Twin Island Noodle House

Broth is flavorful with light taste of herbs, mildly sweet & spicy, not too gamey; came with small amount of pickled veggies to balance out the taste; 3 slices of thick cut beef brisket which is tender & soft; opted for knife-shaved noodles which came firm & chewy..

Broth is light-tasting but lack of depth & seafood taste; came with generous portion of crunchy squid tentacles & baby clams; was expecting some fresh clams to add some natural sweetness to the broth; opted for the firm & chewy knife-shaved noodles..

Twin Island Noodle House was one of the places that we had learnt about whilst going past CT Hub at Lavender Street — we were initially rather confused by whether the dining establishment still exists considering how we found them in a closed state though the interior does seem to be rather neat for an establishment if it were to have been one that had just vacated the space; got to know about them opening after noticing some activity in their social media pages. Located on the second floor of CT Hub, one can find Twin Island Noodle House just right beside Brunetti there just after going up the escalator from Level 1; CT Hub itself is within a reasonable walking distance away from Bendemeer MRT Station along the Downtown Line. One thing to note about Twin Island Noodle House is the establishment’s lack of an ordering counter — all orders are made through the self-service kiosk placed prominently outside the store beside the entrance. The entire space is otherwise dedicated to the kitchen which is only accessible from outside the shop, and also the dine-in seating space. The interior of the shop is simply designed but with a touch of its own; simple drawings of bowls of noodles adorn its walls, and a wall with the story describing the establishment can be found on the left or the store as well — these, along with the cement-esque flooring and the wooden furniture and fittings forms a comfortable dining environment for its patrons. The menu at Twin Island Noodle House consists of dishes spread across categories dedicated to Noodles (Soup), Noodles (Dry), Rice, Classic Side Dishes and Cold Drinks.

Being our usual selves whom are more intrigued with dry noodles rather than soup noodles, the item that seemed to have caught our attention whilst skimming through the menu was the Avurga Caviar & Sakura Ebi Onion Noodle — we found this dish to be one of the items that exemplifies what their concept is all about considering how they have described themselves as a “blend of Taiwanese warmth and Japanese elegance”. Twin Island Noodle House does not describe in their menu the elements that goes into the making of their dishes; that being said, it can be observed from our order of the Avurga Caviar & Sakura Ebi Onion Noodle that it comes with Avurga Caviar, Sakura Ebi and Ito Togarashi (i.e. Japanese dry chili shreds). Patrons are also free to opt for their desired type of noodles — our choice of which was the Knife-shaved noodles. Giving the noodles a bit of a toss, think of the Avurga Caviar & Sakura Ebi Onion Noodle as an upgraded version of the Scallion Oil Noodles that most establishments tend to serve — here, the Knife-shaven noodles are done just right with a chewy texture that provides for a good bite and tossed with just enough oil for a good texture. The addition of Sakura Ebi adding an umami touch with a slight crispness for an added texture — this is further enhanced by the inclusion of Avurga Caviar that gives it the elevated / premium feel to set it apart from the usual Scallion Oil Noodles found elsewhere. The Ito Togarashi gives the piquant aroma of chili without being exactly spicy, giving the dish a bit of a contrast of flavours.

During our visit to Twin Island Noodle House, we also managed to give the Taiwanese Kimchi a go; this is essentially the pickled cabbage and carrots that is commonly found served as a side in most Taiwanese establishments — the Taiwanese Kimchi here carries a good tang and crunch; felt really fresh and definitely helps reset the taste buds from the carbs. We also have had the Roselle Tea which came with the iconic floral notes of roselle and aptly sweetened to better bring out those notes; a very suitable thirst quencher for the humid climate that we have these days. Twin Island Noodle House is an establishment that delivers on what they had promised — we do have an inkling that they have named themselves that way to suggest that its cuisine is based on the marriage of the comforting nature of Taiwanese fare and the use of premium produce from Japan to “celebrate the rich culinary heritage of both regions”. We do note that the prices of the dishes which incorporates use of Japanese produce are priced higher here — these include the Soup Japanese A5 Wagyu Beef Noodle and the Avurga Caviar & Sakura Ebi Onion Noodle which we had. Still, it does seem that Twin Island Noodle House is an establishment that is filled with passion and dedication for the craft based on what we had tried; somewhere worth making a trip down to see what they are all about!