KONJIKI HOTOTOGISU

"Sometimes in life you just get shaken to your core by the flavour of a ramen broth."

I'm sure the OG shop in Tokyo is better, I'm sure the broth is more labored over and sprinkled with years more dedication, but goddamn, whoever taught the chefs at their branch in Singapore is not messing around.

Having eaten ramen in over 30 countries and 9/10 times eaten bowls that I correctly judged based on their appearance without even sipping the broth, this time sucker-punched me. Though the bowl arrived pretty as a peach, the broth looked deceptively basic. Some nice toppings floating on top, a marinated egg clinging to a miniscule bowl and an appetite to fell trees. I dove in with my spoon and had to take a moment to recover.

This was complexity galore. Now, the Japanese are masters at doing simple things perfectly, and this being a branch outside of the motherland suggests that short-cuts are made. I beg to differ. I'm sure if I went to Tokyo again and tried the original shop, there would be more nuance and sophistication, but Japan is still on lockdown and this will bloody well do for now.

Perfectly cooked firm noodles, a nicely marinated egg cooked soft, tender pork and one chewier cut (purposefully done for textural difference), and a broth that looked pale and insipid but ate divine, fatty and deep. Bursting with umami and specks of truffle, this broth was deliverance. You could fill a bathtub with the stuff and I'd happily dive in and drown in big smiles.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.