This blog post on Nantsuttei Ramen will be achived under my "Ramen" blog category that you can browse on my blogs posted on "Ramen" so far. My friends (Sijie & Chris) and I went to Parco Marina Bay at Millenia Walk for a ramen feast, straight after spending almost 3 hours to watch a drama theatre performance at Esplanade. My orginally planned destination to my friends was Keisuke Tokyu ramen (unit P3-02), but somehow due to unexplained reason, we ended up at next-door, Nantsuttei Ramen (unit P3-06) instead. The new Parco Marina Bay at Millenia Walk is almost like a mini Japanese foodie town. Majority of the Parco Marina Bay restaurants on level 3 are very skewed towards the eating cultures and influences of The Land of the Rising Sun (referred to the orgin of Japan's name / national flag). Nantsuttei's special and unique ingredient is “Ma oil”, which is a blend of seven types of deep-fried garlic with sesame oil. Its noodle is mid-size in thickness and springy in texture, well-suited to the mix of pork-based creamy typed soup and “Ma oil”. The harmony of this type of soup and “Ma oil” is Nantsuttei’s most distinctive features. I must say that the pictures of the ramen in their menu are not that appetising because they just look so black. Well, that's their specialty, black sesame seed oil. The interior at Nantsuttei is bright with candy red chairs. While the decor's modern, it still retains that traditional Japanese vibe. The whole place is not that spacious, seats are pretty limited. Chris & i ordered chashu ramen which is apparently flavoured in a shoyu sauce (S$16) with ajitsuke tamago egg (S$1). Sijie ordered the marutoku negi cha-shu version (difference is that hers comes with more ingredients, that's all). Our steaming bowls of ramen came without much waiting. Being Kumamoto style, the noodles were straight and slightly thick, thus offering a substantially firm bite. The rich milky tonkotsu broth had a well-defined porky flavor which was further enhanced by a pool of fragrant kuro sesame oil a.k.a Ma Yu or Ma Oil. There was a generous topping of bean sprouts, negi (chopped scallion) and a piece of nori (seaweed). The noodles have a very smooth texture and really does strike that fine balance between chewiness, springiness and firmness. The broth itself (which is the real consideration) was good, but not great. The fragrance of the broth base, coupled with the thick black oil substance mixed into it, went well with the noodles. However, it's lighter than expected and this lack of richness strikes Nantsuttei from the top flight of ramen. It is a pity, otherwise Nantsuttei is pretty good. I judge my ordered Ramen stock with a fool-proof criteria each time - if the bowl is empty at the end of the meal, it must still be considered awesome !! A note to Sijie & Christina, which ramen restaurant in Singapore should we go next? I think the answer is quite obvious. We must try out Keisuke Tokyo ramen at the same mall ! We may have missed out trying the real ramen this time round, be prepared and get ready to take on the next ramen eating challenge !
I simply like to eat Ramen noodles. My blog posts on "Ramen" are not so much of a story. It is just a calm yummy food that is really enjoyable to eat and i can just get really happy by eating a bowl of yummy ramen, or any kind of progresso soup that tastes good !! :-)
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