yoshimaru is the latest ramen joint to hit the island. they have 2 main outlets, one at holland v and one at east coast parkway. given that i'm a ramen junkie, i needed to try this place even though i wasn't expecting much. the reviews weren't raving, and even if they were, i've been disappointed more than once by raving reviews of ramen. to be honest, i'm extremely particular about my ramen. really really particular. but i came with an open mind (and a hungry belly).
the place looks very clean and new. a medium sized joint that is very organized and neat. the cooks cook their ramen behind a glass panel and the staff is ample enough to provide for your needs, although it could be hard to communicate as most of them don't speak much english.
i ordered a bowl of traditional hakata ramen and chicken gyoza (because they don't have pork!). l had just eaten (actually we both did) so she didn't get anything. instead, she watched me eat while playing around with my blackberry. all these crazy snoopy chicks. actually all the ramen is pork bone based, but i wanted to try the traditional, basic one in order to provide a good judge of its standard.
the food came soon enough. on first sight, it looks pretty alright. the egg looks very appetizing and the soup is not as thick as i would like, but then again, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. the noodles came with mushrooms, leeks, seaweed, charsiew and one egg.
i first tasted the soup. in fact, i tasted it several times before i could put my hand on it's familiarity. i swore recognized that taste somewhere. i finally realized that the soup tasted like pre-mixed bovril. for those of you who don't know, bovril is this soup drink that comes in a little jar, and you mix a teaspoon of it with hot water to get nice salty soup. basically the soup here tastes like premix broth. the quality is not very good. it doesn't taste fresh at all. in fact, i would go as far to say that the soup of the take home ajisen ramen packets are better than this.
the noodles are thin and white. i believe they're home made or semi home-made, and they are very similar to that of marutama ramen. i don't fancy the noodles that much because they are too thin for my liking, which gives it less texture when you bite into it.
the charsiew is fatty, but not intramuscularly fatty, but more of a piece of meat with fat on the side. i wasn't impressed at all. almost all decent places have better charsiew than this. the egg was the only thing that was decent. the white was cooked soft with a very orange molten center. pretty good if you ask me. the yolk is still very soft.
the side order of gyoza came awhile later. i tried one of them and didn't enjoy it too much. it wasn't bad. it was just very average. the flour of the gyoza is a little too soft and slightly rubbery. the filling is made of chicken instead of pork and isn't generous at all. taste like some gyoza you can buy from the supermarket and make at home yourself.
to be honest, this place isn't flattering at all. it's not horrible, it's just horribly average. nothing special or fantastic to rave about. i guess if i were really craving ramen i might come here, since it opens till about 11 on weekends. but other than that, i see no need to waste calories on such mediocre food. (and money too, since you can get much better ramen for the same price).
but as always, try it for yourself and make a judgement. after all, food is about personal preference.
http://www.yoshimaruramen.com.sg/
the place looks very clean and new. a medium sized joint that is very organized and neat. the cooks cook their ramen behind a glass panel and the staff is ample enough to provide for your needs, although it could be hard to communicate as most of them don't speak much english.
i ordered a bowl of traditional hakata ramen and chicken gyoza (because they don't have pork!). l had just eaten (actually we both did) so she didn't get anything. instead, she watched me eat while playing around with my blackberry. all these crazy snoopy chicks. actually all the ramen is pork bone based, but i wanted to try the traditional, basic one in order to provide a good judge of its standard.
the food came soon enough. on first sight, it looks pretty alright. the egg looks very appetizing and the soup is not as thick as i would like, but then again, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. the noodles came with mushrooms, leeks, seaweed, charsiew and one egg.
i first tasted the soup. in fact, i tasted it several times before i could put my hand on it's familiarity. i swore recognized that taste somewhere. i finally realized that the soup tasted like pre-mixed bovril. for those of you who don't know, bovril is this soup drink that comes in a little jar, and you mix a teaspoon of it with hot water to get nice salty soup. basically the soup here tastes like premix broth. the quality is not very good. it doesn't taste fresh at all. in fact, i would go as far to say that the soup of the take home ajisen ramen packets are better than this.
the noodles are thin and white. i believe they're home made or semi home-made, and they are very similar to that of marutama ramen. i don't fancy the noodles that much because they are too thin for my liking, which gives it less texture when you bite into it.
the charsiew is fatty, but not intramuscularly fatty, but more of a piece of meat with fat on the side. i wasn't impressed at all. almost all decent places have better charsiew than this. the egg was the only thing that was decent. the white was cooked soft with a very orange molten center. pretty good if you ask me. the yolk is still very soft.
the side order of gyoza came awhile later. i tried one of them and didn't enjoy it too much. it wasn't bad. it was just very average. the flour of the gyoza is a little too soft and slightly rubbery. the filling is made of chicken instead of pork and isn't generous at all. taste like some gyoza you can buy from the supermarket and make at home yourself.
to be honest, this place isn't flattering at all. it's not horrible, it's just horribly average. nothing special or fantastic to rave about. i guess if i were really craving ramen i might come here, since it opens till about 11 on weekends. but other than that, i see no need to waste calories on such mediocre food. (and money too, since you can get much better ramen for the same price).
but as always, try it for yourself and make a judgement. after all, food is about personal preference.
http://www.yoshimaruramen.com.sg/
2 comments:
How about Noodle House Ken? It has the most authentic Japanese street side ramen in Singapore.
hi taster,
i tried NHK, and to be honest, i found the soup to be a little bland for my taste. perhaps it's because i prefer the super rich soup flavor. however, i must admit that they're charsiew is fantastic! goes so well with the mustard sauce they serve on the side..
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