Tampopo relocated from its original basement location to the first floor of the Liang Court Shopping Centre; to be honest, we much prefer the vibe of the old Tampopo. What was once a small, intimate Japanese eatery has now morphed into a large, bustling diner offering the usual ramen, bento sets and sashimi, although its selling points are still, the pork bone Kyushu ramen and black pig shabu ramen shoyu. After a few tries, we finally managed to snag a lunchtime weekend reservation. Being in the mood for ramen, we ordered the tonkatsu ramen, black pig shabu ramen shoyu and the Hokkaido shoyu ramen – the first two being spicy soup-based. All of the above were perfectly competent, but frankly, lacked the “wow” factor. However, the deliciously crispy, succulent tonkatsu deserves special mention. The ika (squid) teriyaki was also average—crunchy but rather salty. Service was surprisingly listless and uninspired, and could do with more enthusiasm. We ended our meal with a reasonably pleasant whole orange jelly, which salvaged the situation a little. With average chow and lackluster service, Tampopo definitely has room for improvement.
♥ ramen? These get our loudest slurps.
