For The Love Of Ramen

I had this bowl of ramen on a chilly day a couple days back and it was so comforting ☺️ Managed to give both their Spicy Yuzu Ramen and Tonkotsu Mix Ramen a go and definitely prefer the former despite the rather uncommon pairing. Give the Yuzu Ramen a good toss and you'll realise the broth spots a lightly spicy and citrusy taste, which is more refreshing than the heavy Tonkotsu broth, and I can see why this can be a hit with patrons. The Tonkotsu ramen, albeit being rather textbook, still makes for a really comforting meal.

The soup version on the other hand, though boasting the same ingredients as its dry counterpart, had a much muted truffle fragrance, and I do wish it was richer and creamier though! The ramen served here was springy and spots a good bite, but I'd always go for the dry version from now on!

If you didn't try the truffle ramen here, have you truly been here? Known for their Truffle Dry Ramen, every mouthful was incredibly fragrant and scrumptious, with an extremely prominent truffle aroma no doubt. Topped with onsen egg and slices of chashu that were subtly sweet which further accentuated the flavours of this bowl of ramen, the finishing touches were the kombu dotted on it. My only qualm was how small this bowl was, which wasn't very fulfilling though I can see how a bigger portion might just bogged me down. Dilemma, dilemma.

Bari Uma was good, but I felt the broth weren’t flavourful enough.

The dish that impressed me the most that night - Uni Cream Seafood Ramen. A very simple dish that was beautifully executed, this is good for sharing because one might get jelat after a while. Comprising of uni cream ramen served with ikura, clams, prawns, crabmeat and tobiko, I would say it's more pasta than ramen, it was prolly so named only 'cause of the ramen used. Nevertheless, still a joy to devour this in its entirety.

Always spoilt for choice whenever I'm here, with their wide array of dishes here - hot to cold, soup to dry, you name it, they have it. They may not have the best price point but I think their soba is pretty much worth a trip down given the quality and quantity of it.⁣

Got their Spicy Tsukemen to try as well and it was rather disappointing. There was barely any hint of spice at all and neither the portion nor taste justify the price point. ⁣⁣

Afuri gained popularity for their yuzu ramen, though I feel that Yuzu ramen is an acquired taste. Having been exposed to the strongly flavoured tonkatsu ramen that’s prevalent in every corner of SG, taking in the first mouth of yuzu broth can be a little strange for some. It is refreshing on the palate, and one may easily wolf down the entire bowl without the typical greasiness that comes with tonkatsu broth but that say, some may also find it bland. The portion was rather small and i didn’t get that sense of fulfilment that I usually have from devouring an entire bowl of soupy ramen. While it does change things up a little, I’m gonna stick to my greasy tonkatsu broth. ⁣

How did it take me so long to find this treasure! Unlike the usual thick udon, the udon here are of a thinner cut and what’s even better is that they are freshly made. I order the kake udon (plain udon) even though I wasn’t particularly hungry because my friend had high praises for them, and I’m glad I did. Every mouthful of the udon was springy and chewy, and while the soup was rather plain, it was satisfying at the same time. What’s even better is they are on ShopBack Go! Get up to 20% Boost on your first visit!⁣

Feeling a little adventurous today and decided to go with the Green King, which came with a mountain of grated parmesan cheese seated atop green broth made up of fresh basil, which helps to cut back the taste of the cheese. While tasty, the dish was overall very rich and heavy, and I simply couldn’t finish it.⁣

Original BUTAO King consists of a very rich tonkotsu broth which was almost creamy-esque, with every mouthful bursting with umami. Definitely a safe order for the non-adventurers! ⁣⁣⁣

Got the Furious Mala MazeSoba at the lowest spice level and boy was it spicy. The noodle was a little tough, seemingly undercooked but it was probably the nature of the soba used. Coined the Mala Mazesoba, it did not have the typical mala fragrance we are all so familiar with. But rather, it felt more like a bowl of spicy noodles. The pork chashu that came along was amazingly soft and flavourful but did nothing much to save the dish. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣