as an amateur food blogger it seems like i am discrediting myself if i keep featuring a particular stall, but what if the food is REALLY that good? this fish head bee hoon ($5) is something special. soup is SUPER tasty with the creaminess from the milk, saltiness and sourness from the salted vegetables and tomatoes, and just to top it off some alcohol too (pretty sure it's Benedictine Dom, that taste is unique) the generous servings of fish head meat are not overly cooked. no wonder this is one of their best sellers. if you like fish soup/bee hoon you HAVE to try this. 5/5
this pork rendang ($5) was amazing (i didn't know you could have pork rendang!) the chefs here constantly surprise me. most rendangs i've had are either too salty or too oily/greasy. this was neither. super fragrant with just enough oil and coconut milk. maybe could have added a bit more peanuts into the gravy and made it a bit spicier but this will easily satisfy anyone, especially people who don't really have high spice tolerance. 5/5
la la with bee boon and lots of egg ($6). this dish is not in the menu and was recommended by the auntie cause i am a regular and she asked me if i wanted to try something new. this is good man. the soup was so rich and tasty but not too overpowering. think bee hoon and japanese clam soup. yummyyyy
Blue Bottle Coffee is pretty good, but %Arabica is still better IMO. nice comfy place though and it always seems to be filled with people! great place to people watch and watch how the baristas make coffee
this is one bowl of ramen that hardly needs any introduction. if you haven't tried this at least once -- where have you been hiding?! it easily makes my list of top 5 ramen in Singapore with that signature pork cheek that is so tender it melts in your mouth. don't bother with anything else on the menu; their pork cheek ramen is the ONLY bowl worth ordering. if you like it slightly spicy like me, top up to kara-miso soup for a minimal fee. 5/5
Keisuke's outlet at Suntec is well known for their fish stock and crab stock ramen.... but since I've tried both many times i decided to try this Spicy Miso Tonkotsu Special (Level 3 spiciness, $18.90++) this is the bomb lah. ever wanted a spicy ramen but somehow they just turn out weak? this level 3 was tasty and fiery enough without being unpalatable. kinda reminded me of the Summer Ramen at their other branch Keisuke Four Seasons (which is one of the best ramens in Singapore) yummy! 4.75/5
Sanpoutei's (B1 of Lido) ramen uses fish stock for its ramen (apparently sardines). Comparing it to the other fish stock ramen i know of, Ramen Dining Keisuke in Suntec City, this one is clearer and lighter, while Keisuke's is thicker and tastier. I usually prefer the thin hakata style noodles but the thicker curly noodles served here complement the fishy stock rather well. The big winner, though, are the pork slices. The original bowl of shoyu ramen ($15++) contains 2 slices; i got the special ($17.80++) which had 5 slices and was glad i did. The char siew slices are thick, tender, and the bits of fat melt in your mouth so fast even the most health conscious wouldn't bother trying to remove them. I can safely say these are the best tasting pork slices I've had in any ramen so far, especially since the standards at Tonkotsu King in Orchid Hotel have dropped. given the lack of a queue on a Sunday night, I wonder if people actually know of this hidden gem right in the middle of town. 5/5
a close up view of this winning char siew. best ramen in Kyoto? definitely.
overall i was slightly disappointed with this bowl. it simply wasn't as spicy as i would have liked. like maybe +1 spiciness level over the first bowl i ate, which was lame. the shop does sell something spicier but in its description it was supposedly "very much spicier" so i didn't want to risk it. next time when i come back i will go for the "much spicier one" on the next page of the menu. 4/5
let me just tell you all that this was up there with one of the best bowls of ramen i have ever had. the soup was creamy, but not too much until it tastes too milky (like Chabuton), the salt seasoning was just right, the beansprouts were amazingly crunchy and fresh, but the real winner was the char siew. ladies and gentlemen, have you ever eaten char siew on a ramen that is grilled until it becomes like bak kwa? that was EXACTLY how this char siew tasted. i took 3 mouths of the soup, 2 bites of the char siew, and decided that i needed to order another bowl. 5/5
finally tried the Ma Maison Hokkaido Cheese Ramen! located in the basement of the relatively new Capitol Piazza, it is on the same level as the City Hall MRT exit. this bowl of ramen costs $16.80++, does not come with a ramen egg (additional $1.50++) and only contains one slice of char siew. pretty expensive considering most other ramen shops (read: NOT ippudo) serve bigger bowls with more toppings at a cheaper price. guess you gotta pay more for their supposed "special Hokkaido cheese"... it comes in 4 soup bases: shio, shoyu, miso and spicy (additional $0.50++) i ordered the shio.
the ramen looked really appetising with that mountain of cheese in a creamy bowl of soup. i was told that the cheese mixes better with hot soup, meaning i should mix the cheese in ASAP (and STOP taking 48727294 photos first) so i did. unfortunately i think the cheese did not mix well anyway. i was expecting the cheese to be of a thicker consistency so that it could kind of wrap around the noodles but that did not happen. instead it either dissolved into the soup, which did not make the already-creamy soup taste much more different, or it clumped and collected at the bottom of the bowl (i found quite a few pieces only at the end of my meal)
the noodles were ok; the thicker Hokkaido style ramen noodles were not really to my liking.. i prefer the thinner Hakata style noodles anyway (Ippudo has the best noodles i've tried so far). the soup was creamy and not too salty and it reminded me of a Chabuton kind of milky broth.
special shoutout to the side dish of cheesy pork cutlet. that was better than the ramen.. i guess Ma Maison should just stick to their tonkatsu. haha.
overall i would give the bowl of ramen a 2.5/5 for its taste and rather high cost. if you fancy a nice bowl of cheese ramen i would recommend either the Spring Ramen from Ramen Keisuke Four Seasons (still my #1 ramen shop in Singapore) or the Emerald Green Ramen from Ramen Bar Suzuki. both contain basil + cheese.
if you do visit this ramen shop, get their tonkatsu sets instead (and the HEAVENLY cheesy pork cutlet as a side dish). do yourself a favour and skip the ramen.
this hidden gem of a zi char stall hidden somewhere in Woodlands serves up a good plate of their signature fried bee hoon ($5).
when the dish came i was like HUH is this some weird pancake/rosti/chinese okonomiyaki but i soon realised the top part is actually a layer of fried egg. YUMMY. the bee hoon inside is wet and soaked in a small amount of broth (or probably oil) and they are generous with their toppings of prawns, chicken cubes, fishcakes, etc. definitely a satisfying meal!
