Keisuke's Lobster King Ramen at Clarke Quay.

Keisuke Takeda is without a doubt the King of Singapore's Ramen scene. Within the last couple of years he's opened close to ten Ramen outlets around town - plus a couple of other experiments like Gyoza King and Ginza Tendon Itsuki. What we really like about his Ramen empire, though, is that each restaurant is a little different - Tonkotsu King concentrates on pork bone broth; Tori King dumps a whole broiled chicken drumstick/thigh on top of your noodles. Which brings us to Lobster King at Clarke Quay which, as you might expect, specializes in noodles in lobster broth.

At first glance, Lobster King's dining area seems uncharacteristically posh - to better fit in with the more upmarket Clarke Quay location, perhaps. One constant remains, though - the free flow of bean sprouts and (unflavoured) hard boiled eggs.


Lobster King presents a choice of four broths - Lobster (clear), Lobster (rich, pictured below), Miso Lobster and Spicy Miso Lobster. Prices vary slightly depending on which broth you choose, and vary quite a bit depending on how many accompaniments you order.


Speaking of accompaniments: Ordering the "special" gives you all toppings - ajitsuke tamago, seaweed, bamboo shoot, prawn wanton, deep fried prawn ball, and extra slices of pork and chicken chashu. It's a hearty bowl of food, and could be quite challenging if you've got a below average appetite. These toppings are generally pretty par for the course for Keisuke's standards, with the exception of the prawn wanton which we didn't quite like on account of there being way too much wanton skin.


Where Lobster King really stamps its mark, though, is with the broth. It's safe to say that this is an extremely unique bowl of noodles - the soup's flavour profile is pretty similar to angmoh lobster bisque. This isn't a delicate broth. It's salty, it's strong, and it tries to hit your tastebuds hard and fast. In Spicy Miso Lobster rendition, it's perhaps on the verge of being too tasty, and not to mention surprisingly spicy.


Lobster King prices its Ramen slightly higher than normal - $21.90 for the all toppings "special" version. We've no idea whether this is due to the ingredients used for the broth, or due to higher rentals at the Clarke Quay location, though. If you're a fan of Ramen or if you're a fan of crustaceans you should most definitely try a bowl!

Lobster King is at The Cannery block of Clarke Quay. First come first served (no reservations allowed); Non-halal.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King - The King of Tonkotsu Broths in Singapore?

It's sometimes said that location doesn't matter if the food is good enough - People will make the trip regardless of how far away or inconveniently located a restaurant or food stall is. Chef Keisuke Takeda seems to have taken this mantra to heart in opening his Tonkotsu-specialty outlet next to Orchid Hotel near Tanjong Pagar MRT, instead of a shopping mall like practically every other ramen shop in town. Forget about coming here by public transport if it rains as you'll be in for a very wet walk.


Ramen Keisuke has several outlets open in Singapore, and interestingly each shop focuses on a particular type of broth. A while ago we visited his outlet in Millenia Walk, which specializes in Prawn (now discontinued) and Crab broths. This outlet, as its' name suggests, is his Tonkotsu flagship - serving nothing else but the porky creamy soup.


You get free flow bean sprouts and hard boiled eggs to eat before (or with) your ramen; these eggs are plain and unflavoured, though. You also get to crush your own sesame seeds to add into the ramen which is supposed to enhance the aroma and flavor.


The Black Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen is basically the shop's plain Tonkotsu broth with added chili and black garlic. We order ours with 'the works' - soft boiled flavored egg, seaweed and two large chashu slices. Interestingly, Keisuke boosts the flavor of the (already very flavorful and porky) broth with bits of chicken fat instead of pork fat. Whichever is better probably boils down to personal preference - we very much liked the chicken fat. We didn't like the excess sodium content - this is a salty bowl of soup.


Surprisingly the regular Tonkotsu Ramen doesn't suffer from the same sodium overload; so you get the same flavor profile without spice and without a need to drink 4 glasses of water afterward to wash down all the salt. You also do get the same chashu which is disappointingly dry and tough.


Overall we did thoroughly enjoy the two bowls of ramen. Those bigger eaters and gym nuts among you might also enjoy the free flow of boiled eggs. It's a small restaurant - no more than 30 seats - so expect some queues at peak times. Non halal.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King
Orchid Hotel
1 Tras Link
Near Tanjong Pagar MRT

Our Ramen Rankings:
Superb!: Ippudo & Santouka
Delicious!: Nantsuttei, Tampopo & Keisuke Tonkotsu King
Solid: Shin-Sapporo, Keisuke, Gantetsu, Gensuke, Riki, Ikkousha & Bario
Below Average: Marutama, Menya Musashi & Menya Iroha

Goku Raku Ultimate Ramen at Paradigm Mall, Kelana Jaya

KL's Ramen Craze seems to have plateaued off a little with a slowing down of new entrants into the market of late. Only time will tell when the next Japanese Ramen Chef decides to set up shop in our corner of the woods; in the meantime we're going to review a Ramen place that we had never gotten round to eating at - until now!


It's in a corner of the somewhat maze-like Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya, and has a pretty par for the course decor. The Ramen served here is of the horikiri style, whatever that means, and was developed by Chef Teruhisa Shimizu over in Japan.


The gyoza we ordered was pretty interesting in that it comes with all the rice web attached. This crispy layer tastes not unlike roti tissue without the sugar. It's an interesting, solid and very competent take on gyoza.


Moving on to the ramen! Confusingly, Large and Regular sizes on the menu both cost the same and are 'exactly the same' (according to our waiter). So you only get a choice of Large/Regular vs Small, despite there being three sizes listed. I settle down with a Large/Regular Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen (MYR 21.90), which comes with the works - egg, bamboo shoots, seaweed, chashu, bean sprouts and spring onions.


We also try small portions of the Tonkotsu-Miso Ramen (MYR 15.90) and the Shoyo-Miso Ramen (MYR 14.90). All three of these bowls had just the right amount of noodles, and a very well cooked, melt-in-your mouth chashu (roast pork). However, the soups were nowhere near hot enough - they were bordering on lukewarm - and all three were pretty weak and lacking in depth and flavor.


The Rainbow Tsukemen (MYR 18.90, small) was even more disappointing. We thought that the dipping sauce was too weak and tasteless, and barely finished half of the noodles. Check out that overcooked egg, too!


At MYR 108.45 for four people after service charge and taxes, we thought that the ramen here simply isn't good enough to stand with the other bigger ramen chains in town, and will almost certainly not be back for another try.

Goku Raku Ramen has two outlets in KL - Paradigm Mall and Mid Valley. At time of writing SGD 1.00 is MYR 2.42. Non Halal.

Japan Honeymoon Trip Report - Two Days in Kyoto Itinerary

Honeymoon trip report! We covered three major cities in Japan this time round - Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. In the second part of this mini travel report series we'll write a little about our itinerary in Kyoto and hopefully it'll help you if you're planning a future trip too :)

Previous Post in this series: Three Days in Osaka
Next Post in this series: Three Days in Tokyo

Day One: We take a JR train in the morning from Osaka to Kyoto - a 30-minute, ¥540 journey, and immediately head to Ryokan Shimizu, a roughly 10-minute walk from the JR Kyoto station. As is fairly standard with Japanese hotels, we're not allowed to check in before the stipulated mid-afternoon check in time, so we just dump our luggage with the front desk and head out.


Almost immediately we find out that unlike Tokyo and Osaka, the two other major cities we visit this trip, Kyoto's public transport system is pretty damn inefficient. With only two subway lines for a city roughly equal in area to Tokyo plus Osaka combined, we found ourselves exclusively taking the bus to all the places we wanted to go. Within the general city area, each one-way trip is ¥220 (board the bus from the back door, and pay the driver when you're exiting the front). For the tourist it makes much more sense to buy the daily pass for ¥500 though - available at the JR Kyoto bus station or sometimes available from the bus driver.

Now the main problem about the bus system is that even on the uber popular routes, buses only come about once every ten minutes, so these popular routes get extremely packed. There were a couple trips we took where we were pretty much sardines in a tin can, squeezed so tightly we couldn't even stand properly.


Anyways, for lunch we headed over to Gogyo Ramen, by some margin the most popular Ramen restaurant (among gaijins) in the city. Its specialty is 'roasted' miso and shoyu ramen - greasy, oily, black, burnt. Check out our full review here.


After lunch we adjourn to the nearby Nishiki Market - a few hundred meter long stretch of shops selling some souvenirs and cute omiyage (souvenirs), but mostly food, fruits, vegetables, produce and assorted pickles. Lots of pickles. This is an actual market after all.


After the market we head back to the Ryokan to freshen up before heading out to dinner. As we mentioned earlier, our choice of accomodation is Ryokan Shimizu. At ¥12,600 per night (considered cheap for ryokan standards) you won't get fancy kaiseki dinners or natural onsens; but you do get a nice, clean (if a little small) room, extremely friendly and helpful front desk staff (who also speak good English), and a 'public' bath that isn't really public since residents take turns booking the bath for their private use.


Speaking of kaiseki, we splurged ¥25,000 per person on a kaiseki dinner at Kichisen Kyoto. After all, Kyoto is THE capital of kaiseki-ryori, and Kichisen with its 2 michelin stars is the best place to eat ultra traditional, court-style kaiseki. And if you're still not convinced, its' head chef has previously gone on Iron Chef, challenged Iron Chef Morimoto and came out victorious! Check out our full review of Kichisen here.


Day Two: After a night of rest and relaxation, we head out to see more Kyoto sights. First stop - the bus (extremely cramped) to Ninnaji Temple. This temple's popularity really skyrockets towards the end of the sakura (cherry blossom) season because it's got a garden of specially cultivated late blooming trees. There's a nominal (few hundred yen) entrance fee but totally worth it since if you're in Japan around this time you're probably here to see sakura anyway ... aren't you?



A short bus ride later, we find ourselves at yet another magnificent Kyoto temple - Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. It really is more magnificent in person rather than seeing it in photos, especially after finding out that the temple isn't just painted Gold - it is really covered in actual Gold leaf. About 20 kilograms of it in total, apparently. Amazing how there hasn't been any attempt to steal any (or all) of it, hehe.


After Kinkakuji and on the way to Gion, we stop by at Hanaore to have a late lunch. Hanaore does one thing, and one thing only - serve the best sabazushi (Kyoto style Mackerel Sushi) in town. For about ¥1,500 or so you get 3 slices of the fattest, choicest Saba (Mackerel) from the Tokyo Bay area, vinegar'ed and packed on tightly packed sushi rice. It's a uniquely Kyoto-style dish and very good. Check out our full review of Hanaore here.


In Gion we really didn't do that much. We wandered around a bit hoping to see some Geiko or Maiko but without much success. So we headed over to the Kaburenjo Theater for the 141st annual Miyako Odori - Kyoto's Geiko & Maiko traditional Spring Dance. Tickets are ¥4,500, ¥4,000 or ¥2,000, and for your money you get to see dozens of geiko/maiko singing, dancing and playing musical instruments for about an hour. Pretty nice gaijin-friendly introduction into the world of the Geisha! Apologies for having no pictures of the performance itself as it was stressed repeatedly that photo taking was not allowed.


For Dinner we decided to try an actual Japanese kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) place, so we walked to Musashi Sushi on the intersections of Kawaramachi dori and Sanjo dori. At a flat ¥137 per plate, it's cheap, cheerful and very foreigner friendly (since you don't actually need to order anything. Just sit, and take whatever you want from the conveyor belt). Of particular note is the Unagi sushi which was nicely grilled, big, and delicious, and totally value for money for that ¥137.


We then adjourned back to the Ryokan for our pre-booked soak in the public bathtub (make sure you shower first before entering the bath). And then headed to a nearby fast food restaurant (カフェラビット at Ebisunochō (Shichijōdōri))for ¥400 gyudon (beef with rice bowl) and udon combination for supper before bed :)

Day Three: We check out and drag our bags to the JR Kyoto station for the two and a half hour shinkansen ride to Tokyo.

So that concludes our two days in Kyoto. If you've read this far we hope that this short write-up has given you at least an idea as to what you could do in this city. If you've got any questions do leave us a comment below; otherwise we'll be back with our Tokyo write-up in the days to come!

Best Restaurant in Kyoto ... Gogyo Ramen?!?

To start off, what I'm referring to by "Best Restaurant in Kyoto" is Gogyo Ramen's #1 ranking over at TripAdvisor. It's a little hard to understand how a humble noodle soup joint commands top honours in the city where kaiseki-ryori originates, so naturally we just had to pay them a visit to see if the food lives up to its' reputation!

We find the place quite effortlessly thanks to Google Maps, and step inside. Immediately we notice that this is a sit down restaurant (unlike practically every other ramen place in Japan), and is actually pretty well decorated too! Nice ambience and nice service, definitely a great first impression.


After taking our orders, our waitress asks if we need bibs - rather amusing. We politely decline and wait a few minutes for the Gyoza to arrive. As far as Gyoza's go this one is above average - it's got a nice tasting pork filling with a nicely seared and crusty skin.


We quickly move on to the star of the show, however, and realize why our waitress had recommended bibs. Gogyo's specialty is their burnt / roasted (depending on translation) ramens - which come in black, thick and greasy broths. We really enjoyed the Roasted Miso Ramen - imagine a concentrated miso-based ramen and adding a 'roasted' flavor (not unlike the charred crust you get on a good steak or BBQ'ed meat). It's flavorful, thick, oily, and delicious. Do be warned though that this is a very strong flavoured broth, and you might not enjoy it if you've got a preference for the lighter flavoured shoyu or shio varieties.


Our Roasted Shoyu Ramen however wasn't as enjoyable. Without the strength of the miso base, the 'roasted' / burnt taste simply overpowered every other flavor in the bowl, so all you ended up tasting was a very one-dimensional mouthful of oily burnt charcoal flavor. We ended up dumping the uneaten noodles into the miso broth just so we wouldn't waste the food.


The bill came up to slightly over ¥1,000 per person, so it's pretty standard value for money compared to other ramen places. We recommend coming here to eat if you're also planning to browse the next door Nishiki Market; otherwise it's perhaps not really worth the travel especially considering Kyoto's relatively rubbish public transport system.


Overall, a mixed bag then where we thoroughly enjoyed the Miso base but had to wave the white flag for the Shoyu base. It's certainly a very interesting Ramen, although we're not quite sure that it's worthy of the #1 ranking. Non-halal.

Where to Eat in Osaka - Kamakura Soup with Noodles (Ramen) in Dotonbori

On our first night in Osaka, we ventured forth to Dotonbori, one of the most popular shopping, entertainment and most importantly, food areas in town. The initial plan was to have ourselves some crab goodness at the venerable Kani Doraku Honten with its imposing mechanical crab, but since it was raining our stomachs grumbled for something more ... soupy.


So after wandering around the dozens of different restaurants and stalls along the streets we settled for Kamakura soup with noodles (Ramen). I'm not sure why we chose Kamakura - maybe it was some subconscious linkage to Bleach's Karakura Town; or maybe it was just the all-glass facade being an inviting change from the other closed-off shops.


Whatever the case, we order our noodles via the 'vending machine' outside the restaurant (If you don't read Japanese it's simple - just insert money and press whichever button looks tastiest), step inside and take our seats in the two dozen (or so) seat counter.


My Medium size Cha Shu Ramen (¥900) is remarkable value for money, consisting of lots of slices of three different varieties of pork served on a generous helping of yellow ramen noodles. The soup is a clear, light-tasting lightly-shoyu'ed broth - which may not be your cup of tea if you prefer the stronger tasting varieties (like miso or tonkotsu broths).


If you prefer a less carnivorous meal, you lose a few pork slices but gain an egg with the small Cha Shu Ramen with Egg (¥850). Noodles are nicely cooked without being too soggy or too hard, although pasta lovers might prefer it a little more al dente.

Kamakura Soup with Noodles is in Dotonbori, Osaka. To get here, walk down the main 'street' with Kani Doraku on your left (see first pic) and take the second turning on your right (it should be a covered side-street). Kamakura should be a couple minutes walk on your right. At time of writing, 1000¥ = SGD 12.26. Non halal.

Ramen Champion's Bario and Iroha (Bugis+)

Ramen Champion, in a nutshell, is a Ramen Food Court. There are two shops in Singapore so far - the one in Changi Airport's T3 has four shops which we covered in two previous posts here and here.

The outlet in Bugis+ (formerly known as Illuma) is much bigger, better decorated, and houses six separate Ramen chefs. Ikkousha and Gantetsu also have their presence in Changi, so today we'll be sampling two of the other bowls of noodles.


Chef Kiyoshi Kurihara's Menya Iroha is perhaps the most decorated of all the chefs here, having won the People's Choice award at the Tokyo Ramen Show for an impressive three years running (2009, 2010 and 2011).

We try his recommended Black Negitama Ramen (SGD14.95, regular), which is a thick shoyu based broth. Surprisingly, the broth doesn't really gel with our tastes. There's a lot of black pepper in it, which does overpower the taste of the other ingredients, and we're not really big fans of thick soups.


We then move on Makoto Iwasaki's Ramen Bario. The noodles served here are Jiroken (Jiro style) - which is so different from other ramen shops that some purists even insist on calling it just "Jiro" (without the "ramen").

So what's the deal? Well, for starters the noodles are thick - almost udon-like. There's also a HUGE amount of it, with an equally huge serving of bean sprouts. This particular Ajitama Ramen (SGD14.50) has won awards for being the "Ramen that Most Young Men Like" (I'm sure that sounds better in Japanese); regular Joe's who don't have a teenage appetite will find it likely impossible to polish off the whole bowl.

Taste wise it's pretty good and very porky. Shame that the quantity of meat doesn't match the huge serving of vegetables and noodles.


Unfortunately I can't imagine myself ordering either ramen bowl again in the near future. For Iroha, it's simply a matter of preferences; I prefer my broth more soupy rather than thick. I enjoyed Bario's taste more; but the humongous serving size means that guilt kicks in because I can barely polish off half the bowl.

Ramen Champion is on the 4th floor of the Bugis+ Shopping Mall. Non-halal.

Our Ramen Rankings:
Superb!: Ippudo & Santouka
Delicious!: Nantsuttei, Tampopo & Keisuke Tonkotsu King
Solid: Shin-Sapporo, Keisuke, Gantetsu, Gensuke, Riki, Ikkousha & Bario
Below Average: Marutama, Menya Musashi & Menya Iroha

Menya Musashi's Curry Ramen (ION Orchard)

Quick and Short update - Menya Musashi has opened a new outlet in ION Orchard!

Unlike the branch over at Raffles City, there isn't much of a queue for the ION Branch - possibly because not many people know about it yet?

Anyways, the flyer outside caught my eye because, well ... Curry Ramen? That would be a definite first for me, so the darling and I give this joint a second shot!


The Curry Ramen is ... interesting. Instead of your typical cha shu it comes with shabu shabu-style sweet pork slices, in a watered down and yet still starchy-bordering-on-slimy curry sauce. It tastes good but I still don't like the texture of the broth.


In our previous visit we didn't at all get used to the starchy/slimy broth, and nothing has changed since that visit. The darling's white cha shu ramen was also, in our opinion, tasty, but the soup broth just didn't sit well with us.


At almost SGD40 for the two of us (including gyoza and two cups of houjicha), the pricing is a little on the low side when it comes to these Japanese Ramen joints. Pity that the style of broth isn't compatible with our taste buds!

Our Ramen Rankings:
Superb!: Ippudo & Santouka
Delicious!: Nantsuttei, Tampopo & Keisuke Tonkotsu King
Solid: Shin-Sapporo, Keisuke, Gantetsu, Gensuke, Riki, Ikkousha & Bario
Below Average: Marutama, Menya Musashi & Menya Iroha

Apologies for the poor quality of photos in the post, but we didn't have our normal cameras with us.

Menya Musashi Ramen at Raffles City

** Update ** We've given Menya Musashi another try - this time at the new ION Orchard outlet. Find out if we've changed our minds!

Would you line up for an hour for food? Because it certainly seems like you'd need that amount of time standing in line at Menya Musashi Ramen over at Raffles City. During peak periods, at least. This fairly late entrant to the Singapore/Malaysia Ramen market originates from Tokyo, where it's gotten hugely positive raves & reviews since its' opening in the 1990's.

Like pretty much every other ramen restaurant once it's opened shop in our borders, there's a strict kitchen | seating/dining area segregation; no chance of sitting at the counter and chatting up the chef while he cooks up your noodles, sadly.


This particular outlet in Singapore is surprisingly sparse on the choices. You do get a choice of 3 soups - white, black and red - but they're basically the same pork-based soup (white), with a choice of added fried garlic oil (black), or chili oil (red). No choosing how well done you want your noodles to be, either.

Oh, in our customary fashion of trying a new ramen place we also try the gyoza at SGD5.90 which was decent.


I go for the Black soup base with Kakuni (Braised Pork) instead of the usual cha shu. At SGD14.90, it's very similarly priced to the competition.

Unfortunately I thought the ramen wasn't really to my tastes. The noodles were a bit soggy for my liking (I prefer a firmer, more al dente bite), and the soup was too thick and oily - bordering on being an (oily/greasy) gravy, really.


The darling was also somewhat disappointed with her Tsukemen (Red, SGD14.90). The Tsukemen "style" is where you have a dry bowl of noodles, and you dip it into a sauce/soup before slurping/eating. We felt that for dipping, the red soup was not strong tasting or concentrated enough. The cha shu is good though; and if you're a big eater you can "upsize" your order of noodles up to a whopping 5 times portion.


Also, we thought that the egg was overcooked - bordering on being hard boiled.


At the end of the meal we were rather let down. Perhaps the overall taste of both types of ramen just didn't gel with our tastes & preferences. Add in the upwards-of-45-minute queue times and we have to say that it isn't worth the wait at all. Non-halal.

Our Ramen Rankings:
Superb!: Ippudo & Santouka
Delicious!: Nantsuttei, Tampopo & Keisuke Tonkotsu King
Solid: Shin-Sapporo, Keisuke, Gantetsu, Gensuke, Riki, Ikkousha & Bario
Below Average: Marutama, Menya Musashi & Menya Iroha