Admit it, Singaporeans love noodles. From our local favourite Fishball Noodles, Bak Chor Mee to Italian staples like pasta, spaghetti from the western stalls and even Maggie Mee (our midnight cravings), it is undeniable that we consume noodles as much as we do for rice.

Today’s guide will be on all-things ramen! What exactly makes a good bowl of ramen lies in the soup, or some may say it’s the noodles, pork or egg. Of course whatever goes into the bowl makes a difference to the overall taste and experience. That honestly is a little hard for me to find one that suits my tastebud. Some may have good soup, but bad noodles or tender pork char siu with overcooked eggs.

Well, we all know that the Japanese takes pride in their food, especially when it comes to ramen. The preparation of the broth, the quality of taste, the consistency of the soft boiled egg… can’t say that one mistake won’t make us sigh in disbelief.

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*** oo-foodielicious ate all 12 bowls of ramen and grew an extra belly, all for your better insight. 

1. Hakata Ikkousha 博多一幸舎

Been to both outlets – Tanjong Pagar and CHIJMES and tried couple times. I have to say this is by far one of the best ramen I had in Singapore. The pork bone broth is rich and creamy while the noodles are the soft (ordered according to preference) and thin kind which I like. Even the pork is sliced very thinly which holds the the flavour of the broth in. As for the ajitama, it is served well with a soft runny centre.

Ramen choices include Tonkotsu Special, Tonkotsu Black, Tonkotsu Mentaiko and God Fire. I had level 4 – the spiciest level – of the God Fire. Slightly tongue numbing because I could take spiciness.

Overall, it is a very delicate dish; it looks pleasant to the eye, and taste-wise, the various components play their parts well.

Hakata Ikkousha 博多一幸舎

Tanjong Pagar

Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-104B, Singapore 081007

Tel: +65 6538 1880

Daily 11:30am – 10:00pm

 

CHIJMES

30 Victoria Street #F1-07 Chijmes, Singapore 187996

Tel: +65 6338-8460

Daily: 11:30am – 10:00pm

Website: http://www.ikkousha.sg/

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2. Kajiken 歌志軒

Coined as Singapore’s first Mazesoba shop, Kajiken is a humble dry ramen eatery in Tanjong Pagar. Interestingly, Kajiken serves ramen noodles without soup; not a common sight in Singapore.

The name ‘Maze’ refers to ‘Mix’ while ‘Soba’ refers to ‘Noodles’. Hence, the idea is that you will have to mix the noodles together with the various ingredients within before you eat it.

Though the noodles look thick, they were on the softer side with a bit of of chewiness. The sauce, on the other hand, was sugoi ne すごいね！I was recommended to add some vinegar and chilli oil and the entire dish simply got tastier. It reminded me of the Chinese dish, Zha Jjang Mian. which also came with a portion of minced meat on top.

Check out the full review on http://www.oo-foodielicious.com/kajiken-one-of-a-kind-mazesoba-shop/

 

Kajiken Singapore

1 Tras Link #01-07, Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867

Tel: +65 8226 0199

Weekdays: 11:30AM-3PM, 6PM-9:30PM

Weekends:11:30AM-9:30PM

Website: http://www.kajikensg.com/

3. Ramen Keisuke Tori King

Just a short distance away from Kajiken is 100am, where you can find Tori King on the third floor. Coming from the famous Keisuke brand, this is one of the only outlet that serves all chicken-based ramen. The broth is made entirely of chicken bones, chicken feet, Japanese seaweed and assorted vegetables for over eight hours.

Sounds good and unique but it fell short of my expectation. Pardon me but I find this such a disappointment.

The Tori King Tan Ta Mien Special with All Toppings include a huge drumstick, chicken meats, balls, ajitama and seaweed. I found the soup to be oily and lacklustre. Though the drumstick was quite tender, the mountain of chicken meat in the whole bowl was too much for me. Saving grace was perhaps the egg and seaweed.

Anyway I have friends who enjoy this, so taste can be subjective ya.

Ramen Keisuke Tori King

#03-15 100AM,

100 Tras Street Singapore 079027

Tel: +65 6604-6861

 

Mon-Fri: 11:30am – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm

Sat and Sun: 11:30am – 10pm

Website: http://www.keisuke.sg/tori-king-tanjong-pagar/

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4. Ramen Keisuke Lobster King

The fact that Ramen Keisuke Lobster King opens till 5AM in the early morning makes it convenient for the nocturnal like me to hop over for my ramen fix. For those out partying in the vicinity till late, a hot pipping bowl of ramen will do so to satisfy your hunger pangs.

To create the robust broth, French rock lobsters, herbs vegetables are simmered for six hours. This creates a rich and flavoursome broth that tend towards a seafood taste rather than your usual pork bone broth.

Lobster King serves the clear soup and rich soup version. I had the Spicy Miso Lobster Broth Ramen which was rich and thick, almost like a gravy. The ingredients within was abundant, such as the pork belly slices, chicken char siew, dumplings, lobster balls, bamboo shoots and vegetables. Quite worth it.

Ramen Keisuke Lobster King is the 10th outlet opened in Singapore by the Ramen Keisuke brand, whose founder is Keisuke Takeda-san.

Check out the full review on http://www.oo-foodielicious.com/ramen-keisuke-lobster-king/

5. Ramen Bar Suzuki

Located in Boat Quay, this ramen bar sees more of an office crowd during lunch time. The soup base here was lighter and less of the porky taste. As for the pork slice, it was slightly thicker and chewier, paired with the QQ thin wheat noodles.

Suzuki’s ramen comes in varying colours (flavours) like the Original, White, Cardinal Red and Jet Black (garlic). The Cardinal Red Tonkotsu Ramen was spicy as expected. Down with a glass of beer, it was a matchmade in heaven. For those working near the Raffles place area, Ramen bar Suzuki would be a good choice in terms of location.

Ramen Bar Suzuki

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6. Ramen Gallery Takumen

Just a few doors down sits Takumen – a humble eatery with a neat row of table on the left and the kitchen on the right. The menu is straightforward featuring six kinds of ramen. You can expect each ramen to be distinct in their own flavours, from the Honda Shoten (original tonkotsu taste), the award-winning Ramen Hajime (with tori paitan chicken broth) and Bingiri (a Katsuura-style Tantan-men).

I had the Bingiri which was a very satisfying thick meat-stock broth with bits of meats swimming within and tons of onions on top. This dish would get you thirsty and tongue-numbing from the amount of chilli oil added. I found the onions too much to my liking though. This would suit you if you love a spicy, onion-loaded tantan-men.

 

 

Ramen Gallery Takumen

66 Circular Road, Singapore 049420

Tel: +65 6536 4875

 

Mon to Thu: 11:30am – 10pm

Fri: 11:30am – 11:45pm

Sat: 11:30am – 3:30pm, 5pm – 9pm

Sun: 11:30am – 3:30pm, 5:30pm – 9pm

Website: http://sg.takumen.com/

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7. Tomo Izakaya

The Kai Ramen uses spinach in the noodles to create the jade-green colour, which made Tomo Izakaya the first restaurant in Singapore to offer this. Besides, the seafood-based broth was a concoction of asari clams, hamguri clams, chicken bones, Japanese snapper bones and vegetables which created a sweet and savoury taste.

9. Tsuta

The world’s first One Michelin-Starred ramen, Tsuta, founded by Yuki Onishi, had opened its door in Singapore last year under the limelight; with its first outlet at Pacific plaza and the second one subsequently at Taiseng.

Tsuta prides itself in its soup base which is served in a clear form, concocted from specially selected ingredients like chicken, herbs and asari clams. There are currently three flavours available: Shoyu (soy-based), Shio (salt-based) and Miso Soba.

I tried the Shoyu Soba with came with a slice of pork, thin chewy noodles, ajitama and a touch of truffle oil. I found the broth to be rather mild and slightly earthy but with a porky aftertaste. The worst part is the saltiness of the broth which made it impossible to drink. This was the first time I couldn’t get pass a few mouthful of the broth for a ramen, how sad is that.

Well at least I have tried it.

Tsuta

9 Scotts Road #01-01 Pacific Plaza, Singapore 228210

Daily: 11am – 10pm

18 Tai Seng Street #01-01 Mapletree 18, Singapore 539775

Daily: 11am – 9pm

Website: http://www.tsuta.com/

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10. Kanshoku Ramen Bar

Our home-grown brand, Kanshoku, is founded by two close friends in 2014 with the word Kanshoku meaning ‘to finish eating every last bit of your food‘.

I have passed by this place several times to find it packed during meal times. One of their signature is the Truffle Ramen that came with really soft noodles (as I checked for ‘soft’ texture), thick pork slices, cabbages and an ajitama.

I had mixed feelings on this. The addition of the cabbage was weird and the egg tasted like it had been preheated.The broth was okay with the taste of the truffle evident within. It was also creamy but the flavour could be more impactful. Nonetheless, probably better than Tsuta.

Kanshoku Ramen Bar

277 Orchard Road, OrchardGateway #01-06, Singapore 238858

Tel: +65 6384 4770

 

2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard #B3-18, Singapore 238801

Tel: +65 6509 8221

Daily: 11am – 10pm

Website: https://www.kanshokuramen.com/

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11. Ajisen Ramen 

Ajisen refers to ‘a thousand tastes‘ in Japanese and has over 700 outlets worldwide. It is also one of those few ramen restaurants that sells a whole range of other Japanese items besides ramen. As fellow diners, we usually have the mentality that chain outlets won’t fare as well as an independent ramen stall. That said, I wasn’t expecting much when I decided to give it a try.

The menu was extensive and it took me some time before I went for the Volcano Ramen. It came with a lump of chilli minced pork and more pork slices underneath. The portion was generous for the price but it was a pity that I had to pay extra to have the hard boiled egg changed to ajitama (shouldn’t it be a given?). The broth wasn’t ‘wow’, being rather one dimensional the more I slurped.

I guess there’s a reason why chain outlets are often given the perception that quality will be compromised.

 

Aijsen Ramen

1 Woodlands Square, Causeway Point, #B1-18, Singapore 738099

Tel: +65 6893 8212

Website: https://www.ajisen.com.sg/

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12. Machida-Shoten

I usually go for ramen outlets that has thin noodles. Machida-Shoten Ramen is an exception as I heard that they have one of the richest broth in Singapore. I was skeptical that their thick noodles wouldn’t fit well for me until I realise that at Machida-Shoten, you get to choose from your preferred noodle texture, soup intensity and chicken oil amount – and it was done just the way I love it.

Worth mentioning was the ajitama that was cooked perfect with a golden orange core. As for the broth, I wished it could be more as the thick noodles seemed to soak it up rather quickly.

This is a rich and filling bowl not for the faint-hearted.

Machida-Shoten

4F Wisma Atria, Japan Food Town,

435 Orchard Rd , Singapore 238877

Tel: +65 6262 3214

 

Daily: 11am – 10:30pm

Website: http://www.japanfoodtown.sg/stores/machida-shoten/

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it is a never-ending quest for ramen. Not featured is the Keisuke Tonkotsu King and Keisuke King Four Seasons which both serve very delicious ramen too. Both are recommended.

Of course, the list is exhaustive and it is just one stomach that I have 🙂

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