There so many Japanese Ramen restaurants in Singapore that you begin to wonder why. Perhaps because Singaporeans love their noodles, be it ban mian, fish ball noodles, yong tofu, beef ball noodles, hokkien mee - with noodles as the key ingredient.
The venue with probably the greatest hub of Japanese Ramen stores is found at
The Central, located at Clarke Quay MRT.
I had a Japanese Ramen fad phase as well, where I would be eating it whenever I dined out. Good thing the phase died out, as I came to conclude that a bowl of noodles just was not worth spending at least SGD15 and above for, even though they probably spent hours just making the soup base.
My favorite Japanese Ramen must be at Ippudo Singapore. It is located at
Mandarin Gallery, a quiet mall containing exclusive fashion labels. Guaranteed a queue during regular dining hours, I would recommend eating off dining hours. Both soup and noodles are simply cooked to perfection.
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| Ippudo | | | | | |
Second to Ippudo is
Nantsuttei, which is located at Parco Millenia. Another quiet mall that focuses on Japanese brands as well as new local designers. What's unique is how black the soup base is, and how they really load up on vegetables (which I like). What I don't like is how salty the soup base is.
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| Nantsuttei | | |
Third best Japanese Ramen in Singapore must be Marutama Ramen located at The Central. Some of my friends rank this as their #1, but not to me, as I personally don't like their ramen, where it tastes no more than instant noodles that I can make at home. The only fabulous thing is that it's the cheapest of the lot, and they cook their eggs to perfection - runny on the inside hard on the outside.
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| Marutama Ramen |
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As part of the Japanese Ramen fad, I also tried Tampopo at The Central. I must say, given the popularity of the brand, I would have expected a lot more, but the black pig ramen totally didn't meet my mark. Though I must say, their desserts, at Tampopo Deli simply rocks - in particular the fresh creme puff.
