I went to Ippudo early at 5.30pm (the queue was pretty brisk) in hope of making a reservation, however they do not accept reservation at the moment. By 6.30pm my Kakis finally came but the queue had grew immensely snake-like long. Eventually, we persevered for 1 hour and managed to queue into waiting area in Ippudo where you get to chow on peanuts while perusing their menu. There are primarily 3 types of ramen type available for selection: Shiomaru Motoaji, Akamaru Motaji and Shoyu Ramen. I decide to settle for the Shiomaru as I want to taste the Tonkotsu soup in it untainted glory while my makan kaki opt for Akumaru tonkotsu soup blend with unique miso & garlic oil. We decide to go all out and order the both chashu version ($18.00 SGD) with Nitamago ($2.00 SGD) to test out all
It not long until we are usher to our tables and the attendants took our order promptly. The wait for the ramen is pretty long considering they have a extensive open kitchen with considerable number of chef cooking. You can feel the disorientation in the Ippudo's operation with orders serve wrongly or clients complaining they being overcharge for their order.
Nevertherless, the wait was worth it when you see the ramen serve to you. The first rule in consuming ramen is to drink the ramen soup. Ippudo's Shiromaru Motaji tonkotsu ramen is the richest tonkotsu (pork bone) broth I ever tasted surpassing even Tampopo's tonkotsu. The broth is rich but not overwhelming like Marutama It is lightly flavoured to suit the tastebud of average Singaporean who prefer low salt consumption and I simply can have second helping to the tonkotsu broth if it is free LOL.
The ramen noodle serve in Ippudo is same as Marutama's belong to those thin category. It is a either love or hate for Ippudo's ramen noodle. I generally okay with it although I would prefer those thick ramen noodle with el dente feeling. If you order the charsiew version, you get about 9 slices of tender light flavored charsiew that compliment the ramen well as they are very tender and not salty like some I've tasted. The wood ear is rarely added as a topping in ramen sold in Singapore, it is interesting to find it serve as ramen topping in Ippudo. The only grouse I had with Ippudo's ramen is the Nitamago is too over cook, for those ramen fanatics hoping to taste those semi-cooked ramen egg yolk can forget about tasting it in Ippudo.
The Akamaru Motaji Tonkotsu Ramen is simply the Shiromaru version added a teaspoon of their own blend of Aka (Red) miso and garlic oil. My friend allowed me to try a bit of the red miso, it is pleasantly sweet and I believed it will bring a tinge of sweetness to the broth while the garlic oil giving support artillery assault on your palate. I would say Ippudo is a strong contender to current ramen operator out there due to its ability to offer a ramen that is close to Singaporean palate while retaining its Japanese roots. Ipppudo Ramen is really "Tonkotsu Ramen Born From Chaos" as a lot improvement need to be done in operation efficiency which is severely lacking in their soft opening.
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