Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat + My Day Out

This is the second time I am dining at Sakura International, even though I have heard lots of good things about this buffet place.

I had my first time at Safra Tampines's branch, and it wasn't as good enough to make me want to go back. However, this time, it is an invitation by my brother to spend lunch time with him, and is to go to a different branch, at which he thinks will fair well in my books.

I also agreed to give Sakura another chance, because I have not eaten Japanese, nono, I mean I have not eaten LOADS of Japanese food for a while now. hahaha. I really, really like Japanese cuisine, and will always be game for a day out to go Jap.

I am not a buffet person though, as I can never make the amount of food I eat quite match up to the cost. LOL.

I am so glad I took time and calories on this as Dhoby Ghuat branch really changed my impression of the Sakura Internation Buffet! Read on to find out... ... (invitation by bro to spend lunch with him, but I paid my share alright. haha. We are both students... ...)

Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat

Picture courtesy of Suki Group of Restaurants

Location
One other reason I agreed to go out for lunch was because I find that this particular branch of Sakura is exceptionally accessible. The others I know of are all at some far flung places not within reach from school or home. This Dhoby Ghaut one is centralized and looks like a city garden, reminding me of Fish & Co. glasshouse branch. =) I like the tranquil there.

Mode of Operation
At Sakura, all the diners will pay first, then be led to a table, where you get 4 tiny number clips. The number clips are for clipping onto a stand, to indicate which cooked food you'd like to be served, like Shishamo, Skewered Squid, Grilled Squid etc.

As buffets are, the rest are all self-service, with tissue and cutlery pre-arranged on the tables.

The bill for two was a standard $51.60 for two adults.

Food

Scallops, mussels and kueh pie tee.

I went for this first, which were found at the back of the restaurant, opposite the Sakura Desserts shelves. I really love mussels! haha. And the kueh pie tee is DIY, so you can choose to load your tiny cup full of fresh prawns, or do it the standard way of filling the bottom with bang guang, then eggs, a bit of chili and the prawn on top to make it look nice, like I did. =)

The scallops are not as fresh as I'd like them, but the mussels are pretty good, and the kueh pie tee is worth your calorie and stomach space too! That prawn on the kueh pie tee is really tender and fresh. =)

Mentai sauce (salmon eggs & mayo mix) mussels, crab, oyster, yakitori, and tempura prawns.

I like the mentai sauce from Sakura! The crab meat and oyster are both mixed with flour batter and placed back into the shells. The crab tastes good, but I don't like the oyster. The flour will make you fill full faster, and waste your calories, so I'd say limit your intake of things like these and the tempura... ...

The prawn of the tempura is good, but the tempura batter is tasteless.

The yakitori is not bad! My brother likes it.

Salmon sashimi!

This is what we really came for! hahaha. Yup, both of us really like salmon sashimi a lot, and wanted to "kill" this. The other one, the swordfish sashimi is not that good.

At Safra Tampines, the sashimi wasn't really fresh. But I am glad to say that this is good! This one we got yesterday is pretty much as good as it gets in Singapore for the normal price. So eat more!

Lotus slices, mentai scallop, egg mayo, meat, mentai salmon and black fish egg sushi, seaweed.

I love the seaweed! The rest are okay. I think for the sushi, just choose those that you can't eat the meat separately, as the rice will be filling. And the rice here is not particularly delicious... ... It also doesn't has vinegar which I like.

Desserts and Fruits! Skewered mochi balls with azuki topping, mochi, white chocolate, kueh lapis, orange, pineapple, guava, longan and dragonfruit.

I like the spread of fruits that they have. I took the fruits before starting on the other foods, to aid digestion and try not to eat so much. hahaha.

Of the desserts, I don't think it's very worth it, except for the white chocolates! LOVE that. And go for the konyaku too, because konyaku jellies are zero calories food, but they do make you fill full. The cakes are nice. Go for the durian green tea one and the cheesecakes. Surprisingly, their cheesecake passes my standards.

Skewered squid.

Nice! This is really worth it. And having more of it will make your buffet very, very worth the $26.15. hahaha.

I like squids anyway. =)

Jing Yu.

I have forgotten the name of this fish in English. But this is good! It's one of those cooked foods where you clip the clips for.

Shishamo (Pregnant Fish)

GOod! You can eat the whole thing! This is my first time trying something like that out. My bro says that this is not the best, but I am satisfied that it is crispy, tasty, and reminds me of Kuning fish in Nasi Lemak.

Chicken Satay

This is good! The chicken is very tender, and definitely much much nicer than all the standard coffeeshops ones! Eat more, eat more.

Green Tea ice cream with peanuts chips.

I love this. My brother thinks it's nice too. Of all the ice creams, I think the durian is not bad, the sherbets are good. The rest are nice too, but you can get it outside.

Yoghurt Jelly

There are many of these packed jellies, or konyaku, as the Japanese know it, and I like them all! Feast on konyaku if you are a fan as well. These are not cheap outside, so it is another thing to make your buffet worth the money.

Drinks
There are hot drinks from the Nescafe vending machine, so you can get your hot cappaucino, milo, plain green tea, plain hot water there.

The cold drinks are pretty good too! With options such as Sjora in Mango Peach, Nestle Green Tea, Blackcurrent, Sakura's own Soya Bean Milk.

Not bad at all. I ended off the meal with the plain hot green tea. =)

Overall Rating: 8/10
I love the place, tranquil and good for a warm talk, sit down, relax, discussions. Plus really not bad food at such a great price. Can go back!

******

We went to Comex for about 3-4 hours after food stroll, and then walked to Esplanade to take the bus home. Below are some pictures along the way.

Art display at Esplanade

Stage lights.

These are really working, but I thought they make good art in a photo. haha. Not sure if anyone appreciates my sense of style.

Digital boy skating.

Digital Lady Ballet.

******

Just want to share with you a bit of hip hop dressing. haha, I went to watch Step Up 3 in 3D, and I must say, it's good! Real good in 3D. It's my best 3D movie so far. Up was rubbish. So was Avatar.

Step Up 3 is made for the 3D, so the director uses the effect and deliberately put in scenes that can be played up by 3D, making it a really good experience for viewers.

Hip hop. Baggy clothes, designer canvas shoes, a cap.

Read more "Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat + My Day Out..."

Ippudo - The Restaurant That Does & The Ramen That Doesn't - Part I: Ramen

I went back a second time to try another flavour of ramen, to eat the gyoza that was sold out on my first visit, to fan off opinions that my marking for Ippudo is strict and unfair, and to reaffirm myself that I had not made the wrong judgment on the first time.

My mission is to answer the burning question, as the queue gets longer and the hype gets larger by the day, does Ippudo deserves the snaking queue every night and every weekend?

The answer, as in title is simple, and really fair enough, the restaurant does, and the ramen does not. Here's why:

Ambience & Setting
The moment I step under the draping Japanese style "curtains" at the doorway,  I felt quite overwhelmed, as the place is really dim, with a huge but definitely mesmerizing chandelier hanging down the middle of the ceiling to light up the entire area. Only a place as large as Ippudo can balance the mass of light so grand (in interior designing terms).

Only the word "chi-chi" (rich wife) is befitting of the atmosphere.

I decided to take a larger picture of this table, as I find it rather cute that so many strangers would be sharing a long table. haha. Not a bad idea. And really very good if you're organizing a gathering for lots of people.

Rating: 4.75/5
Bringing in my sense of hearing, the place was in reality rather noisy due to the full house on my first night. I did not quite enjoy it as I personally prefer a more peaceful dining setting. I do not think the noise level is suitable for first dates or romance, so this is not so the place for couples, anniversaries etc, unless two people just want to go for ramen testing, and have known each other for very long.

It is also not very kid-friendly because of the chi-chi-ness, as with feedback from a couple of forumers.

Full-house on Fri and weekend nights!

This would be the place for colleagues to gather after work and reward themselves as part of  T.G.I.F though. A lot of freedom for loud voices and chit-chat, sharing grouses and happiness.

Hence my point deduction.

The kitchen, noodle-cooking portion where the main chefs probably are. This is right in front of the bar-counter seats.

Service
Service was pretty different on both times because of the crowd.

On the first time, when I started queuing at around 8.30pm, and left only when the shop close at past 10pm, service was not satisfactory, as they were a little short-staffed to take care of a full house. There were so many other customers blocking me that it was a challenge to signal a waiter.

However, when they do come and serve you, the attentiveness is wonderful. The same standard of attentiveness, politeness, smiles and thank-yous was delivered on my second visit, even though I could tell that many are rather young and inexperienced in this line. So good one. =)

Nevertheless, they do have a decent SOP, which says that the table should be done this way:

First time.

Second time. LOL. I am not trying to be funny. Just wanted to show the table setting. And I thought I should take it slanting this time. :PPP

Rating: 4.5/5
There are a number of Japanese or Chinese who are not very familiar with English, so if you do come across someone who doesn't understands you, try to signal for a Singaporean.

Shiromara Classic

I ordered this on my first trip because it is the classic.

Looks
I guess you can tell from the photo. Not very impressive if I were to compare with many others, as the pork is for some reason covered under the broth. But since Ippudo was really my first, this presentation still struck me as acceptable, clean, neat and nice, in reality. So yup, at that time, I was eager to dig in actually. =)

Rating: 4/5

Pork
So I lifted the spoon and gave it a slight stir, to pick out a slice of chashu. This one looks good, and tastes really nice too! Now that I've tasted a handful of other bowls of ramen, I can safely say the pork here is really one of the best-cooked around.

It is soft, tasteful, non-fatty, non-oily. Very good balance in that piece of meat.

The disappointment came when I found it so nice, and put back my spoon to look for more. I stirred and stirred, and it ended up that there were only 1 and a half piece (s??) of chashu. So I set my spoon down in defeat and decided not to eat the bowl of noodles altogether. =( Great pity that this bowl is really not generous enough for the price.

After all the ramen eating thus far, I think 3 is a great number to put in a bowl of noodles, as this will provide the right amount of fats in a meal, not over for ladies, looks good, and also signifies "a great amount". In the Chinese tradition (unfortunately I do not know if Japanese believe in numbers and their meanings), 3 and multiples of 3 means "a lot". Using 72 rounds of battle as with Monkey God in Journey to the West, of 72 years etc, is really a lot, hence you'd always hear of 民国七十二周年. There is no other reason why people celebrate the 72nd year from the birth of a nation other than the meaning of "a lot" and "long" etc.

Rating: 4.75/5
Really a great piece of pork to savour.

Soup
The soup looks oily as with all ramen soups, but tastes rather light to my delight. It also tastes clear and well-filtered though it doesn't looks so. Very flavourful yet balanced one. I think this will not offend any, but failed to catch my tummy though. It's good and nice but there are more addictive ones around. It did get me to eat quite a lot more noodles than I had planned to. (Didn't want to eat or drink too much soup because I know I had ordered a lot even though I was alone.)

Rating: 4/5
On the scale, I like this as much as Santouka's broth, even though they fall into different catergories, one being so strong, and one being so delicate. Both I like.

Noodles
On my first visit, I had wanted to fail the noodles as they really are not Q. I do not think that you will ever get a bowl of Q noodles there. So if you are like me, who prefer a mild chew, you will not be 100% satisfied.

However, on second thought after my second visit, I've decided that Ippudo cooks the noodles very well! They use the type that is extremely straight and smooth, and oil it just right so that you can slurp, and slurp, and slurp, and slurp. Yes, that's the word.

If I am not wrong, a lot of ramen houses are what young Singaporeans would call dingy, as they really are houses of the owners, as you might have seen in movies like Handsome Suit and Ramen Girl. So ramen is like the gong zai mian you find in Hong Kong cafes, basically meant for workers. And by imagination (quite like Bangladeshi in Singapore when they eat), the workers just sort of want to eat to fill their tummy, and will slurp up the noodles one mouthful after another without stopping much, and drink the soup if light enough.

Nevertheless, in my first bowl, I got undercooked noodles (which are actually authentically Japanese, but doesn't goes well with Singaporeans) that didn't quite agree with my tummy. Quite hard.

So for this bowl, my rating is not so good.

Rating: 3.8/5
You might like to make it a point to ask for cooked noodles when ordering, just in case the chef decides to do it authentic Japanese style. Unless of course, you'd like to try undercooked noodles, and prefer it this way.

Overall rating: 8.2/10
One of the better ones around. I feel that there is still a lot of room for better ramen in Singapore.

Spicy Ramen

I didn't want to give Ippudo another chance, at least not in the short term. But I caved in when I saw the spicy ramen that has nuts on it. (My tummy almost died on me in Beijing because there is very little chili there. Really can't live without chili.)

Looks
Hmmm, I guess what's wrong with Ippudo's ramen is that the pork always gets pitifully covered up. Don't you think so?

Spicy ramen looks a little bit nicer than Shiomaru, but gave me an overly oily feeling.

Rating: 4/5

Pork
I didn't like the pork this time. I though chashu means that round piece as seen in Shiomaru above... But this time I got what Chinese call san ceng rou (3-layered pork/roast pork as in roast pork rice). This is probably the belly part, and is extremely fat. The most tasty if you use it for bak kwa (use the buttocks for mid-fat mid-tough bak kwa.)

This is okay... ...

So yucks, I don't like it. If you're a fan of zhu jiao cu (Hakka Vingarized Pork Leg), pork skin or kway chup, I think you will appreciate the "chashu" I got a lot better.

Also, I have the firm belief that chi-chi restaurants should give more meat and weed out the fats. Fats are junk (other than omega 3 and 6), when it comes to food. You only need minimal amount of good fats to maintain good skin, build lipoproteins, coat certain cell components and line your heart, so on and so forth. Moreover, all nutrients, be it carbohydrates or proteins eventually gets converted into fats if you don't need them, so you actually have a lot, a lot of fat sources without eating much fats. I shall not nag about the cholesterol, blocked arteries etc.

This is really not okay.

In any case, apart from health reasons, the "chashu" this time was really too fat to maintain the texture balance in your mouth. So yup, taste-wise, this wasn't too good.

Rating: 3/5

Soup
Okay. I don't know how else to talk about this, because it is neither nice nor not nice. All I can say is that this is not spicy at all. So don't waste your calories if you are looking for chili, like I was on that day.

I honestly can't taste the presence of secret in this soup, unlike in the Shiomaru. At least I could tell it wasn't that simple.

Rating: 3/5
Really okay lorz.

Noodles
The noodles here are like that at Tampopo's. Basically, they break extremely cleanly, with little strength, upon a light bite. Like I have described for the Shiomaru, every strand breaks together in one mouthful, and the rest all falls back into the soup. Clean.

Just to add on, the noodles from Ippudo take up the sauce rather well, so they are fragrant and tasty. But I just do not have the habit of biting and slurping noodles so quickly as if I haven't eaten in 10 years, hence the penchant for a bit chewy/QQ ones that would last a wee bit longer in my mouth. Perhaps I should revise Tampopo's rating for noodles... They are good if you do not ask for chewiness.

Rating: 4/5
I only came to appreciate Ippudo's noodles a bit more because this time, they gave me cooked ones instead of undercooked. Thus the slightly higher rating.

Egg
I ordered the egg this time.

As can be seen in the photo below, it's not bad, as the uncooked portion takes up some 30% of the egg's volume, so I could still slurp out the "juice", which would consist of some uncooked white and some just cooked but still creamy yolk.

However, this is not the best I've tasted as the taste of the "braised-ness" is lacking, so it wouldn't be full marks.

Rating: 4/5
Suddenly decided that it was not all that good as I see lots of fingerprints on my egg, and quite badly cracked. Taste-wise, I had wanted to type 4.25.

Overall Ramen Rating: 7.5/10
This type of marks means it's good, but not all that good as hyped or advertised etc.

It's really not worth your time queuing. Try to catch weekdays if you need to go at night, otherwise, go between lunch and 7pm.

I spent about 1 hour on the first time... ... Read more "Ippudo - The Restaurant That Does & The Ramen That Doesn't - Part I: Ramen..."

Tampopo Part II - The Side Dishes

I am slightly more satisfied with the side dishes in general, although there are some I really would not order again.

Light Cheese Chiffon Cake

This is an easy one to review. It is just as its name suggest. Light, a bit of cheese on top, no cheese taste in the cake, ultra holey and spongy = chiffon, and in the shape of a cake.

The crust was not crispy, and it didn't have resistance. I am not sure if chiffon cakes should have resistance, but the pandan cake that I can get from no name shops at the neighbourhood market has resistance, so I don't see why others shouldn't. What I mean is you bite the cake all the way down to something like 0.5cm, and feel a sort of stop because all that sponge packs up to a point, like when you squeeze a dish sponge, you can't squeeze it all down till 0.00001 mm right. Then you give a final bite, and it breaks.

Rating: 0/5
Have no idea what this is supposed to be. A creation to waste your money. I ordered because I saw that this only left one in the display refrigerator, while the others had more left. I know Hokkaido steam cakes are a delicacy, but light chiffon cake??? More like a modern creation.

Red Bean Green Tea Ice Cream

Ah, yes, this is good. I quite like to see the red bean in whole (even though I like prefer red bean to be slightly mashed because the best red bean desserts around all have slightly mashed beans, such as Toa Payoh ice kachang).

I like the way the red bean doesn't taste like sugar soaked, because it is unhealthy and also void of any bean taste. Well, if you had the misfortune of venturing so far as to eat the red bean glutinous rice ball green tea ice cream at Ramen Play, a spin-off of BreadTalk, you'd get what I mean by sugar soaked. If you haven't tried that, then thank your lucky stars, because it's not nice.

The green tea ice cream is very strong with green tea taste! I always say bringing out the matcha green tea taste is another culinary art. Green tea taste in green tea is already not easy to bring out, and lots of times, you will find that tea bag green teas are bland. Trying to make that taste into the main character and bloom is a challenge especially when Singaporeans are lovers of strong tastes, because it means you get your money worth and the ingredient is what we call 真才实料, real and truthful, not just out to make $$$.

The consistency of this ice cream is more Westernized, and closer to cream than ice. Japanese ice cream is actually more towards ice than cream. In fact, you'd find that most Japanese ice creams are close to 100% ice, like Azabu Sabo's. So this really depends on whether you're a purist or just want to eat ice cream.

I like both, and I think if want to make an ice cream, either you make it ice, or cream. If the quality is somewhere in between, then the review marks given will also only be somewhere in between. Yup, this is nice. I really don't mind going in to Tampopo and sit down with some friends for chit chat, just eating this. =)


Rating: 4.5/5
I think Haagen Dazs is still the best for cream green tea ice cream, so no full marks.

Pan-fried Gyoza

I ordered pan-fried because the waitress said it's better, even though they have deep fried, which is the latest.

I think this is okay. It passes, but okay. The juice doesn't squirts out, and it's kind of really, really tiny. The taste is quite nice.

Rating: 3/5
Eat if you die-die must have gyoza that day. But not a must-try. And it's tiny, so not worth it. You can get better ones at the same price nearby.

Salmon Sashimi Sushi

This looks very appealing. I think I can announce that gone are the days when you get tiny pieces of ingredients, especially salmon, like those at Sakae. I have been seeing more and more and more of sushi with size of ingredients like this and little rice (preferably in the range of 250 - 300 grains).

However, the salmon wasn't quite as fresh as I'd like it. I think Watami has the freshest seafood so far, and Itacho is above average too.

Also, the rice wasn't really vinergarized. And even if it was, it is not the sweet that should be. Try Itacho for this feeling.


Rating: 3/5
Okay. Again, no need to order unless you are craving for salmon sashimi.

Will I go back?

Maybe, merely for trying the rice dishes. However, there are too many Japanese restaurants in the Clarke Quay area that it is highly unlikely.

Will I recommend this place to people?

No. Despite the commendable service, and big space, I find it hard to give a reason to people to come here. It's like Yoshinoya. I tell my friends, go there during peak hour when you can't find seats no matter how, because it's always empty.

Overall Restaurant Rating: 5.5/10 Read more "Tampopo Part II - The Side Dishes..."

Tampopo Part I: The Ramen - Net voted best. Really the best?

The hunt for best ramen in Singapore continues with Tampopo, a must try since it's hungrygowhere's voted best thus far.

I was stunned to see the results, because I expected Ippudo at Mandarin Gallery to garner the most votes after reading Daniel's Blog, and having tried it myself. My own review of Ippudo on hungrygowhere.com is here. For a summary, yes, I find it overrated and no need for a queue, HOWEVER, I was very satisfied with the quality and taste of the food as I've rated.

My quest at Tampopo was really to find out if it is truly better or if the votes are unfairly swayed for whatever reason (maybe people just wanted to win the top prize from Standard Chartered Bank, or it could be internal voting for all we know).

Prior to my visit, I already had an inkling of what I would taste since there are truthful feedback on the post from ieatishootipost. I did not go with high expectations just to make sure I don't get disappointed the way I got with Ippudo, and thereby weeding out possible bias while making room for myself to be impressed. (Well, I rated their food very good despite the disappointment.)

Tampopo

Location

This place was easy to find as it is the Level 1 tenant at Liang Court, which is a mall famous for great food. The space is also overwhelmingly big and therefore has enough wall area of huge signs/posters.

Huge wall area.

Tampopo

Setting & Ambience

Being an enclosed ground floor space, this didn't have the location advantage to give a good view that Santouka has. It doesn't matters that much to me, since I believe there is a time and place for every setting.

First step into the restaurant gave me a slight wow due to the size and extreme spaciousness. Lighting is pretty much the same as many other Japanese restaurants, that dark room with hanging lights thing. I don't know why, but you'd find similar backdrops in Sushi Tei Ang Mo Kio branch, Ippudo, and Watami. Or perhaps, it's just a popular interior design right now... ...

Although so, I do like these dark settings because it makes the meal more romantic by eliminating your sense of time, and it somehow allows extremely good photos to be taken. You can really forget whether it's day or night in places like these. Trust me, especially if the food is good, you wouldn't want to leave.

Service

Service is very good throughout as they are obviously well-staffed. They have to be with a gigantic restaurant by today's standard, because of the space constraints and land pricing in Singapore.

They always make it a point to take note of me, gave me time to look through the menu, and came up at the right moment.

Table setting. Cup of hot tea served almost immediately.

Even while going about the daily chores, such as packing the chopsticks in the paper wrapper, the waitress mainly on duty made sure she sat in a position that she would not miss me if I looked up and signal.

Every dish was set down with an "enjoy your meal", and when I asked for takeaway, it was gladly done, and the waitress even asked if I wanted takeaway for my ramen even though I didn't ask for it. I appreciate the extra consideration, as good service is few and far between in modern day Singapore.

Rating: 4.75/5
I am taking away marks for not so authentic way, as in Japanese service, such as that you can find at Watami Singapore. But I was very much impressed, and this is probably one of the best you can find in mass market restaurants. Ippudo, being slightly more upmarket, doesn't even comes quite close.

Food

I ordered the "biggest" bowl of ramen on the menu, the Black Pig Ramen with Dragon Ball, which even has poster cards of it hanging from the ceiling as if you're in MacDonalds. LOL. A bit strange for a restaurant. But okay, I am not complaining since it does serves its purpose of giving new patrons like me an idea of what to order.

I was sufficiently curious about Dragon Ball to go for it although I did detect gimmick in it. Dragon Ball is my childhood favourite comic series, and it has also spun-off a movie by the Westerners! Furthermore, the movie is good! hahahaha.

I also ordered some things that I more often than not use as benchmarks for a Japanese restaurants, since Tampopo is not a dedicated ramen restaurant. And these items were Light Cheese Chiffon Cake, Red Bean Green Tea Ice Cream, Pan-fried Gyoza, and Salmon Sashimi Sushi.

I will start of with the ramen since that's what this post should be about. Although I will eventually evaluate Tampopo as a whole restaurant like I have done for all the previous posts. Do just keep your eye on the ramen if you are also on the search for best ramen.

Ramen

Dragon Ball
I tested the Dragon Ball first, since the bowl of ramen costs more if you choose to add this.

The ball is huge, like the size of a large egg, except round, or a good big scoop of Haagen Dazs ice cream. Good impression since it costs $1 more. Can't be paying for a quail egg size right, it's not fish roe or foie gras.

Taste is okay. It's not those super tasty pork some people might like. So if you are looking for pork taste, perhaps not this. However, based on the lack of fats and salt, I'd actually qualify this minced meat ball as good. Reason being, you are cheated if you are sold more than 50% fats. Even Bak Kut Teh lovers and Vinegar-ed Pig Leg lovers would agree that the meat needs to has meat rather than just bone coated with fats or fats in sour black sauce.

This entire issue of being sold fats deserves a separate post, which I will do as soon as possible.

Texture wise, the meat ball is also rather firm, okay, in fact very firm, yet highly breakable with your teeth. Not hard, just firm.

Overall, this is a good meat ball that for meat ball lovers, you might just want to try. You might also want to try if your quest is to look for the best meat ball in Singapore. Yet due to the lack of real taste, as in unique taste that can make your eyes gleam, I do not see the need for the mass market to pay for it. Based on this, I find the entire Dragon Ball and poster card on the ceiling a gimmick. Don't fall for it, since you wouldn't be missing out any great taste if your Black Pig Ramen comes without it.


Rating: 3.5/5
Marks given because I don't want to kill the person who in the kitchen who makes this, and on second thought, it does makes my photos of Black Pig Ramen quite a lot better. Added element. lol. Moreover, it was really just a dollar more, not like $2.50, which people would crazily pay for tiny macarons, yeah?

Soup
Okay, the disappointment kicks in from here. In the course of eating and taking picture of Dragon Ball, I accidentally tasted some soup, and my face changed immediately.

What would you say if a bowl of ramen tasted like instant noodles from any brand you can make at home?

I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay for overly-seasoned instant noodles!! I swear this tastes like what you get when you pour the whole packet of that seasoning in. Extremely salty as layerless.

I would definitely forgive the salt and give credit for layer in flavour like I did with Santouka, whose soup was salty but kept reminding me of miso, and made me take more scoops to find the secret. In culinary terms, the Chinese know it as 层次感. It is detectable when you put something into your mouth, first get an initial taste, then another, and another, and some main taste slowly creeps in, even leaving what is called an aftertaste at the back of your throat after swallowing, much like a good cup of kopi for the Chinese or fine wine and chocolate for the Westerners.

Rating: 0/5
Fails miserably, since I wouldn't even make the mistake of pouring in all the seasoning for my instant noodles. I can't stomach it.

Noodles
The noodle sealed the impression that this bowl of ramen is instant noodles.

It was not Q. It isn't bad. Not overly soaked and squishy or undercooked and hard. It breaks easily with a bite. But that's it. It doesn't have the resistance.

The reason why I emphasize so much on Q (spring or bounce) is because even people who make instant noodles for themselves to eat at home ask that of themselves.

The first time I came across this term was 5 years ago, when a friend reviewed to me that she can make the noodles Q by dipping it in cold water, hot water then cold water again, right after it has been cooked in the boiling water. So you see, if a normal person bothers to go through these steps to make instant noodles at home, what excuse does it gives restaurants? Unless of course, one claims that the cook doesn't knows of such thing as Q noodles.

Rating: 3/5
Good just bite and break noodles, but lack that bounce that I would like to be paying for. I have also given a little bit more marks since Tampopo is not a dedicated ramen restaurant.

Pork
I am glad to say that the pork did not disappoint. =)

I couldn't taste if this is really black pig or white pig or what, but the slices of pork I could scoop up from underneath was quite a lot, and every piece was delightfully soft and tender. This is an art that hawkers somehow fail to grasp.

Yet, the taste was lacking. Great texture and feel in the mouth, but there was no real pork taste or any unique seasoning taste. Just good feel pork. All I ask for is that I can at least tell it's pork rather than super tender piece of flour or something.


Rating: 3.8/5

Overall Ramen Rating: 2.55/5
Based on a pass and fail system that I used for commenting on ieatishootipost, I actually failed this, since everything fails from the purely ramen point of view. Like I wrote there, as a ramen, fail, as a bowl of instant noodles, barely pass. I have gotten over an initial disappointment (even though I came with not much expectations!), and use a rating system instead, which gives credit to things like the person cooking, how something would add looks to the dish etc. So I guess, this rating system goes in line with it being an extremely normal bowl of noodles which you can cook at home, rather than a contender for Top 10 ramen in Singapore.

I tried, and I cannot find a reason for those who haven't visited Tampopo to try their ramen. =( Considering the large variety of food in the much, much more accessible Orchard Belt, and a lot, a lot that are nice, I really don't want to make people run down to Liang Court for something that can be left to the last to try.

(To be continued... ...) Read more "Tampopo Part I: The Ramen - Net voted best. Really the best?..."

Santouka 山头火 Ramen - A Recommendation by ieatishootipost & gang

I have no idea why I am only blogging about ieatishootipost now, given that I have been reading it for a few years and also own a handful of blogs prior to this. Moreover, I always recommend my friends to read it if they really wanted to find something good to eat in Singapore, because that blog seriously only blogs about good food, and nothing else.

This time round, ieat has gone on the search for the best ramen in Singapore to list down the Top 10, and I, being a Japanese lover, just had to get into the fun and excitement of the search! Enjoying the adrenaline rush that builds up. =)

[Since History was my most-hated subject in school, after Literature, I shall not post much on beginnings and whatnot. Furthermore, I think the writeup on all food at ieatishootipost is already so perfect! Read Santouka on ieatishootipost here. I prefer to focus on the entirety of the restaurant, as we all know we are paying for it in cosmopolitan Singapore. Yes, so don't waste your $$$ on yucky food.]

Santouka 山头火 Ramen

Setting & Ambience

First step in Santouka was delightful with the wide-open view of Singapore river and very much unblocked blue sky, together soft sunlight setting in on the entire restaurant.

It's always nice seeing greenery and water during mealtimes.

The furniture is well-spaced despite the narrow and not very big place, unlike many Chinese restaurants which squeezes me up at too close a proximity to the next diner, for comfort, and no space to place my belongings.

The surroundings certainly goes into my book as a place that couples can have a good meal at.

However, the decoration is slightly sparse in contrast to glitzy restaurants like Ippudo and Watami. Perhaps not the first date, but yes for a regular hangout.

On a side note, there is a long line of cushioned sofas outside the restaurant, so that people may queue in comfort during peak hours. I really take my hat of that as most places would give you a row of single chairs, and strange ones like Ippudo give you a big waiting table to stand around at.

Rating: 4/5

Service

I was greeted nicely by a new staff, who very promptly brought me a jug of water, the menu and a basket to be placed on the floor and hold my bags.


I wanted to change seats for more lighting, and she gladly shifted everything to the next table. In the process, she was also well-aided by the more experienced staff, which was heart-warming, since I know that this kind of peer help do not exists in many restaurants.


Throughout, service was prompt, polite, and pleasant, with a lot of thank you as the cashier.

Rating: 4.5/5

Food

Menu

The menu is sparse in the sense that this is a dedicated ramen restaurant, so you do not get the dizzying array of sashimi, rice dishes and dessert, as you would as chains like Sakae, Sushi Tei or Watami.

All you see will be the different types of ramen.

Ramen - Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen

As the title goes, I ordered the Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen, as the pork cheeks are highly recommended by one of ieat's gang.

I put them all together and decorated it myself! hehe.

I didn't really like the way that you have to order the pork cheeks separately and then the noodles, as it ups the price this way. =(

The Pork Cheeks

The pork cheeks are good, such that I could finish them despite having eaten two other ramen meals right before visiting Santouka. Also, normally, no matter how great the taste is, I'd still control myself and don't eat so much fattening meat. So pork cheeks is one of the exceptions.

The serving is quite a lot, with 6 big pieces, and I only bite about 1/4 of the piece for each mouthful of noodles I take. So by the time it finishes, I ate enough noodles and drank enough soup to be very full.

The taste, though good, was a little bit disappointing, as it reminded me of Narcissus brand canned stew pork. I was a little surprised at the quite normal taste since I have eaten this from 20 years ago. It is a good taste, and I do not compromise on the taste of my canned stew pork. I only buy Narcissus. So yes, the pork cheeks tastes good, but not unique for me.

Besides that, I like the taste of pork neck in teppanyaki better than cheeks.

However, the texture and amount of fats (which is little and not visible, so is good grade meat) is definitely something you would not get outside Santouka. =) So yes, I do like the taste, and the meat as a whole.

As far as I know, on the mass market, Santouka is the only place that serves pork cheeks.

Supposedly, for maximum taste and best texture, you dip the cheek in the boiling hot soup and melt the interwoven fats, so that the cheeks would melt in your mouth. However, I enjoyed the plain version as much, so I basically soaked half in the soup and ate half plain.

Rating: 4/5

Soup

The soup is strong and tasty, and has that special slightly herb-y taste. It was so refreshing that I drank 1/3 the bowl until I finally figured out the secret behind that great taste.

It is miso, as I ordered of course! haha, but I sort of forgotten because I was taken aback by the shot of eye-gleaming (which is a grade lower than eye-PoPpInG. hahaha.) curry-lookalike soup.

It is on the salty side and I would advise not to drink it, since Japanese also do not usually drink ramen soup. They use it as flavouring for the noodles and ingredients.

See! Got sesame one! Cute.

Also, I need to point out that I felt very thirsty after that, and so it could be an overdose of MSG.

The part that wasn't satisfying for me is the apparent lack of spiciness despite the menu calling it spicy. I take that as failure to do as promised, which I feel is very important for products.

If you are looking for the same taste of soup (in fact, I think better), Beppu Japanese Noodles at Tiong Bahru Plaza is better. I drank up every drop, and if you choose spicy, it is really spicy. However, the meat and noodles are definitely no match for Santouka (which is also expectedly more expensive). =)

Rating: 4.5/5

Noodles

Yes, the noodles pass the QQ-test. =)

I would set this as the minimum pass benchmark for Q ramen, and I'd expect all ramen joints/chains/restaurants to produce this grade of standard round and long noodles.

Rating: 4/5

Drink

The green tea here is good, because you get a whole boiling teapot to yourself with the tea bag. I guess that means no free flow. But the two cups that the one pot poured was more than enough for me.

Side - Egg

The half-cooked hard-boiled egg is good too, with very flowy yolk, which can be a bit messy if held slantedly. I'd prefer slightly more cooked yolk, and slightly less salty, yet more flavourful egg though.

For egg only, I recommend O-An Japanese Restaurant, which I will blog about in later posts.


Rating: 4/5

Price/ Value-for-money

The normal ramen are reasonably priced at around $14 before service charge. However, the pork cheeks really ups the ante quite a bit. So I am posting to psychological prep anyone who needs it.

1 Japanese Tea $2
1 Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen $20.50
1 Komi-Tamago (Half-cooked Hard-boiled Japanese style ramen egg)
10% Svc Charge $2.35
7% GST $1.81
Total $27.65

I find it a tad expensive, as this is not a 5/5 dish for me. However, this is the best bowl of ramen for holydrummer of ieat makan buddies. So, go try. It is good, and probably wouldn't garner complains.

Rating: 4.8/5

Would I go back?

Yes, to try the other styles. But I am not in love, and so maybe not so soon. I do not really find the cheeks die-die must eat, and I must have it again. But I feel, yes, they are must-tries in your life. And once in a while. =)

Would I recommend?
Yes, but no need to rush, no need to make special trips. For the next time the girlfriend complains nothing to eat since the location is quite central, or a friend reunion, yes. =)


Overall rating: 8/10

RAMEN SANTOUKA
6 Eu Tong Sen St S'pore 059817
#02-76 The Central
Tel 62240668


Walking Directions:
From Clark Quay MRT Station, turn left on exiting the barricades, and left again to the exit saying "To Central" (besides the flight of 90 steps staircase). Seeing Subway at the end of the escalators, turn to Azabu Sabo's side, take the one level escalator to 2nd floor, you should see lots of banners and Japanese words already. Walk all the way pass Manhatten Fish Market and Billy Bombers, it's the tiny shop at the end! =)

PS: Quite sad that the pictures are not very good for this. Sat at the wrong place. I actually feel like going back for better pictures that will do Santouka justice. So tired after long walks that day. haha, just felt like pouncing on the food due to the recommendation. Read more "Santouka 山头火 Ramen - A Recommendation by ieatishootipost & gang..."