Daikokuya - our favourite new ramen place

We only happened to chance upon this place at Robertson Quay because it was almost 2.30pm and almost every other Japanese restaurant in the area was already closed. We used to eat at Menya Shinchan - the previous tenant - quite a bit, but had not ventured much to Robertson Quay in the past couple of years. Until now, with the discovery of Daikokuya drawing us back.

It was only after doing some searching on the internet did we realise that there are other branches of this ramen chain, which wasn't all that new to Singapore. Although I've never been to the Paragon or Raffles City branches, I think this particular shop is slightly different, since I can't find the things we ate on their menu listed in their website. 

I can't recall what the dish is called, but there are 2 main types of ramen being sold at the Robertson Quay outlet - the Tsukemen that you dip into a very thick soup, and another more conventional type that is served in soup. 

We had the gyoza to start with - this was pretty good. Hot and crispy on the base, and soft and juicy inside.

On my first visit, I had the conventional noodles-in-soup version with all the extra toppings - I think this cost almost $15. The soup stock was fantastic - described as pork and fish stock in the menu, it was really rich, flavourful and best of all, not too oily.The chashu was very tender, and came in thick meaty slices. The tamago was perfect, with the soy flavour infused in the white and a perfect molten yolk.

 The noodles were firm, chewy and cooked just right.

My next trip, I went for the Tsukemen - this was even better than I expected. Somehow, having the noodles out of the hot soup probably helped to retain the chewy texture so much better.

The soup was extra rich since it wasn't entirely for drinking, but they also had plain broth on standby in case we felt like diluting the soup.

Highly, highly recommended. Better than any other ramen restaurant in Singapore, methinks, and second best ramen experience we've had all year, losing out only to Ippudo in Tokyo. 

Website: http://www.daikokuya.com.sg/index.html

Tokyo: Ippudo Ebisu reprise

After having such a wonderful meal at Ippudo the last time, we decided we had to make another pilgrimage back, and it had to be the Ebisu branch. So we walked for about 20 mins in the freezing cold, albeit part of the way under cherry blossoms. And what joy when we finally arrived, to find that we didn't have to wait for a seat.
I love the jars of free flow taugay...no I just love the taugay full stop. Spicy and crunchy.
We got there around 9pm and it wasn't too crowded so we didn't have to wait for a seat

We had a serve of gyoza to start off withThe husband's ramen - the Akamaru New for 800Y, a "combination of powerful yet refined flavours" (?!) in a tonkotsu broth. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

These noodles were thin, chewy and were so good with the rick pork stock

I had the Hakata Tsukemen (850Y), with thicker noodles for dipping.The super rich and flavourful dipping sauce

Check out the texture- this was fab!It was a wonderful meal, especially with the chilly temperatures. Wished we could have eaten another bowl.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

When this ramen shop opened near the office just about half a year ago, the queues were horrendously long, and the first time we went there, a colleague sneaked out early to line up. It's very Japanese to queue for good food - so I guess nothing wrong with that!
As you queue at the entrance, they give you the order sheet to specify whether you want the standard bowl, whether you want to add chilli oil or black sesame oil, and how hard (or soft) you like the noodles.

The stuff you see inside once you sit down.

My bowl of noodles with chilli oil and black sesame oil - plus a tamago onsen cost $13.80.

Hard boiled eggs that they give you on the side, to peel and add into the ramen. These are FOC, and there's a note saying the brown eggs have less cholestrol. There's also a bowl with pestle to grind sesame seeds on the spot.

My colleague's insipid-looking standard bowl

The soup was very rich, and the amount of fat in there was rather alarming. But if that's how they do it in Japan, then it's a good thing they're keeping to the original recipe.

I had the noodles hard, and they were very firm to the bite.

It was a good bowl of ramen, although towards the end, it became just a bit too oily and fatty for me. I loved the ground sesame, it really helped to bring out the flavour of the soup.

They also have free flow bean sprouts - very enjoyable too.

Address: 1 Tras Link, #01-19 Orchid Hotel. Tel: +65 6636 0855

Keisuke Tokyo (Parco Marina Bay)

Keisuke's opened up a branch near my office and while I've lined up a few times there, I've come to realise that I can't afford the time to stand in line while lunch hour ticks away. And they've only got the tonkotsu soup base in Tg Pagar, while the Millenia Walk branch has got the crab ramen. So off I went for dinner one evening to give it a try.

I love their taugay.

All the stuff on the side.
This was what it looked like when it came - we ordered it with an egg which cost an extra $2. The egg was very nicely done, with a soy infused soft yolk that wasn't too runny nor hard.

I liked the texture of the noodles. Very good to bite into.
The gyoza was ordinary. Ok but nothing exciting to shout about.

Between Nansuttei and Keisuke, I'd go for the crab ramen again any time- it's got a really unique flavour and isn't as oily as the pork broth.

9 Raffles Boulevard, #P3-02 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk
Tel: +65 6337 7919

Nansuttei at Parco, Millenia Walk

We went to try the ramen places at Parco Millenia Walk some time back and were quite happy with them. First up was Nansuttei.

I can't remember what this was, but it was not too bad - something with black sesame?

I ordered one that was more spicy.

The mother ordered one with a lot of negi.

The gyoza wasn't that exciting, if I recall correctly.

The noodles were good - al dente, firm and good to bite in to.

Next up: Keisuke Ramen.

Totto Ramen, NYC

A colleague based in NYC told me about Totto Ramen - that it was better than Ippudo, cheaper than Momofuku and easier to get to than the other 2 from Millenium Times Square, which was where we were putting up. So one evening when I managed to sneak out alone, I headed there for dinner by myself.

This was the queue at 9.45pm (people behind me not pictured). I waited until 10.30pm for a counter seat for one.

I got a counter seat with a great view of the action. The cooks were all Japanese : )

Flipping the noodles out of hot water

Aburi-ing the chasiu - no wonder it was so yummy!

I ordered an avocado tuna just to try - described as torched tuna sashimi with avocado marinated in special yuzu garlic sauce, topped with scallion. At $4.50, this sounded like a pretty reasonable deal.

The serving was reasonably substantial, and it was pretty yummy. Just a bit salty. The avocado was hidden under the tuna. It was a good start to the meal.

I ordered the Totto Spicy Ramen. Their house ramen is served in chicken broth, and the spicy version has Rayu, described as spicy sesame sauce. The ramen was topped with scallion, cha siu, bean sprouts and nori. I ordered an egg on the side too.

Close up of the noodles - they were nice and firm, cooked al dente. Just right. The soup was absolutely rich and lovely, and left me wanting more. The aburi-ed cha siu was so nice - the torching left a nice caramelised flavour on the edges. My only complaint was that my egg ended up hard boiled instead of with a nice soy-infused soft yolk. But I would still head back there at my next visit in NYC for sure.

It's located in Midtown between 8th and 9th Avenue, about 10-15 minutes walk from Times Square.

366 W 52nd Street, NY 10019

Tel: (212) 582-0052
Open Mon – Fri 12pm – 12am / Sat 12pm – 11pm / Sun 5pm – 11pm

Tokyo: Ippudo - the real stuff

When Ippudo first opened in Singapore, I found the queues ridiculously insane, which led me to only eating there if I was in the Orchard area or if a friend really really really wanted to eat there. The 3 chances I've given it are more than enough to convince me that it's decent at best, average most of the time. So when the sister started raving about Ippudo in Tokyo, I figured it was worth a shot since she's probably the only person I know who is fussier than I am about good food.

We went to the Ebisu branch, which is technically in Hiroo about 5 mins by car from her house. There was a queue outside, which in Japan means good food!

The place, as expected, was packed.

So much to eat, so little time and space :( On the whole, prices are quite affordable.
Stuff on the table to add to the noodles.

They even give you pickles - some kiam chye thing, ginger strips and bean sprouts. I loved the bean sprouts!

Garlic for pressing into the ramen bowl

If you're interested in a history lesson, this is it

The bean sprouts were SO nice. Supple, crunchy and spicy with a tinge of sesame oil.

The gyoza was fantastic. The skin was crispy, the filling had the right mixture of lean and fatty meat as well as chives and cabbage - I could easily have eaten the entire plate by myself.

The husband's basic ramen. Because we went with the sister and family, they ordered in Japanese which meant we had no idea what our dishes were called. I'm only guessing that this was a Shiomaru.

I had a mentaiko rice, which was decent. I ate it up, but honestly, it was a mistake ordering mentaiko rice in a ramen shop. I regretted tremendously later since it filled me up.

We had nori sheets to put into the soup

Finally my ramen arrived.

This was probably the most perfect ramen I have ever eaten in my entire life. The noodles were perfectly al dente - I understand that these thin ramen noodles are called Hakata-style ramen. The soup was rich, flavourful and not too salty. It was served at the right temperature, with the flavours of sesame, miso and black garlic oil perfectly blended. If anyone's interested, this was the second option from the right on the menu (photo above).

Photo of our half of the table

The husband showing how garlic is pressed

When the first lot of noodles is eaten up, you can order an extra serve of noodles - that's called kaedama. Just make sure that you save some soup, since they only give you the noodles.

Address: Hiroo 1-3-13

Tel: 81-3-5420 2225

Website: http://www.ippudo.com/tokyo/store/ebisu.html (there's a map)

It's just 5 minutes walk from the Ebisu train station, which is on the JR Line as well as the Hibiya Line. Apparently it's open from 11am to 4am everyday.