Seriously, I would never expect to see authentic Japanese ramen being served in a coffeeshop located at ground level of a HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio.
J and I were supposed to have our lunch from Astons Express at the same coffeeshop but we changed our mind after we spotted this new ramen stall. What a surprising yet pleasant find, indeed. We definitely welcomed this new addition as there wasn’t any other decent ramen place (perhaps none?) in Ang Mo Kio that we could think of.
And here is the menu – not huge but these are decent selections that are very reasonably priced. Their tonkotsu based soup broth is made with a day’s effort – boiling Australian pork bones for 12 hours and then letting the flavours infuse and condense for another 12 hours. Each bowl of their ramen contains >8500mg of collagen – another good reason to slurp up all that soup. And for the bigger appetites, you would definitely be happy to know that noodle refill is complimentary with every order of ramen. The price is already half of what we would normally pay in a ramen restaurant and with extra free noodles, it’s even more value-for-money.
If you want extra noodles, let them know when you’re placing your order as the noodles are added and cooked together, not served separately.
This was the Takagi Ramen (S$5.50) which I thought was a really substantial bowl after adding the extra noodles but one downside was that there was less broth to enjoy so perhaps it would be a better idea to give the noodle refill separately with extra broth too. The noodles were cooked to perfection – exactly the al dente way that I liked my noodles to be – slightly firm and chewy with a bite. However, there was just too much noodles for me to finish so I ended up giving most to J anyway.
The cha shu had good ratio of meat to fats and was really tender and flavoursome. The broth was tasty too without an overpowering smell of pork but it could do with a bit more seasoning which could be fixed on our own with extra dashes of shoyu.
There were sides of pickled ginger and mui choy (preserved vegetable) that we could help ourselves to but somehow I thought they didn’t really pair well with the ramen so we ended up wasting them.
This was their signature Black Tonkotsu (S$6.50) which was like the black-coloured version of the Takagi Ramen with the addition of black garlic oil. I didn’t enjoy this very much because it was very oily and it simply left me with a greasy mouth and a queasy stomach. Also, there was a slight bitter aftertaste which I guessed came from the black garlic. On the good side, I enjoyed the tender chashu and the crunch from the bamboo shoots, black fungus and beansprouts.
We also added ajitama (flavoured egg) at S$1 each which was perfectly cooked and deliciously marinated (subtle taste of mirin) with a runny yolk in the middle.
No doubt, Takagi Ramen has brought affordable yet hearty ramen to the heartlands. Though I wouldn’t say their broth was the best I had in Singapore because of the lack of seasoning, for such prices, I had no complains. Also, less salt is always better for health anyway.
Takagi Ramen
721 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
#01-2817 Broadway Coffeeshop
Singapore 560721
Tel: +65 9138 8017
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TakagiRamenShop
Opening hours: 11.00am to 10.00pm daily