NOT: Ajisen Ramen, 130 Bourke St, Melbourne

I am slowly trying to convince RM that tofu, beans and fish are hearty and nutritious foods that contain a lot of protein, but he remains convinced that any little bout of exercise must be followed by a recuperating dose of 'man-protein' meat.

Well, you don't get much meat for your $11 'extra char siu' miso ramen at Ajisen Ramen, and in fact, the slices of rubbery grey processed matter was like no other Chinese BBQ pork I've ever seen. My $16 salmon miso ramen wasn't much better, with the solid tasteless fillet obviously having been cooked or boiled straight out of the freezer. The miso soup was super-salty and there were not enough noodles, although admittedly the noodle texture was very nice.

Next time RM needs meaty noodle soup, I'm dragging him to half-the-price Laughing Cow Laughing Chicken instead.