Ramen, Japan’s national comfort food, sits conveniently and around our city. If by no means deliberate you emerge into the bustling lunch crowd of Cityhall along North Bridge Road and acquire a craving for Ramen, HAKATA IKKOUSHA is professionally able to bestow that ramen-craved satisfaction. Titled as the Ramen Champion in 2011 and 2012, HAKATA IKKOUSHA opens its second Singapore-based restaurant at CHIJMES.
With a fascinating history and significant name to the restaurant, founder Chef Kousuke Yoshimura certainly brought up this ramen restaurant into ‘one happy place’ – Ikkousha. Tonkotsu Ramen originated from the city of Hakata in Fukuoka where Chef Kousuke Yoshimura’s culinary expertise was developed and finely mastered.
Tonkotsu Shio Ramen ($11.50)
Indulging in the chef’s own recipe of Tonkotsu Ramen, this heartfelt bowl of Japanese springy noodles, pleasurably warm broth, tender succulent meat, and perfect runny hanjuku eggs, one could imagine seated in Hakata’s Uminonakamichi Seaside Park under a cherry blossom tree with vivid fragrance of early spring rising from the grounds freshening the air.
To further stimulate your palates and forge the imagination, the broth is meticulously and delicately prepared, over twelve hours with twenty specially selected seasonings and five varieties of superior seafood. Not forgetting the noodles, in which the flour is Ikkousha-sourced and imported, yielding exceptionally light and faintly golden-coloured springy noodles.
On top of the superb quality mentioned, you are given the privilege of choice for the preferred noodle texture of soft, normal, hard or very hard, the freedom to customise your order to your selected preference.
Unabashedly they are the Japanese ramen professionals, with subtle hints of perfectionism displayed in a mixture of traditional elements of Japanese inclination for wood, simple contemporary design and maintaining a strong connection with the natural world. Furniture and cutleries bear elements representing wood, stone and bamboo.
Tonkotsu Spicy Ramen ($13.50)
The Tonkotsu Spicy packs a fiery punch. Deceptively creamy and fragrant, the heat does not strike immediately. Instead, it creeps up and gives a wholesome and satisfactory level of spicy.
To fully appreciate the rich and milky tonkotsu broth, the Tonkotsu Special ($16) that comes with hanjuku eggs is recommended.
Tonkotsu Black Ramen ($13.50)
The Tonkotsu Black is a hot favourite. Deriving its colour from black sesame, the excellent creamy broth mixed with garlic and onion is not overbearingly salty –a fulfilling experience for black ramen addicts.
Unlike many other ramen that leave diners even thirstier after mouthfuls of soup (due to the excessive use of MSG), I was impressed with Hakata Ikkousha’s focus on natural flavours. The ramen are reasonably priced, ranging from $11.50 to $16.
Gyoza ($5 for 5 pieces)
The thing about Hakata Ikkousha is that despite specialising in ramen, its many other components are comparably high in calibre. Why? Because Founder-Chef Kousuke Yoshimura’s parents are both armed with strong culinary background: his dad is a sushi chef, while his mum is a gyoza expert.
Hakata Specialty Hitokuchi Gyoza is the restaurant’s signature appetiser. Simply put, it is a mouth-watering, externally crispy and internally moist.
Gold Fried Rice ($10)
The Gold Fried Rice, a popular choice among diners who want an alternative carbohydrate option to ramen, is pleasantly simple but flavourful, scattered with chopped pork chashu, egg, onion and spring onion.
Special Fried Chicken ($5.00 for 3 pieces)
The Special Fried Chicken, marinated with Ikkousha’s secret sauce, is deep-fried with a vibrant display of tastes when paired with their secret spicy powder. Having only three pieces will leave you begging for more.
An incentive to get diners returning for more: free-flow boiled eggs!
Hakata Ikkousha Global Standard at CHIJMES
30 Victoria Street,
#01-07 CHIJMES,
Singapore 187996
Operating Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11.30 am – 10 pm (last order at 9.45 pm)
Sunday: 11.30 am – 9 pm (last order at 8.45 pm)
Hakata Ikkousha Global Standard at Tanjong Pagar
Block 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza,
#01-104,
Singapore 081007
Phone:
Operating Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11.30 am – 10 pm (last order at 9.45 pm)
Sunday: 11.30 am – 9 pm (last order at 8.45 pm)
Ikkousha at Ramen Champion T3
65 Airport Boulevard,
#B2-58 Terminal 3 Singapore Changi Airport,
Singapore 819663
Operating Hours: 10.30 am – 10.00 pm (daily)
*Words by , photos by .