Japan's ramen hype has been brought to Singapore for around 10-plus years and still going strong. Tonkotsu-based ramen has captured most Singaporean's hearts with its savoury and umami broth.
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, a popular ramen restaurant with multiple chain stores worldwide, is one of the OGs that bring in the ramen hype in Singapore.
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Origins
According to their official website, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka was founded in 1988 at Ashikawa, Hokkaido. It started out with a restaurant with a total of 9 seats, selling only a single item on the menu: shio (salt) ramen. Their broth is tonkotsu-based which boils the pork bone for long hours, creating the creamy white colour of the soup.
The entrance of the restaurant gives the vibes of a ramen restaurant in Japan. Santouka in Chinese is called 山头火, which means "mountain-top fire"
Other than shio flavour, they do have miso, shoyu (soy sauce) and kara-miso (spicy-miso) flavour ramen.
The Ordered Dish
Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Roasted pork cheek ramen, 22SGD ++, egg is not included)
This is their best-selling and signature dish. I chose shio-flavoured for my ramen. This is their small-sized serving and I would say the portion is enough for a person. We have roasted pork cheek, bamboo shoots, fish cake, black fungus, spring onion and a cherry on the plate.
Their noodles are more on the thinner side, like Hakata-style ramen. I like my noodles to be a little bit hard and firm, however, this does not fit the bill. It is cooked until too soft to the point that it was like being overcooked.
The first impression of the broth gives the feeling of "very flavourful and jelat (overwhelming)". But after taking the first sip, it was actually very balanced, not that salty and flavourful enough. Understand that they do not reboil their broth due to protect its taste and flavour, even so, I am quite annoyed that the broth came at a lukewarm temperature.
This plate of sides is fresh and good. The aged pork cheek is from Spain's Iberico black pig, a very high grade of meat. The meat-to-fat ratio of the pork cheek is about 1:2, with the interplay of marbling and intramuscular fat resulting in a succulent, buttery texture that practically melts in your mouth.
The pork cheek brings in a savoury yet smokey taste which I enjoyed it very much.
Thoughts
With being said, I do appreciate Hokkaido Ramen Santouka being one of the OGs to bring ramen to Singapore. However, they would need to step up their game as ramen is quite competitive now in Singapore compared to last time.
The broth is good but for the noodles, I think it can be cooked better. Yes, the pork cheek is good and unique but still, we can find better ramen which costs way more affordable.
If you visit this place for ramen, I would only recommend the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen
Rating: 3 out of 5 forks
Location
Address: 6 Eu Tong Sen St, #02-76 The CENTRAL, Singapore 059817
Nearest MRT Station: Clarke Quay
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