OK, this wasn't exactly the instant noodles that I was referring to last night, but the price of this meal was literally lower by a factor of ten, so I could still feel pretty guilt-free. Besides, something about the food was drawing me back here despite those mixed feelings the other day.
Perhaps it was all the signs around the shop stating that "dried sardines taste ramen is exploding [in] popularity." I was curious, so I grabbed a sardine-based bowl in the rich salt-based option, the broth of which which turned out to be thin and savory. And perhaps more importantly, the noodles were delightfully firm...almost to the point where they seemed nearly raw, but in a very good way. I think I still prefer the smokier taste of the pork-based broth, but the refreshing feel of this bowl was fitting for today.
And yes, I did finally grab the cheese gyoza, which was probably the best part of the meal tonight. The cheese wasn't in the stuffing, but rather sprinkled around in the pan. This formed a perfectly browned skin that connected the individual pieces together, and ended up tasting very much like cheese dosai. And there was even a little squirt of a Cheese Whiz-like stuff on the side of the plate for you to dip into if you want (evil laugh). My opinion of this place has taken a very abrupt turn for the better, and I'm definitely coming back for more.
5 comments:
now i've been to Menjya Shinchan a few times, but never noticed the cheese gyoza!
Anyway i find the "thick" or "rich" versions of Shinchan's ramen generally too viscuous, too salty or too oily... so usually prefer the "light" versions.
The dried sardines ramen was for sure extremely pungent!!
I think Shinchan provides Japan quality standard with a unique or artisan approach on creation. That is what I can respect.
However, what I can't enjoy is unfriendly floor staff, and more importantly smoking owner-chef, Shinchan himself. I saw him smoking quite sometimes and always was wondering how his smoke-smelly hands provide food! I think they have a common underlaid mindset problem on integrity - how to treat customer.
I passed by them yesterday - Saturday dinner time and found ZERO customer dining.
I must say CLO is pretty objective. Well apparently. In most kitchens in Singapore, most of the cooks smoke in those alleys where they are securely hidden from closed doors, so perhaps you might have the perception that the cooks are clean and smoke-free.
But back to reality, we know that most cooks in Singapore do smoke. And if we can accept the fact that those uncles selling fishball noodles just below our block puffing their lives away, why condemn the boss of Menya Shinchan just because he smokes?
Since you pass by the shop on a very frequent basis, you must understand the shop very well to know that the cooks are the one preparing the food.
And if you think about it, their hygiene standard of grade A only means that they dont handle food with their bare hands. Instead, they are civilised enough(relatively more than you) to use the appropriate tools to handle the painstakingly prepared food.
Please be more objective and comment on the food accordingly and not making personal attack on the boss like he has offended you in any way.
Based on the latest Oiishi article, the boss used to be a Managing Director of an MNC, hence it is not difficult to link his smoking habit to his highly demanding job.
And in fact, I admire him for making a switch to F&B purely because of his passion in ramen!
Oh ya, given the location of Menya Shinchan and the newly opened status, it is not surprising to find zero customers in the resturant at some point of time. I wondered if CLO is a superficial person because he/she only judges what he/she sees at that instant and ignore the fact that Menya Shinchan is well loved by many Japanese. If you observe long enough, crowds come in at every now and then though there may be zero occupancy at some point of time.
Audiences, time to think twice about the maturity of CLO. :)
Highlly recommended by our one of our Jap Director. So we went to try it today. Nice!
hi i'm a newly employed waitress at menya shinchan. and i disagree mostly with what clo said. firstly, the restaurant opened only last year (2007) so the no of customers found on the said saturday dinner time cannot be blamed. today, the restaurant has many customers and i can testify that. secondly, there is only one entrance/exit to the restaurant and there is no alley that the staff can hide to indulge in smoking. the staff is "on call" so he has to be nearby as well. the boss and his son treat their food with utmost standards in hygiene. they often chide us if we did something wrong and i know they wear gloves and clean their hands properly when preparing the food.
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