A lot of buzz has surrounded the new Tampines 1 mall and its Manpuku food hall in Singapore. With so many imports from Japan sitting there, I had an itching to brave the massive crowds as well as the long ride out to suburban Tampines to give some of the food a try. Tonight, I ventured out there...and at the top of my list of vendors to try was Aoba, a ramen shop from Asahikawa.
I was pretty let down when I saw my bowl...the egg was clearly overcooked, and the shio ramen broth was a bore. Fortunately, the chashu was tender, and the curly noodles were super springy. But that wasn't enough to turn around what I was hoping would be a great bowl of fun. Is this the way that Aoba does it in Japan? If so, then maybe I just ordered the wrong thing; looking back, perhaps the shoyu ramen would have been the wiser choice.
With the plastic Manpuku charge card still in my hands, I wandered over to Toku Toku, a chain that is apparently known for its handmade udon in Japan. I was rather bummed with this one too, as the texture of my zaru udon really wasn't that different from some of the frozen stuff that I buy at the supermarket. I was scratching my head here - was I missing something??
Well, there was one thing that I liked: some of the kushiage I got was flaky on the outside yet tender on the inside. And I suppose that I still like Botejyu, which was also one of the vendors here. But with an outlet of Botejyu in the city, there really isn't much motivation for me to make the trek all the way out to Tampines again. Unless if I wanted to buy something from Uniqlo downstairs.
7 comments:
well they are brought to you by the people behind ichiban-boshi and Kuriya... i find it hard to expect much gourmet food from these chain restaurant operators, with the sole exception of their Shimbashi Soba outlet though.
Kuriya was not too bad a decade ago when they had only one outlet at Shaw in Orchard. That was eons ago though.
If you are a soba lover, try Honmura An (previously in NYC, now in Roppongi) when you are in Tokyo. Given Some people may say it's like Crystal Jade selling Dim Sum in HK, but perhaps you'd like it.
they are by the Ajisen group, not the RES group of restaurants.
Agree. I was pretty let down by Manpuku as well. Even Botejyu's okonomiyaki was worse off at Manpuku Tampines than at Vivocity. It was dry and definitely not the greasy unhealthy delight it's supposed to be.
Yeah... Tried Aoba and it's really not that great. I am not too crazy about their ramen noodles. I would still prefer to go to The Central for a bowl of authentic Japanese ramen.
I've been a regular there by now as my daughter loves the place and I stay in Tampines. Aoba's noodle is not right for me (in fact I swore off Ajisen few years ago when they changed their noodle). But I agree their Cha Siew is lovely. If I'm not wrong, compared to the first day of opening the quantity of noodles has been reduced too. The price is bad when you take into account the quantity of those noodles. I got lucky on the last visit when a Japanese chef came by to cook at Aoba and the usual chef took to the sides. Yes, it made a difference. Not as salty and almost at the perfect temperature - how good ramen are supposed to be.
Had this in May or June 2011 and it was the WORST ramen I'd ever had
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