Daikokuya Ramen Dining, Singapore

Whoa - another ramen shop has opened in Singapore, this time at Paragon (290 Orchard Road #B1-47, 6737-5416), and today was only their fifth day open. What was perhaps even more surprising was the fact that they had kogashi ramen listed on their menu. Hmm...if Ippudo Singapore didn't feature it yet, could these guys create something that was at least decently close to Gogyo? I hoped that they could, but something inside me told me not to get my hopes up.

My gut was right. This was a far cry from Gogyo's magically aromatic bowl of "drinking yakiniku" and all of its carbon-scorched goodness, but instead was more like Menya Shinchan where a bit of roasted garlic oil was merely drizzled on top. We were naturally pretty bummed as a result (nor did we really care for the thick noodles in the Sapporo ramen either).

Well, if they didn't bill it as kogashi ramen, then I probably would have liked the rich broth on its own. And frankly, a number of other items on the menu looked worth a try next time we're at Paragon. But if we come back, then it probably won't be in an effort to get the kogashi ramen again. (Folks in SoCal: this shop appears to be unrelated to the Daikokuya in Little Tokyo.)