Brisbane locals will get a nod when Butter, for the first time, pops up in the city for one full weekend (July 27 to August 30) at Stanley, with Tikaramโs contribution โ a five-spice fragrant ramen using a mix of Cantonese and Japanese flavours, served with Butterโs signature fried chicken.
Given Butterโs ambitious program of experimental ramen kicks off today, you can now get the first cab off the rank at any Butter store until May 17. Thatโd simply be Julian Cincottaโs signature $20 fried chicken ramen, which in the previous releases has always been built with a tonkotsu base mixing dashi and chicken broth, served with two fried chicken tenders, thin noodles, enoki mushrooms, and a marinated soft-boiled egg.
Next up, from May 19 to June 21, will be Ume Burger chef Kirby Craig, serving up a bowl of miso based tare ramen with corn and Butterโs chicken broth. Nick Smith from Rising Sun takes the reins from June 22 to July 26 with a burnt ends glaze ramen on Butterโs fried chicken. Tikaramโs aforementioned ramen pops up at the end of July, before Cincotta throws another curveball from August 31 to September 27 โ thatโs a โFrench Dip Ramen Fried Chicken Sandwich,โ which already sounds like itโll be the yearโs most popular food mash-up.
RELATED: A Definitive Guide To The Best Fried Chicken In Melbourne
Butterโs experimental ramen series will wrap up with LPs Quality Meats head honcho Luke Powell who, from September 28 to October 26, will be tweaking the fried chicken ramen with what he describes as a smoky chicken small-good. Details on that one are being tight-lipped, but seeing as LPs has fast become the small goods institution of Sydney, it should be well worth the wait.
Although the tour isnโt coming to Victoria, weโve still got you covered with this list of where to find the best ramen in Melbourne. And for Queenslanders who canโt wait until August, hereโs where to find the best ramen in Brisbane.
