Donburi & Ramen MARUYA (Hougang Mall)

I’ve been spending a fair few of my meals & too much of my money on the various stalls in Foodies’ Garden, Hougang Mall’s hip new foodcourt. @donburi_maruya is one of the many new tenants in Foodies’ Garden, and finally I get an affordable dose of decent Japanese fare and beers on tap without having to travel more than ten minutes from my house. I used to pray for times like these.⠀
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You can’t go wrong with the classic of Tonkotsu ramen, and Donburi & Ramen Maruya’s Tonkotsu Special Ramen gets almost everything right. The pork bone broth is rich, sapid & delicious, making it the perfect bath for all the other elements of the ramen. The four humongous slices of chashu were tender & tasty, soaking up extra deliciousness from the savoury broth, and the ramen egg still retained a semi-molten core. Some may hate it, but I enjoyed the generous serving of crunchy cabbage in the ramen that was the only textural contrast to everything else in the bowl.⠀
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The noodles themselves, however, were lacklustre. They tasted oddly metallic and were undercooked, and I ended up leaving half the noodles uneaten while happily hoovering up the broth. All Maruya needs to do now is sort out their noodle problem, and this bowl of ramen would be truly outstanding.

I'm super thrill to know that @donburi_maruya has a new outlet in @hougangmall now!! What’s the different? Other than their popular Donburi Katsu, the new Hougang outlet has Hokkaido Ramen!!

What I tried,

Hokkaido Miso Special Ramen.
The broth is rich with miso flavour. The noodles is springy chewy and soaked up all the goodness of the miso broth that make it extra flavourful. I also love the tender slices of char siu and the flavourful molten-centred ramen egg. The char siu is so supple and flavourful. The ingredients truly the finishing touch that completed the ramen.

Black Pig Katsu (Teishoku)
The thick cut pork cutlet has a perfect ratio of fat to lean meat, deep-fried in panko bread crumbs that achieve shatteringly crisp and golden skin. Every slice is juicy, extremely tender and very delectable. Imagine Tender, Meaty, Juicy and Crispy all in one delightful bite. And even though it is deep fried, it didn’t taste greasy, and I could easily finish up one entire cutlet. The finely shredded cabbage, taste extra crunchy and provide a refreshing contrast to the deep-fried dish as well.

Special Pork Katsu Don.
Don't be fool by the appearance. While it may not look spectacular, the pork cutlet is very succulent and meaty with a good balance of lean meat to fats ratio and topped with an onsen egg that's cook perfectly to complement the short-grain rice. Mix them all together for hearty rice bowl.

I feel the price tag is definitely hard to beat given the restaurant-level quality and I can get at a fraction of the price. And I love how they are served just how you’d expect it to be when dining in a restaurant. I definitely be back for more given the accessibility and price affordability.

Visit them
📍 Donburi & Ramen MARUYA (Stall 17)
Foodies’ Garden @ Hougang Mall
⏰ 11am-9pm

📍New Tech Park Mall, Lorong Chuan
⏰ 11am-9pm Daily

📍56/58 Lorong 25A Geylang
⏰ 11am-10pm Daily

📍3 Media Close, One-North
⏰ 11am-7.30pm Mon-Fri (Close on PH)

📍501, West Coast Drive
⏰ 11am-9pm Daily

While the two gargantuan globes of pork katsu in the 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝘀𝘂 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝘆 ($12.80) were scrumptiously shattering, we felt there could’ve been more cheese inside.

Donburi Maruya has opened a new outlet at Hougang Mall. The 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝘀𝘂 𝗗𝗼𝗻 ($11.80) did not disappoint. The crispy pork katsu, molten onsen egg and fragrant onions were an enticing combination.