A few days ago I watched Alderic's YouTube video on ramen series, one particular ramen caught my eye and it is Ramen Ya, which I had never tried before. Without further ado, I set a date and let's go!
Ramen Ya is located in East Village, beside Simpang Bedok where it is a popular spot for supper.
The entire concept of Ramen Ya makes you like you are in Japan rating ramen. Payment kiosk is on the outside and the interior is 7 seated eatery with lots of pictures on the walls. The main chef/owner is Japanese and I suspect he is an anime fan as the music playing in the eatery are Dragon Ball Super and Digimon songs 😂.
They are quite a wide of ramen to choose from, but their main style is Tonkoutsu Ramen.
The Ordered Ramen.
Special Shio Ramen ( 13.90 SGD)
This is shio ( salt ) ramen and it is bang for a buck for the price. A decent amount of noodles, 4 pieces of medium char shu, bamboo shoots, fish cake, ajitama and 3 seaweed for this bowl of ramen.
The noodle they use is thin and curly type. This type of noodle has a Kansui (alkaline) smell if not cooked properly but Ramen Ya did it well. No Kansui smell and it is cooked toothsome and springy texture.
Pork Belly meat is used for the Char Shu. There is another version of char shu they use with different parts of pork meat on their other ramen.
Every piece of this char shu is blow-torched before serving. These char shus are full of flavours inside. The soy sauce taste on the meat with the succulent fats around it and the smokiness after torched. It is done beautifully.
Since it is a Shio-based ramen, you would expect a full savoury broth, right? However, Ramen Ya's broth is complicated. Yes it is still savoury but also gives you that smoothness and light when drinking it, not tiring your taste buds. Like what Alderic mentioned in his video "So salty but not too salty".
Ajitama is a little bit overcooked but I do like the braised flavours on it.
Thoughts
I can't hardly find any faults other than the slightly overcooked ajitama which I am ok. The noodles cook beautifully and the shio broth gives an elegant balance of savoury flavours that is both comforting and wonderfully light on the palate.
Char Shu gives a good fat-to-meat ratio with the braising flavours and the torching process adds a smoky, charred flavour, enhancing its complexity.
prices are refreshingly affordable compared to other areas and with quality. I don't think you can find ramen with 4-5 pieces of char shu, seaweed and ajitama for 13.90 in Singapore. Location is a bit inconvenient for public transport foodies, but I am sure you won't regret travelling for this ramen.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Comments