We don’t know about you, but with all these new (and old) ramen places in town, it gets hard to tell their wares apart. Three new places have opened in the past few weeks, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to identify the distinguishing highlights at each. Here’s what we came up with.
Chabuton
Chabuton
The place: Chabuton has outlets in Japan and Thailand uses Michelin-starred recipes to create a creamy and rich tonkotsu broth. Simply-styled, the affordable and casual outlet features lots of wooden slats and warm lighting. It’s a chain, but it tries to play up the Japanese-style minimalist zen found in many authentic ramen shops
Must try: The Chabuton Tonkotsu Ramen ($8.30 for a small portion, $11.90 for a regular) is their signature dish with a rich and creamy pork bone broth. It is topped with char siew slices, Japanese leeks and white sesame.
Other creations: Although this place doesn’t veer too far from classic styles of ramen, we think the Shoyu Zaru Ramen ($10.50 for a small portion, $11.90 for a regular) is pretty special: the thin-style cold ramen is served with a warm soy sauce soup. They also serve some pretty legit Hitokuchi gyoza ($5 for 8 pieces) to go alongside ramen slurping.
Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King – Matsuri
Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King – Matsuri
The place: As Keisuke Takeda’s sixth outlet in Singapore, he varies his ramen offerings with unique twists on an otherwise classic tonkotsu-based broth. This outlet is also Matsuri-themed with vibrant lit sculptures emulating different Japanese festivals. Eclectic and convivial, the colorful decor could potentially distract from the piping hot bowls of ramen.
Must try: Although not the signature dish of the restaurant, it is certainly the most interesting: Tonkotsu ramen Nebuta ($13.90) blends pork bones and dried sardines together to create a unique and robust broth topped with chashu, scallions and soft boiled egg.
Other creations: The Yuki Matsuri ($13.90) is an interesting signature creation found at this outlet. With a tonkotsu-miso broth, the otherwise classic ramen is topped with shavings of cheese powder, while the Awaodori ($13.90) is a Tokushima-style ramen that uses sukiyaki pork and is paired with raw egg yolk.
Ramen Champion
Ramen Champion at Bugis+
The place: Although this food court-style ramen joint isn’t new, a lot of its stalls are. Modelled after a rustic wooden Japanese village, there are six ramen stalls serving noodles from different Japanese prefectures. New stalls include Hokkaido-based Menya Ryu and Shodai Koji from Yokohama. There’s also Tokyo’s Riki Power Ramen that has opened its second outlet here.
Must try: Shodai Koji’s triple chashu ramen ($16.80) is their signature tonkotsu broth dish. With three kinda of meat toppings that includes chicken thigh, pork belly and pork collar, the noodle bowl is hearty and flavorful. Diners also have the choice of medium or thin noodles.
Other creations: Other signature creations from these new stalls include Menya Ryu’s Sapporo special miso ramen ($15.80), which is a tonkotsu- and chicken-based soup combined with three types of miso: red, white and black. Riki Power Ramen also dishes out its special power ramen ($16.50) that is topped with lots of vegetables to offset the rich and creamy tonkotsu broth.
