This is another bowl from Japan that the Takumen folks brought to Singapore...except I didn't get this at Takumen. I got this at The Public Izakaya by Hachi, which seems to be rotating through guest bowls from Takumen every week. Confused? Wait - there's more. This wasn't The Public Izakaya by Hachi at 100 AM, but rather their new branch at Altez/Icon Village (16 Enggor Street #01-14/16), which is literally just a few minutes walk from the 100 AM location. Why they opened another branch so close to the first one baffles me, especially since I never liked their food in the first place.
Yet, these HAJIME guys have apparently received awards in Japan. And given some very fond memories of Kagetsu's tori paitan, I got my hopes up for this. I was thus totally let down to find the broth extremely thin (think: matzo ball soup), unlike the much thicker and savory version at Kagetsu. I thought maybe it was because I got Takumen's locally diluted version, so I got another bowl of the original Japanese version to be sure. It was still just as thin, and not really that different. Oh well.
To be fair, the broth on its own was actually good enough to slurp...it's just that expectations of Kagetsu messed me up. And those slices of chicken up there were extremely tender and moist, while the ajitama was done just right. The thick noodles were also cooked to the right level of firmness. But alas, I departed with unfinished noodles remaining in the bowl. I just couldn't get excited about eating this anymore. I'd still be willing to try some of HAJIME's other bowls on a run to Japan though.
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