Rock on. This was a good one (33 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-03, 6836-1039). These guys apparently specialize in Kyushu cuisine, so what better litmus test is there for their food than the tonkotsu ramen? And successful they were with this indeed. The tonkotsu broth was just as rich and savory as I would have wanted it, and the noodles were cooked firmly. I was a bit bummed not to see any mentaiko in this bowl, but it still worked.
Besides, there was plenty of mentaiko to come, as we also picked up the supagetti mentaiko and even potato no mentai yaki, the latter of which was simply sliced potato covered with mentaiko on both sides and baked. It wasn't the cheese infused potato mentaiko that I incorrectly expected, but it wasn't bad nonetheless.
Another highlight was the unagi kabayaki, which was so pleasantly lined with fat that it was like night and day with that stuff I ate last night. Again, rock on! There's definitely going to be repeat visits here. And the good thing is that they are conveniently open late too.
8 comments:
LSeet: don't know if you've been to 2 supposedly famous ramen places in LA; one in Torrance called Hakata Ramen/Shin Sen Gumi and other in J-Town called Daikokuya. If so, maybe you could do a comparison how they fare to the ones over here in Singapore?
I'm glad you liked Mr Leow's cooking. I've been going to his Hong Leong Garden outlet (Kyushu Nihon Ryori) for years and his tokotsu broth is amazing. In fact, I just had it this afternoon. Definitely up to the standards in Fukuoka itself! I don't see the mentaiko dishes you mentioned there though - but I'm certainly going to ask for them.
Have u tried Nan Ten in Hong Leong Building basement (next to Lau Pa Sat)? Their tonkatsu ramen is very good, esp te broth!
Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I've eaten at Nanten's sister restaurant over at Robertson Quay. Admittedly I don't really remember it too clearly anymore, but Hakata gave me such a favorable impression that I think I liked Hakata better, even if my posting on Ichiban-tei back then seems to layer on the praise. Maybe I should go back and to a head-to-head comparison. They're both in the Robertson Quay area anyway.
And thanks for the tips on LA too. No, I haven't eaten at those, so I wouldn't be able to compare them, but maybe some folks from back home can chime in with some thoughts, even if they can't compare them to Singapore. I'll try to hit those spots up next time I'm over in LA too.
While we may not be able to find Jyangara-quality ramen in Singapore, I find that Noodle House Ken and Miharu are some of the better ones. I now consider Hakata to be in the same league, even if technically isn't a dedicated ramen shop. (BTW, I tried the tonkotsu ramen at Bon Goût last night, and while it was tasty, the broth was a bit runny, so the upper hand still clearly goes to Hakata in my opinion...I liked the quality of the noodles at Hakata better too.)
Oh, and note that it's tonkotsu, not tonkatsu. They sound similar, but are quite different: the former is broth stewed from pork bones, while the latter is a pork cutlet. I wonder though: has anyone tried to place tonkatsu on top of ramen? I can imagine some adventurous chef trying it in Japan (can anyone up there verify?), although I'd also imagine that sogginess would be a huge discouraging challenge.
If you are in the vicinity and crave Japanese food again, you may like to try Yumeya, just a few shops down the same row.
The sushi is suposed to be pretty good.
Next time you're in the area (Mountain View), you should try Ryowa Ramen on Castro St. It's probably the best ramen I've had.... evar. :)
Yeah, I've been to Ryowa, although it didn't strike me as anything over the top at the time. Then again, that was more than five years ago, and before I had much basis for comparison. I suppose a refresher is in order next time I'm back there.
Hello, thanks for the recommendation, will try it soon! How late is this opened till, I wonder?
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