Heard about the new Ramen King; a new coffeeshop stall that serves Japanese ramen and gyoza that had recently sprouted up in the 509 Coffeeshop at Blk 829 Tampines Street 81 — the same coffeeshop also houses tenants such as the new outpost of Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice which has been awarded with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, an outlet of the Tanjong Rhu Wanton Noodles and Habibie Seafood. Said to be helmed by a former chef of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, the menu at Ramen King features different variations of Tonkotsu Ramen and Miso Ramen, whilst also offering two different types of gyoza that works great to share around the table.

The Char Siu Spicy Miso Ramen may not be an item that is considered pocket-friendly in coffeeshop standards, but it is certainly more than reasonably-priced for a bowl of restaurant-style Japanese ramen at $9.50. It features a spicy Tonkotsu Miso broth; the stall claims that the Tonkotsu broth is boiled for 16 hours and “aged to perfection” — it’s sufficiently thick and rich, but not overly salty and comes with a level of spiciness that is suitable for those with moderate tolerance to the heat; pretty manageable. The ramen also comes with some vegetables, half of an Onsen Egg and Char Siu; the noodles featuring two types of wheat which was springy and carried quite a good bite. While the Char Siu is sliced fairly thin here (reasonably so though, considering the price), it was undoubtedly tender and melt-in-the-mouth, while the Onsen Egg features a creamy and smooth yolk that could easily rival that of proper Japanese Ramen establishments elsewhere; the vegetables within the broth providing for a good crunch.

Hadn’t tried Hokkaido Ramen Santouka previously, but a friend who did mentioned that the broth and noodles from the ramen at Ramen King closely resembles that of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka — the Char Siu being that of its own class and is pretty good in its own right. Ramen King does serve up some really legit Japanese Ramen that is comparable to the ones served at restaurants elsewhere — all for a lower price in a coffeeshop environment. The queues and waiting time is rather manageable at the current stage; we waited for around 20 minutes for our order — somewhere that is worth checking out before the crowd starts to form!