Tampopo Restaurant (Liang Court)

Tampopo Restaurant is one of my favourite restaurant when it comes satisfying my ramen craving. It has been around for sometime, starting off with an outlet in Liang Court. Today, it is a restaurant chain serving Japanese Cuisine and has expanded to Takashimaya and also opened the Tampopo Deli at the basement of Liang Court. Tampopo is popular for its black pig ramen and first started in Liang Court.

We arrived at the restaurant at 1130am on a weekday. We were their first customer that day. Before long, the 2nd and third group of customers arrived. We were able to place our orders fairly quickly as we knew what to order before hand. We were served the green tea and the ramen without much delay.

Original Kyushu Ramen $13.50

Original Kyushu Ramen $13.50

The partner ordered the Original Kyushu Ramen. Besides the Kyushu ramen which was thin and hard, the bowl of ramen was served with tamago, black fungus, fish roe, soy sauce pork slice (char siew) and spring onions The Char Siew with a decent fat to lean meat ratio provided a melt in the mouth sensation.

The pork broth which required two days to made was made from pork bone! The pork broth was light, milky and tasty. I felt that it was a tad too salty. Nevertheless, it was still one of the better Japanese ramen around and at $13.50, it was value for money!

Deluxe Tampopo Black Pig Shabu Ramen $16.30

Deluxe Tampopo Black Pig Shabu Ramen $16.30

I ordered the Deluxe Tampopo Black Pig Shabu Ramen which was served with tampopo, corns, bamboo shoots, slices of black pig and lettuce. It was topped with lots of chilli flakes and some spring onions. The flavour of the chilli flakes did not overwhelm the taste of the pork bone broth. The broth was tasty yet forgiving. Compared to the broth from the Original Kyushu Ramen, I thought that this was more flavourful. The ramen was well cooked, retained its springiness and was not hard. It was a joy slurping the ramen along with the broth.

As the name black pig shabu suggests, the black pig was sliced thinly (paper thin) with little or no marination so that one can taste the original taste of the meat. Each piece had the right balance of fats and meat and was so soft and tender that they provided a melt in the mouth sensation. If only they gave more slices of the black pig shabu. Oishii!!!  Black Pig aka Berkshire Pig is the oldest breed of pig known originating from  Reading-Berkshire in England. It is the highest prized pork in Japan and regarded as the best quality of pork in the world. 

The Tamago (Japanese half boiled egg) was excellent. A firm and nice consistent dark brown colour on the outside. On the inside, it was soft and the egg yolk was runny - just the way a Tamago should be like. If you are keen to make your very own Tamago, you can click here for the recipe.

Overall, I felt that Tampopo's ramen was as good as Santouka's! Besides the dishes mentioned in this post, the Tonkatsu Ramen, Scoop Cake and Matcha Chiffon Cake are worth a try too. Service wise, the staff were prompt in refilling the green tea and the food got served pretty fast. To be fair, I should add that as we arrived at 1130am on a weekday, there was virtually no crowd in the restaurant. 

Tampopo Restaurant (Liang Court) 

177 River Valley Road

#01-23/24 Liang Court

Tel: 6338 3186

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 1130am - 1030pm (last order 10pm)

                        Sunday and Public Holidays 11am - 1030pm (last order 10pm)

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Location

Tampopo Restaurant (Takashimaya) 

B2-33 Takashimaya Shopping Centre

Tel: 6235 2318

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Orchard Cuppage Terrace)

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is a Japanese ramen chain, started by Hitoshi Hatanaka in 1988, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. It all began because Hitoshi Hatanaka was not satisfied with the taste of a ramen he had at a ramen shop. Hence, he used his own recipe and started off small with only 9 seats and one item on the menu. Today, almost 25 years later, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka operates 54 ramen restaurants worldwide in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada as well as United States of America. 

So what made them so successful? Read on to find out.

Visited the outlet at Orchard Cuppage Terrace, next to OG Orchard Point and Centrepoint. Although it was a weekend afternoon, the restaurant was only half full, with plenty of seats available. There were more seats available outdoors compared to indoors (where it is air-conditioned). 

Chawanmushi $3.50

The Chawanmushi; steamed egg pudding with salmon roe was impressive. It was very smooth and wobbly. In terms of taste, it was amazingly aromatic and tasty! One of the better Chawanmushi I have had. Reminds me of the one from Shin Yuu Japanese Restaurant.

Shin-Aji Shoyu Ramen $3.50

I ordered the Shin-Aji Shoyu Ramen. The ramen (noodle) was quite good. Thin, curly and chewy with a smooth texture. More the ramen was springy (QQ) springy and not soggy. The broth was clear, rich and robust. Light brown in colour because soy sauce was used (hence the word 'Shoyu'). It was so aromatic with sweetness and saltiness well-balanced.

Three big pieces of Char Siew were given. They sliced at the ideal thickness for me to get a good bite on it; not too thinly sliced. The Char Siew was incredibly tender with the right ratio of meat and fats that provided it with a melt in the mouth sensation. The bamboo shoots were crunchy providing a good texture to this bowl of ramen.

The Flavored Egg / Ajitsuke (Hanjuku) Tamago / Japanese Runny Egg was perfectly cooked. Firm on the outside and yet inside, it was so soft with almost all its yolk (molten) oozing out. One of the best I around here in Singapore. If you are wondering how you can make this on your own, click here for the recipe.

All in all, the Shin-Aji Shoyu Ramen was well executed  All the ingredients used in it were superb! It was a joy savouring and slurping this bowl of ramen.

Awase-Aji (Mixed Soup Ramen) $14

Awase-Aji (Mixed Soup Ramen) $14

The partner ordered the Awase-Aji; a mixed soup ramen, served with a bowl of Japanese rice topped with crunchy fried bits had a combination of salt, soy sauce and soybean in its broth. After finishing the ramen, the Japanese rice can be added into the soup. 

After this meal, I know why there has been so many rave reviews of Ramen Santouka. It's ramen is truly outstanding. Looks like this is the Best Ramen in Singapore thus far. It overtakes Nantsuttei (Parco Marina Bay) as my favourite Japanese Ramen restaurant. Forget about Ippudo and the Ramen stalls at Bugis+ Ramen Champion in the meantime. Ramen Santouka is the place for a decent bowl of Japanese ramen!

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Orchard Cuppage Terrace)

21 Cuppage Road

Cuppage Terrace

Tel: 6235 1059

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 12pm - 3pm, 530pm - 12am

                         Sat 12pm - 12am

                         Sun 12pm - 930pm

Website

Location

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (The Central)

6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-76 The Central

Tel: 6224 0668

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm

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Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Bugis+)

Yayoiken a well-known Japanese restaurant chain specialises in serving Japanese-Western cuisine. The Japanese restaurant has come a long way with its first stall opened in Kayabacho, Tokyo more than 125 years ago! At that time, western cuisine was rare in Japan. Today, Yayoiken has 180 restaurants in Japan and 60 in Thailand. In Singapore, Yayoiken has two outlets. The first was opened Liang Court in December 2011 while it's second outlet is at Bugis+ which was opened in May 2012. 

Miso Katsu Set $13.90

Ordered the Miso Katsu Set which consisted of rice and soup along with a main dish (Miso Katsu) and two side dishes (Pickles and Beancurd). Yayoiken follows the traditional culinary concept called 'ichiju-sansai' which literally means 'one soup and three sides'. This refers to a three dishes (one main and two sides) along with rice and miso soup.

Miso Katsu Set - Pickles

Free flow of pickles, every table has a bottle full of 'tsukemono' pickles placed at the side.

Miso Katsu Set - Miso Katsu

The Miso Katsu, pork cutlet simmered with miso paste (sauce) was served with potato and an egg. The Miso Katsu was well flavoured but too tough for my liking. In addition, the miso paste made the crust of the katsu soggy. I should have have realised that before ordering. The upside was that the the miso paste complemented well with rice. 

Service wise, had a hard time getting the attention of the service staff. They seemed to be under-staff and unable to cope with the crowd.

Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Bugis+)
201 Victoria Street
#01-08 Bugis+ (former Iluma)
Tel: 6636 5448
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm 
Website
Location

Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Liang Court)
117 River Valley Road
#B1-50 Meidi-Ya Supermarket, Liang Court
Tel: 6338 7170
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

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Kazokutei 家族亭 (Bugis Junction)

Kazokutei 家族亭 is a restaurant chain that serves Japanese cuisine, specialising in serving Udon. Established in 1947, Today, Kazokutei is one of Osaka's most well-known brands of udon restaurant with more than 200 outlets in Japan. The restaurant chain pride itself in offering delicious and high quality handmade udon. Kazokutei serves 2 type of Udon and 2 types of soup bases; Kokudashi Udon from Eastern Japan with a stronger flavoured soup and Shira Dashi Udon from Western Japan with a sweeter tasting soup. 

Udon Lunch Special

The Udon Lunch Special is only valid from Monday to Friday till 5pm only, excluding eve of public holidays and public holidays.

Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90

Ordered the Kokudashi Udon and Katsu Don Set from the Udon Lunch Special.

Kokudashi Udon (Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90)

The handmade Udon from the Kokudashi Udon was thick, firm, springy and chewy with a smooth texture. While the soup was made from Katsuo Bushi (Dried Bonito) for a stronger flavoured soup.

Katsu Don (Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90)

Katsu Don, a popular Japanese cuisine, is a bowl of rice topped with egg, deep fried pork cutlet, onions, seaweed and condiments. I seldom order this dish and am not an expert in this dish (as in I do not know what to look for in a good bowl of Katsu Don). To me, I like how the egg was cooked, it was cooked just nice and was still soft, not to the extend of runny. In addition, having each mouthful of the rice together with the egg, the sauce and caramelised onion was delectable. On the other hand, the Katsu (deep fried pork cutlet) was just average, sliced too thinly for my liking.

On another occasion..

Omurice Lunch Special

Omurice Lunch Special comes with 1 Free Soft Drink/Soda Drink. It is vonly valid from Monday to Friday till 5pm only, excluding eve of public holidays and public holidays.

Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90

Ordered the Pork Cutlet Omu Rice from the Omurice Lunch Special.

Omu Rice ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

The egg was cooked just nice, soft and a little runny (not too hard). Underneath the egg was fried rice flavoured with ketchup. It was tasty and not oily.

Pork Cutlet  ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

The Pork Cutlet was average. The cutlet was crispy but thin and dry.

Fries  ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

To be frank, the fries were just average. A tad too dry.

 Soup ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

Flavourful and tasty soup. I was pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of ingredients in the bowl of soup such as mushrooms and onions. The downside was that it was on the salty end.

After having lunch over at Kazokutei on two occasions, I find that the lunch sets here are very reasonably priced for the amount of food. The Kokudashi Udon and Katsu Don Set was delicious. As for the Pork Cutlet Omu Rice, the Omu Rice and the Soup are the ones that will make me want to order this again. Service wise, the serving staff was prompt in refilling the drinks, taking the orders and serving the food. Overall, quite a nice place to come for Japanese cuisine.

Kazokutei 家族亭 (Bugis Junction)
200 Victoria Street
#02-49 Bugis Junction
Tel: 6338 0187
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 945pm
Website
Location

Other outlets:
Kazokutei 家族亭 (Causeway Point)
1 Woodlands Square
#03-43 Causeway Point
Tel: 6893 6940
Opening Hours: 1130am to 10pm


Kazokutei 家族亭 (Junction 8)
9 Bishan Place
#02-34/35 Juntion 8
Tel: 6259 6698
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 945pm


Kazokutei 家族亭 (Plaza Singapura)
68 Orchard Road
#04-01 Tokyo Walker, Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6333 9285
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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Saboten (Parco Marina Bay)

Saboten is a Japanese restaurant that is well known for their Tonkatsu (fried breaded pork loin cutlet). Saboten first started out in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1966. Today, it is one of the biggest Tonkatsu chain in Japan with over 500 outlets. It has also expanded overseas to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

This is my 2nd visit to Saboten, my first visit was slightly more 2 years ago (before I started FoodieFC). My impression of Saboten was good then, I remembered how addictive the salads were and also how good their Tonkatsu was. The main reason why I did not make subsequent visits was because of the location. I seldom venture to Parco Marina Bay. Their other branch is at Changi Airport, which I also seldom venture to. 

Japanese wooden furnishing bright cozy restaurant .

I ordered their signature Loin Katsu Set (L) which cost $23. It consisted of free flow of cabbage, rice and miso soup, breaded pork loin cutlet and ice cream. 

A bowl of sesame seeds with a wooden stick. Customers will need to grind the sesame seeds themselves with the wooden stick. After the seeds are finely grated, scoop the tonkatsu sauce from an earthen urn on the table into the bowl with grated sesame seeds. It will be a perfect dip for the tonkatsu (fried pork loin cutled). 

Shredded Cabbage

Left to Right: Creamy Sesame Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar

As mentioned earlier, each set comes with free flow of shredded cabbage. The fresh cabbages are best eaten with either the Creamy Sesame or Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar dressing. Highly addictive and tasty combination that caused me to indulge endlessly.

Fried Breaded Pork Loin Cutlet

The main star of the night was (of course) the Fried Breaded Pork Loin Cutlet. The grain-fed pork loin cutlet was tender and soft, coated with crispy golden bread crumbs. A plus point was that it was not greasy. Certainly delish!

It was accompanied with free flow of rice and miso soup.

Matcha Ice Cream

The meal ended off with a Matcha (green tea) Ice Cream. It was milky with a mild sweet yet bitter green tea taste that concluded this meal with a sweet ending. 

Saboten (Parco Marina Bay)

9 Raffles Boulevard

#P3-01 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk

Tel: 6333 3432

Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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Location

Other outlets:

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)

80 Airport Boulevard

#031-004 Changi Airport Terminal 1

Tel: 6214 9504

Opening Hours: 8am to 1030pm

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)

2 Jurong East Street 21

#01-19 IMM Building

Singapore 609601

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Osaka Town (Raffles City Shopping Centre)

Osaka Town located in Raffles City Shopping Centre specialises in serving Japanese Cuisine. In fact, Osaka Town is a mixed-concept restaurant so that customers can savour different varieties at one restaurant. Hence,  Osaka Town offers two Japanese brands; namely Botejyu and Sen No Chanpon. Botejyu serves Okonomiyaki while Sen No Chanpon serves ramen from Kyushu.

Menu - Okos 

What is Okos? Well Okos are also known as Okonomiyaki; a Japanese savoury pancake that is grilled.

Menu - Premium Set (a)

Menu - Premium Set (b)

There are many choices for the Premium Set which offers a combination of Okos (Pork / Seafood) and any rice set (Tofu Hamburger Steak / Salmon Steak / Chicken Cutlet / Shio Asri / Mix Mushroom / Spicy Pork).

Menu - Teppanyaki

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Shio Asari Set $14.80

Seafood Okos with an egg on top along with Shio Asari, Rice and Miso soup.

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Shio Asari Set $14.80

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Shio Asari Set $14.80

Shio Asari; clams with bean sprouts, carrots, onions.

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Salmon Steak Set $14.80

Seafood Okos with an egg on top along with Salmon Steak, Rice and Miso soup.

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Salmon Steak Set $14.80

For this set, we requested for the egg to be fully cooked. 

Premium Set: Half Seafood Okos with Egg + Salmon Steak Set $14.80

The Salmon Steak with greens.

If you are wondering, why the lack of description, well... the dishes were just average. Nothing to shout about. Anyway, for $14.80, one can get quite a generous portion of food. Service wise, it can be hard to get the attention of the staff. 

Osaka Town (Raffles City Shopping Centre)
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-75 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: 6338 5584
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm
Location

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Ajitsuke Tamago Recipe

Home-made Ajitsuke Tamago

Ajitsuke Tamago (Japanese Runny Egg) is marinated soft boiled egg. The egg is frequently served in Japanese restaurant along with Japanese Ramen, sometimes for an extra $2 (which I feel is ridiculous..expensive..). The characteristic of the Ajitsuke Tamago is that the egg whites are hard boiled (solid but soft, delicate yet firm) while the egg yolk are runny/molten. 

I am posting the Ajitsuke Tamago Recipe here. In addition, there are several tricks to making this. I will list those that I know in this post. (If you know of any others, please let me know. So that, we can share  it in here for everyone. Thanks.)

Below is the recipe for making five Ajitsuke Tamago.

Items required:

1) Two pots (one for boiling water, the other for ice water) 

2) Thumbtack 

3) Spoon

4) Timer / Mobile phone

5) Ziplock bag / Bowl & Paper towel
6) Fridge

Ingredients: 

1) Five room temperature eggs

2) One pot of boilding water

3) One pot of ice water
4) Soy Sauce
5) Water (boiled water that has been cooled to room temperature)
6) Brown sugar 
7) Mirin (not necessary - depending on type of marination sauce)
8) Sake (not necessary - depending on type of marination sauce)

To make the Marination Sauce:

Two methods, either (a) or (b)

(a) 

2 cup water (boiled water that has been cooled to room temperature)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 tbsp brown sugar / white sugar, to taste

Combine the water, soy sauce and brown sugar. Mix well and ensure that the brown sugar has been dissolved before adding in 1 slice of ginger. You can add other ingredients such as spring onion, seasame oil, anything to your liking. Also, change the proportion of soy sauce, water, sugar to suit taste.

(b)

1 cup water (boiled water that has been cooled to room temperature)

1 cup sake

1/2 cup mirin

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 tbsp brown sugar / white sugar, to taste

Combine the water, sake, mirin, soy sauce and brown sugar. Mix well and ensure that the brown sugar has dissolved. You can add other ingredients such as spring onion, seasame oil, anything to your liking.   Also, change the proportion of soy sauce, water, mirin, sake, sugar to suit taste. 

Steps:

1) Pierce the base of each egg with a thumbtack to make a small hole. This will prevent the egg from cracking when placed into boiling water. (My recent past few attempts I skipped this step) 

2) Using one pot of water (enough to cover the eggs), bring it to a boil. After that, reduce the heat to bring it to a bare simmer. Gently lower the eggs in with a spoon and start the timer. 

3) Cook for 5mins and 45 seconds. Using a spoon, take out the eggs (draining away the hot water) and put them into a pot of ice water for at least 5 minutes. This process is called 'shocking', it will stop the cooking process and create a layer of air (from the difference in temperature) between the shell and membrane making it easier to peel. 

4) Gently de-shell the eggs. This is the hardest part as the egg (white) is very delicate and fragile; wobbly and soft.

5) Two ways, choose either (c) or (d)

    (c) Pour the marinade sauce into a ziplock bag, place the eggs inside and seal it, squeezing out as much air as possible. 
    (d) Pour the marinade sauce into a bowl and place the eggs inside. Cover with a paper towel so that the towel soak the sauce, hold it over the top of the eggs and marinate the whole egg (as the egg will float). 

6) Refrigerate and marinate for at least 2 hours and not more than 12 hours. 
7) Discard the marinade sauce. Serve cold immediately or store eggs in a seal container in the fridge for not more than 3 days. Other methods of serving includes letting the eggs cool to room temperature or putting them into simmering broth for 30seconds if you need to serve them warm. 

Tips:
1) Use room temperature egg
2) Use 3 to 6 day old eggs. Older eggs are easily to peel.
3) Bare simmer means that there are pin dot size bubbles rising up around the eggs. It should not be on a rolling boil as this will crack the eggs

4) Extreme care is required when peeling the eggs. Instead of tapping the eggs on a hard surface (e.g. table), put a wet towel (to cushion the impact) on the table and try to crack the egg shell on the cloth gently. Ensure, all surface area of the egg shell has small cracks before you attempt to peel it. Any excessive force will break the egg and you will have to eat it immediately. (In the first few attempts, on average I ate one egg for every five eggs I peel.) 
5) Ensure that the membranes are all peeled as they are unpleasant to eat and will cause stained patches on the eggs. This will be obviously (and unsightly) after marination
6) If this is your first attempt, make (use) more eggs than require as you may loss some due to cracking when it is cooking and some during the peeling process
7) The timing of 5mins 45secs is for making five Ajitsuke Tamago. This timing will differ depending on the size of the egg, the number of eggs, the size of the pot, amount of water and the heat control. 

The below pictures show some of the cooking process of my recent attempt:

Step 2: Cooking process

Notice the pin dot size bubbles rising up? This is what is meant by bare simmer. 

Step 3: Shocking (ice water)

For marination choose either Step 5(c) or Step 5(d).

Step 5(c): Marination 

Step 5(d ): Marination (Paper towel has not been added over it)

The outcome should be smooth and beautiful exterior with soft but firm egg white and runny egg yolk in the interior.

These were made using the above method/recipe. If you are wondering which steps I chose, for marination sauce, I used (a). For Step 5, I prefer 5(c) using the ziplock bag.

Hope this post is useful. Have fun making it!