Thursday, March 28, 2019

Shimada Seimen Shokudo's Dan Dan Noodles in Singapore

Dan Dan Noodle

This requires a few explanations. First, I came here due to a sign with the words: "Kobe Michelin Bib Gourmand Award Winning Dan Dan Noodle." But then the sign explained that they've "upgraded original recipe of Michelin Bib Gourmand as additional over 50 kinds of spices, sauce, and oil to harmonize for Singapore [sic]." Uhhh...OK, so it's not the Bib Gourmand recipe anymore. As the sign explained, "it was too hard for us to provide Michelin Bib Gourmand grade as long as our particular specifications." Bait and switched!

When the bowl came out, my jaw dropped, as there was no broth. The sign spent so much time talking about "Japanese Dan Dan Noodle" that I was expecting tantanmen with a broth. Instead, it was a dry version, making it more of a tantan mazesoba (complete with onsen tamago and three different kinds of vinegar to mix with), or perhaps a Chinese dan dan mian. But it was definitely Japanese, especially with the presence of shibaduke pickles in there. One could request a spicy level 5, but it wasn't really spicy.

Finally, this was from the Shimada Seimen Shokudo folks, but I'm not sure if it is available at their stall at 73@Hillcrest. Instead, this was from a bar called Lounge 44 at Loft@Nathan (428 River Valley Road #01-09, 6581-9239), which is also co-branded with Snaffle's Cafe, the pastry shop from Hakodate (confused yet??). The pork was a bit dry and the onions were crudely cut, but it was still tasty enough to eat quickly, and the staff here was friendly too.

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