It started as Hakata Ippudo 博多一風堂 in 1985 in the Daimyo District of Chuo Ward in Fukuoka City. Since then, it has been recognised as the best tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen in Japan, and opened around the world.
The name means “a gust of wind across the room” and it was Shigemi Kawahara, the founder of Hakata Ippudo, wish to lift the “dark ages” of ramen – which was seen as a poor’s man food and looked down upon. But it was not until he opened a ramen shop in the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum in 1994 that Hakata-style tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen gained popularity throughout all of Japan. Ippudo expanded into Singapore in 2009 with a restaurant in the Mandarin Gallery section of the 5-star Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel.
Shiromaru Classic
This is the signature ramen introduce in 1996. A classic Hakata-style ramen, it features the original creamy tonkotsu broth served with thin noodles, pork belly chashu, black fungus and spring onions. You can choose the doneness of the noodles. If you like al dente, go for hard. And if you have weak teeth go for soft. I like mine medium.
The standard serve does not include nori (seaweed sheet) and bamboo shoots. And I love to drown my ramen with chopped scallions (spring onions). These are all available at extra costs.
Veggie Dashi Ramen
A very light bowl of wholegrain ramen with half a soft-centre egg and shoyu dashi broth. Served in a goblet-shaped bowl, it comes with porcini mushroom, shiitake mushroom and kelp.
Sides
Their gyozas are the best so far I have tasted in all the ramen shops in Singapore. Juicy, plump, gingery and fried to the right doneness.
Lightly battered corn deep-fried and sprinkled with chilli powder. I find them too oily even though the idea was good.
Unlike the others, green tea is charged on per glass basis. It is not exactly better than the rest of the ramen shops, so it’s a rip-off at $3 each.
Ippudo Raffles City
The Raffles City store was opened in Aug 2020 after a long delay due to Covid-19 lockdown. The store is different from the other stores as it offers a comprehensive drink lists and food items other than ramen. Service is prompt and serving is quick. Very spacious, but it could be because of social distancing due to Covid..
Ippudo Ramen Raffles City
252 North Bridge Road #B1-61/62 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel : +65 6259 0113
Date Visited : Sep 2020
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