Was out with Serenely yesterday to run some errands, and enroute we threw in some treats, tea time at TCC and dinner at Ramen Play at Somerset 313!

She’s already been there with her other and raved about the chives condiments which I wasn’t so sure about…

She recommends that I try their signature Sanpou Tonkotsu Ramen, while she had the Miso Ramen.

As with all noodles, I usually start with the soup.  I just went straight for the broth and whoa!, was I impressed! I totally enjoyed the flavour, rich yet not overpowering, like soups that mothers would make, all the goodness from the ingredients to make the broth.  I likey likey!

The noodles went well with the broth, I liked the texture.  The egg, even though not as runny like Santouka’s, but was soft and the shoyu flavour did come through.  The charsiew slices was kinda fatty, so had to avoid those bits.

One-third through the bowl, I added the chilli powder and chives.  The chilli powder didn’t do much for me, but the chives grew on me.  I wasn’t sure about that earlier cuz chives have a strong flavour, and especially for me, my digestive system don’t take well,  I get really bad burps later on.  The chives was kinda kimchi korean spicy yet surprisingly went well with the soup!  Like Serenely I just kept going for it… SHIOK!

The bad news though, foul breathe and ‘flavourful’ burps followed.

Do give it a go, add chives for the bolder.

The running track that is…

Joined the iRun group at Raffles Promenade for the first time today, and am impressed at how well-organised the group is!  I didn’t know this was a HPB initiative until I came home to google.  I always thought this was conducted by Team FatBird.  Not wrong still, I think the volunteer marshalls are from the Team.

The marshalls at various turning points keeps our time in check, motivating us along the way… And I’m very fortunate to have met a nice lady whom I can pace with for me to keep us with.  I’m really thankful for her, otherwise I would have fell back to my usual run-walk pattern.  I actually completed the 5km route in 35mins!  Way faster than my usual pace…

The icing on the cake was dinner at Santouka in good company!  Hehehe…

After @gerrybin and @dymphomaniac raved about this new kid on the block, I just had to check it out.  Ippudo Ramen at the newly refurbished Mandarin Gallery.

When we arrived, there was a queue as we had expected, about 5 tables before us. The restaurant has cleverly placed their beverage and waiting food menu at the waiting area to distract us in queue. We succumbed to ordering the Raikon (Lotus Roots) Chip and OJs to ease our tummies a little while waiting.

I’ll give the ambience a 8/10, indeed it is interesting and very tastefully done.

Food wise, like many reviews had said, was indeed a little pricey, especially comparing the quality and quantity with  Santouka. The ramens are good, just not fantastic and entice us to return within the week for another round. Both Serenely & I agree that Santouka is still better.

Nonetheless, do give it a go, but no need to rush to beat the crowd.  Perhaps go during tea time where it may be less crowded.

Here are the previous posts I had written on my Ramen spree since last year.  To date, Santouka still tops my list… Oh, I have yet to try the one that is nearest to home, Yoshimaru at Holland Village, it’s supposed to be the same style as Ippudo, Hakata. Let’s see…

Itadakimasu!

Finally, hopped on to the 2nd stop of my Ramen trail… Marutama was it, the shop with the basketball sign Ness said.

Unlike most ramen shops, they use chicken soup base. I had Marutama Ramen, my companion had the Karashi one.  Being greedy people, I asked for additional serving of Char Siew and pork bellies as starter.

Are there any other types of Ramen other than these two?  Which’s the one with egg?

The serving for pork bellies came in 4 pieces. NICE! The meat was very well seasoned, loved the sauce.

By the time I attacked my ramen, I was feeling OD on fatty pork, to think I had additional serving of Char Siew.  I don’t know was it the extra Char Siew, the soup was exceptionally oily, and had a very gamey flavour. I enjoyed the noodles though, the chewyness was just nice.  Some call it ‘Mee-Kia’, yeah, a bit look like.

Too early to even attempt ranking, gotta make a trip to Miharu and Ken Noodle House soon soon!  So I can compare oranges with oranges.

Met a couple of my poly mates for dinner at Santouka last night… Have heard all about these Ramen specialty shops, but never got around it.  The Shio Ramen, their signature soup base, was YUMZ!  I had the combination set that came with Tororo Gohan and a soft centre egg.  I totally loved the slimey texture and flavour of the grated yam on rice, the egg was comfort…

I’m planning to go on Ramen spree, to visit the more popular Ramen shops and decide for myself which I like most.

On my list currently…

• Miharu @ Gallery Hotel
• Baikohken @ North Canal Road
• Noodle House Ken @ Orchard Plaza
• Marutama @ The Central
• Men-Tei @ Robinson Centre
• Kyo-Nichi @ Marina Square & China Square Central

Looking for Ramen kakis!