Ramen

First bowl we went for was their signature original tonkotsu broth. The regular bowl came with 3 slices of belly chashu, fungus strips, spring onion, hanjuku egg and 2 pieces of nori. There’s also the basic bowl at $14.90 that doesn’t have egg and has less 1 piece of nori, while the special bowl at $18.90 that has 4 slices of the chashu and 1 piece of tokudai nori.

Found this a bit underwhelming for the price unfortunately. While the broth was comforting and had a nice thickness to it, thought it lacked a little oomph, hence it felt a bit flat after a while. Wasn’t a big fan of their belly chashu for they had a more hard-chewy sort of texture. Noodles had a good bite though and egg was flavourful. Think you can also request for lighter/stronger broth and softer/firmer noodles if you prefer!

The ramen spot that made me fall in love with shoyu broths and has since been one of my favourite to-go places for a satisfying bowl! The broth looks unassumingly clear, but it’s light yet umami rich, with a very pronounced dried sardines stock base. You get springy curly ramen noodles with aburi chashu, bamboo shoots, seaweed and half an egg. Only thing is that the chashu sometimes are a little too fatty for my liking.

For each of their ramen, they are available in a range of prices, depending on the amount of toppings you want.

Haven’t had Brothers Ramen in a while and was so happy to have this bowl again! There’s usually a wanton, but they’ve replaced it with bamboo shoots this time.

Have been telling myself to try their other ramens like shoyu, but I will still end up ordering the chicken ramen 😂 Was never a big fan of chicken-based ramen broths until I’ve had Brothers’ for the first time quite a while back. The noodles were cooked perfectly as usual in al dente style and the star broth was as creamy and flavourful as I remembered it to be. Didn’t enjoy the pork chashu last time, but they prepare it differently now and it’s much more tender and braised more thoroughly. I love how prices are kept affordable and you’ll always receive very homely and friendly service.

Apart from the signatures - Truffle Shio and Porcini Shoyu, Men House Yamamoto has a range of salmon based bowls - Salmon Golden, Salmon Red and a soon to come Salmon Snow. All of them are at the same price of $14.80. This salmon ginger broth somehow tasted really familiar but we weren’t able to exactly pinpoint. It came with a small slice of salmon on top of the usual cha shu. While the salmon was a little dry, its flavour was pretty distinct in the broth. That said, we preferred the Porcini Shoyu much more for its depth of well-balanced flavours.

Men House Yamamoto’s new to Raffles City Shopping Centre and it seems like they are gradually rolling out their full menu. They even have a vegetarian Avocado Ramen ($14.80) that will be available soon!

📍Men House Yamamoto
Raffles City Shopping Centre B1-44C

A new ramen spot by the same people from Konjiki Hototogisu! The two signature bowls are the Truffle Shio ($14.80) and this Porcini Shoyu. We got the latter that came with oyster paste, sauté porcini and button mushrooms, lemon and a slice of cha shu in a shoyu broth.

Cha shu was a little tough and dry, but we liked how the rest of the bowl came together. Tip from the waiter is to try the original broth before the mushrooms then with the oyster paste - this allows you to get a good taste of the distinct flavours before mixing everything in. Noodles had a good bite, though I would appreciate a bigger portion of mushrooms.

Not sure of their official operating hours yet, though dinner was available from 5.30pm while we were there last weekend during the first few days of their opening.

📍Men House Yamamoto
Raffles City Shopping Centre B1-44C

Enishi has a simple menu of two items and between both, I liked the dashi noodles more. We went with the basic bowl that came with a piece of smoky chashu, two slices of smoked duck, Japanese fish cake and a generous helping of diced onions. However, while their wide and thick buckwheat noodles worked well in the Dan-Dan Noodle bowl, I’d prefer a thinner rendition here that would carry the flavours of the broth better. That aside, the clear broth was definitely the star of the bowl - it was light yet very flavourful without being over salty, and had a refreshing touch of yuzu!

Even though I usually prefer stronger flavours, I liked the Yuzu Shio ($15.80) a lot more, where the flavours were better balanced and more refreshing.

Preferred this the most among all 3 bowls we tried! The dip was refreshingly tangy and the generous amount of sesame seeds were extra fragrant. Noodles here were slightly thicker than the ones in the soup based bowls and I liked it for the extra chew. The cubed chashu were better marinated but still not the best.

AFURI is here in SG! Tried a few bowls and our fav broth is still their classic Yuzu Shio. It was light yet refreshingly flavourful, but we definitely missed the much better slice of grilled chashu we had in its Japan outlet. The chashu here unfortunately lacked the smokiness and was a tad dry. Can’t say that this bowl was the same standard as the one in Japan, but it’s a nice alternative to our usual heavier tonkotsu broths. Service was friendly and they serve up the bowls very quickly!

Was really impressed with the Shoyu ramen I had at Konjiki Hototogisu at CHIJMES during their opening week, but was a little disappointed that this paled in comparison. While the Iberico cha shu was flavourful and tender, the broth didn’t boast the same intensity and robustness. Noodles didn’t had that good chewy bite and softened quite quickly through the bowl. This was topped with ginger, lemon slice, saffron and fried shallots.

Passed by this area in Takashimaya’s food hall so many times, but have never tried Baikohken before. Average bowl of ramen, but we were pretty surprised by the thick chashu (albeit a little tough) considering the nett price. Broth was comforting and not overly salty, though the noodles felt a teeny bit like Japanese instant ramen noodles.

Back at Brothers Ramen wanting to get their Shoyu Men ($12.90), but it was sold out. 😔 Went for the Chicken Ramen this time for a full sous vide chicken chashu + dumpling topping, as I wasn’t too big a fan of the pork chashu that came with their signature Brothers Ramen ($12.90) I had the first time. It was a little too dry and tough, but the chicken slices were tender and flavourful!

I’ve never really used to like chicken based ramen, but Brothers Ramen really brought it up a notch! Love how creamy yet drinkable the broth is and the al dente homemade ramen didn’t soften through the meal. It’s a super value for money quality bowl (no additional taxes) that’s extremely comforting!