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.