Umami Ramen & Izakaya

Umami Ramen & Izakaya is one of the places that we had found out whilst walking around Katong Square some time back, but one which we just pretty much skipped out on visiting since we hadn’t really found a reason to be in this part of the East for quite some time. Still probably one of the latest tenants to have moved into Katong Square (or at least one of the newer ones) that had moved into the shopping gallery, Umami Ramen and Izakaya takes over the former shop unit that was previously tenanted to the now-defunct Baikohken Ramen Restaurant that is located right towards the corner of the first level of the shopping gallery. There has been some attempts made by Umami Ramen to make the space their very own; some of its branding can be found on the walls of the space — that being said, most of the furnishings and fittings are re-used from what the previous tenant has left behind. Given how Umami Ramen & Izakaya has named itself as such, it is pretty easy to tell that this an establishment that seemingly prides itself over their ramen offerings — the menu at Umami Ramen & Izakaya is being segmented into categories such as Ramen, Sides, Tempura, Rice, Salad, Karaage, and Yakitori; the Ramen menu even further segregated to Signature Ramen, Tonkotsu Ramen and Chicken Broth & Mini Ramen. Since Umami Ramen & Izakaya is after all an Izakaya at heart; the list of beverages Umami Ramen & Izakaya serves up include a long list of alcoholic beverages — they have also not forgotten about those whom might opt for something non-alcoholic, providing options of soft drinks and hot / iced tea as well.

For those whom want to give the most number of ramen offerings at Umami Ramen & Izakaya a go in a single seating but do not have enough friends accompanying them to do so, the Umami Mini Ramen is probably the way to go. Think of the Umami Mini Ramen as a platter of three ramens that are being served in mini-portions; each bowl probably being approximately one-third the size of the full-sized bowls. Umami Ramen and Izakaya has fixed the selection of ramen which they offer as part of the Umami Mini Ramen platter — patrons will get a fixed set of three mini bowls of Ramen comprising of the Aburi Tori Ramen which is featured in their Chicken Broth & Mini Ramen section of their menu, as well as the Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen and the Red Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen which are both listed in the Tonkotsu Ramen section of their menu. As far as it goes, all three types of Ramen did manage to impress us — the noodles that they had went for here being the thin noodles which came with a bit of bite, though not overly hard. That being said, it would be the Aburi Tori Ramen that we found to be really impressive. The Aburi Tori Ramen itself felt almost similar to that of a Shio Ramen where the broth is of concern; it is the right level of savouriness without being overly salty — the broth also carrying a really clean note and a clear appearance. The whole chicken leg that usually comes with the full-sized ramen comes with mid joint wings; these were very clean-tasting with meat that falls off the bones without nah effort.

Between the Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen and the Red Spicy Tonkotsu, the Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen takes the cake for its broth that again comes with the right depth of umami flavours that is also sufficiently rich; the ginger pork belly slices adding a little sweetness to the broth as well. Admittedly, the Red Spicy Tonkotsu is one that would capture the hearts of those who cannot do without spice in their bowl of ramens; that being said, we did feel that the Sansho paste used in the marination of the spicy minced pork did overshadow the flavours of the Tonkotsu broth that is used as the base — pretty much eliminating much of the umami notes of the Tonkotsu broth in favour of hint of spiciness instead. Still, we do reckon that the spicy minced pork would have been a pretty good accompaniment should they decide to introduce a Mazemen dish sometime in the future — its flavours being pretty befitting of that purpose. Other dishes which we tried such as the Kinoko Butter and the Umami Handmade Gyoza were certainly worth ordering — the former being a stir-fried dish consisting of mixed mushrooms, onions and butter, while one could definitely tell the latter is made in-house with its distinct aesthetic of the prawn’s tail sticking out of the dumpling wrapper. On the contrary, their Yakitori offerings were a little less memorable — the smokiness from the grilling process was not as evident as we had expected, while the Yakitori sauce was also a little lacking in flavour. With their ramen offerings priced between $11.90 to $16.90, Umami Ramen & Izakaya does offer quite a fair bit of value-for-money considering the quality of their ramen — definitely better than what we had experienced for most joints serving Japanese ramen in this price range; we would skip on their Yakitori items, though it does seem that they do have some quite well-executed sides to go along with their ramen offerings as well. A spot that is worth considering to dine at especially for those who are into Japanese Ramen in general!