LURKING for many years in the bus interchange has been a little piece of Japan called Tasuke.

It feels like stepping out of a Tokyo street. There’s a lot of wood work, long tables to sit at, flappy bits of paper with drawings of food all around.

If you’re eating in there’s table service, and a big menu of options for $9.90.

I went for the hot and spicy ramen.

After about ten minutes a big bowl of noodle soup arrive filled with noodles, greens, a minced meat and mushroom mix, mung beans, and a delicate warming soup.

There wasn’t quite enough zing for my taste but with a bottle of hot sauce on the table that was quickly fixed.

It’s worth going to Tasuke for the other-worldly feel you get when you enter alone.

But for a tenner any of the lunch dishes will get the edge off the cold and your belly pleasantly full.

[This article is the twenty second in a series on cheap lunches to be found in and around the city. If you have any suggestions leave them in the comments or email them to john@citynews.com.au . The complete series can be found on our cheap lunches tag]