🥢 To be dipped in a Tonkotsu Gyokai Broth, with a slice of Chashu Pork, Narutomaki, Menma, Spring Onions and a Nitamago on top

🧾 SGD$14.90

✍🏻 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆〘6/10〙

💬 The dipping broth was a mixture of pork and fish; packed full of umami-ness. It was not overly concentrated or salty, hence I could drink the leftovers up without adding any dashi soup. However, I felt that it was on the oilier side and had this grainy mouthfeel to it (not a huge fan). The noodles were amazing though, so thick and chewy- the best kind to slurp up with. There was also a single slice of chashu on top which looked rather pitiful but it tasted pretty good with a nice meat-to-fat ratio. The egg ($2) looked and tasted so similar to 711's ready-to-eat Hanjuku eggs that I was pretty convinced that they either had their recipe or receipt. Honestly, I had higher expectations for the famous Tetsu from Japan but seeing how it was opened in a food court, the standard matches. Here's hoping Tetsu can open a full-fledged restaurant here!

🥢 Spiffed up with chunks of aburi Chashu, flavoured Egg, Nori, Bamboo Shoots and Leek

🧾 SGD$14.00

✍🏻 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆〘6/10〙

💬 I love Sanpoutei's noodles. Their consistency is always spot on; perfectly chewy and al dente with the right noodle thickness. I always go for their tsukemen but I figured I might finally give something else on their menu a try. I ordered the mazesoba and it came slicked in a slightly spicy dried sardine oil x shoyu sauce blend. After a thorough mix, my ramen was still pretty dry and with the sauce being slightly oily and on the heavier side, it can get "jelak" very quickly. After a few slurps, I felt like I had lip balm applied all over my lips. The spice here was essential to cut through all that. I was kinda disappointed at the sauce though as I could barely taste the sardine; which is a polar opposite to their tsukemen's dipping broth. However, they made up for it with the generous serving of aburi chashu cubes. They were very well seasoned and tender. Now here comes a twist: I tend to disregard soups that comes with dry dishes, but this chicken soup served exclusively with the mazesoba was astonishingly good. I would even go as far as saying it tasted better than the ramen itself. I finally get what people mean by a good soup warms the heart and soul! It was rich, flavourful and just simply delicious. Oh the irony; the star of the show was not the sardine x shoyu sauce but everything else on the bowl instead. Sanpoutei needs to open a sister restaurant selling tori paitan (chicken broth) ramen, it would be an easy 8/10! (Also oops I forgot to snap a pic of the soup)

🥢 Topped with Cha Shu, Green Onions, Black Fungus and half an Egg

🧾 SGD$12.90

✍🏻 ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆〘2/10〙

💬 I am sorry but this bowl just did not cut it for me. I felt that the tonkotsu was light and bland, and the garlic flavour was disappointingly subtle. The salt taste was actually more prominent than the other flavours in the broth. Noodles were cooked alright. The chashu pieces were not tender and also on the saltier side. In my opinion, I felt that this bowl was rather overpriced for its "fast food quality" standards. Needless to say, I left unsatisfied. I do hope their parent: Menya Musashi, serves better ramen though. Thinking of visiting them soon!

🥢 Served in a frothy broth with slices of Pork Bellies, Black Fungus strips, Green Onions and red pickled Ginger

🧾 SGD$13.90

✍🏻 ★★★★★★★★☆☆〘8/10〙

💬 This is my first time seeing a ramen broth whisked to foamy bubbly goodness. The soup itself was rich, sweet and already light, but because it got whisked, the tonkotsu broth got even lighter and airier. Tiny foam bubbles were popping by my lips as I gave it a good slurp. The slices of pork bellies were reasonably tender, and the noodles were cooked perfectly al dente, slightly firm and springy. The pickled ginger however, felt misplaced as I did not feel like it went well with the bowl. Its acidity would have been handier in a heavier bowl of tonkotsu. With the Chef being actually Japanese, this has got to be one of the most authentic bowls of ramen that I have had in Singapore!

🥢 Centered with a half-boiled Egg, sitting on minced Pork, Seaweed and Green Onions

🧾 SGD$13.80

✍🏻 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆〘7/10〙

💬 Finally paid a visit to Kajiken for their signature Nagoya-style Mazesoba that I had seen everywhere on social media. Mazesoba is Japanese for mixed noodles, kinda like our local "Bak Chor Mee" with the minced pork. The heaps of green onion provided an aesthetically pleasing vibrant green contrast to everything else on the bowl. My job now is to mix everything up, starting by breaking the perfectly half-boiled egg and watching the yolk coat every single strand of noodle. These yellow noodles were cooked al dente resulting in a great chewy texture. The minced meat tucked below were slightly spicy but only mildly seasoned, which was unusual as they are usually the ones packing all the flavour (could be a consistency issue). One thing to note is that the vinegar; quintessential for flavour enhancement, was not served together with my order and is something you have to specifically ask for separately, unlike other mazesoba places. Overall still a good bowl to kickstart your venture into the yummy world of mazesoba!

🥢 Topped with Chashu, Bamboo Shoots, Wood Ear Mushrooms, Leek, Seaweed, half an Egg and in-house red Spicy Paste

🧾 SGD$16.80

✍🏻 ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆〘5/10〙

💬 The red paste was slightly spicy but still very much tolerable. I have seen somewhat good reviews about the broth and I was looking forward for the spice to cut through a thick and rich tonkotsu. However when I took a sip, I was kinda disappointed that it was neither. The tonkotsu broth that I had was leaning towards the milder side, which was rather surprising due to its dark colour. Ramen noodles also tasted a little bland, probably because of the aforementioned. The soup and noodles have to go hand in hand together, with each strand getting coated with flavour as you pull it up! The noodles most important role is to taxi the broth essence up into your mouth. But sadly, I felt that this couldn't. Now, the fatty pork bellies on the other hand were game-changing, with each slice being extremely tender and succulent. They had some nice char on them as well. Pretty much saved the bowl for me.

🥢 Served with Ebi, Eggplant and Kabocha tempura

🧾 SGD$16.50

✍🏻 ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆〘3/10〙

💬 Still not a huge fan of cold soba noodles (am I weird?), so I ordered the hot soup version. Soba was soft and smooth, which made it super satisfying to slurp up with the light dashi broth. Tempura was unfortunately not very crispy, or hot for that matter. My eggplant was mushy and soaked in oil which left a bad aftertaste. Personally I feel that this set was rather overpriced due to the tempura's quality and portion size. Bad day for the Chef perhaps?

🥢 Topped with Chashu, Wood Ear Mushrooms and Green Onions

🧾 SGD$14.50

✍🏻 ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆〘5/10〙

💬 Let me start off by saying I love ikkousha! I have been celebrating my birthdays there; slurping up their tonkotsu ramen and munching down on free gyozas (they offer a birthday promotion: feeding you as many gyozas as your age for free). However, I felt that this bowl was a lacklustre as I could barely taste the mentaiko, if any. I was expecting a flavour dance between the seafoody mentaiko and their creamy pork bone broth but boy was I disappointed. All I could taste was the tinge of spiciness that was mixed into the soup. Apart from the broth, everything else were great. The hakata style noodles were, as usual, cooked perfectly to my preference- firm. Pork slice was also tender and thin. Honestly, I would have given this an extra star or two if they had just named it spicy tonkotsu instead. Add more mentaiko please!

🥢 Tossed with Kombu, Truffle Oil and Truffle shavings, accompanied with caramelised Charshu and a sous vide Egg on top

🧾 SGD$16.90

✍🏻 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆〘7/10〙

💬 The aroma of the truffle could be smelled even before I saw my bowl arrive. The noodles here were thin and had a great firm bite. Funnily, I must say they really took the "dry" part seriously as the noodles were all clumped up together. But this is where the perfectly sous vide-d egg comes in; break and watch the runny egg seep into the ramen, coating every strand with rich yolky creaminess. They were very generous with the kombu bits and truffle shavings as well. However I have to admit, it does get overwhelming really quickly with each bite being an explosion of truffle goodness. Now although the star of the show should be the truffles, but oh man, the caramelised pork was incredible! It was nicely charred with a blow torch and the deliciously burnt sugar was much needed to switch up the flavours.

🥢 Dished up with pork belly Chashu, black fungus mushrooms, half an Egg, green onions and Seaweed

🧾 SGD$8.90

✍🏻 ★★★★★★★★☆☆〘8/10〙*

💬 The broth was on the sweeter side with a rich but not overly strong tonkotsu flavour. I was surprised at how generous the chashu servings were; two long strips of pork belly that were basically touching both ends of the bowl! Although it wasn't the softest break-apart-upon-lifting chashu, but with so much meat on there I'm not complaining. The Hakata style noodles were thin and firm in texture (as it should be), and just the way I like it. Overall a good bowl of tonkotsu ramen at an insane bang for the buck. If this was in my neighbourhood, I would gladly eat it every week!

*ramen priced ≤$10 are awarded with a bonus ★ for affordability

🥢 Served with tender Pork slices, Bamboo Shoots, Woodear Mushrooms and Leek

🧾 SGD$14.50

✍🏻 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆〘6/10〙

💬 I am not a huge miso fan therefore I rarely get miso ramen as I tend to get overwhelmed by the soybean flavour fairly quickly. I ordered the spicy version in hopes to solve this problem. Although it looks really red and fiery, the spice was quite mild. In fact, I sprinkled more chilli flakes after to get a spicier kick. As imagined, the added spice elevated the broth by cutting through the richness of the miso infused pork bone soup. The thin noodles were springy while the pork chashu was firm yet satisfactorily tender. Definitely prefer this over a regular plain miso bowl though.

🥢 Served with hand-pulled Pork sautéed with sweet soy sauce and fragrant ginger, green Scallions, Bamboo Shoots and marinated Egg

🧾 SGD$9.90

✍🏻 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆〘7/10〙*

💬 The pork was extremely tender and well seasoned with hints of sweetness. It goes quite well with the light broth as you can pretty much just slurp the shreds of saucy pork. Noodles were fairly decent as well; with the Hakata-style firmer texture. I was pretty impressed at the value I was getting, the standard was great despite the somewhat low price point. This ramen chain is ran by local Singaporeans, so be sure to show them some support!

*ramen priced ≤$10 are awarded with a bonus ★ for affordability