Friday 18 January 2008

Marutama Ramen

Recommended by a friend, we went to try this ramen at central, it's a small but really cozy place, i estimate that it can take up to max 30 plus customers at any one time. nice lighting, comfortable place for a quiet meal with a couple of friends.
An interesting finding, they only serve 3 different kinds of ramen, chicken broth (spicy or non spicy), that makes 2, and one special one with broth made of 7 different kind of nuts. Remember to add on the fried garlic bits and sesame, it's self service, placed on the table. garlic is crispy and tasty! i personally like garlic a lot. on top of the ramen, they do serve some side dishes, a very simple menu but the food were good.
Remember to add an egg for your ramen, as it doesn't come with it if you didn't ask for it specifically, the egg was cooked just nicely, look at the yolk, nicely cooked with a sunny orange colour, unless the over cooked yolk we get at most places. this is a must order.
Seasoned radish, i'm not a fan of radish, dun find this item wonderful, but my friend loved it, so i guess you will have to try it for yourself to know if you like this.
Cha siew. another must order, do not expect it to taste like the usual chinese bbq pork, it's not that sweet, the meat is really tender, even the fatty parts dun seem fatty, they just melt in your mouth, and the sides and charred really nicely. please do not forget this item when you are there.
Dumplings, similar to the wanton we usually have, this one is not bad, but not exceptionally fantastic, if you are on a tight budget, save it fro the charsiew.

Generally, i will definitely go back to this place again, the ramen is simple and nice, although it's priced a little high for a bowl of plain ramen at $15, so going there to indulge in good food once in a while is still worth it, not a place for daily meals.. pocket will be burnt very soon in that case.

address: The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street #03-90
contact: 6534-8090
ambience: 8
taste: 8
service: 7
value for money: 7
overall rating: Food is good, but a little pricey, around $20 a person.

Saturday 5 January 2008

Sakae Teppanyaki

Visited sakae teppanyaki at bugis junction, wasn't planned, just walked past and decided on it. the place wasn't big, but it was quite cozy, and not very smelly, some places stick because cooking is done where you eat.
Seem quite stressful for the chef to cook in front of his customers, cannot make any mistake, must look pro somemore.. our chef did it very well. and the food turned out good.
Garlic fried rice is a must order, top up to change plain rice to garlic rice if you order the set. salad is very appetizing too, interesting chawanmushi, cooked on the hotplate in front of you in a nice round onion shell.
Everything you'll be eating will be brought out in plates like that, sometimes it feels quite weird to see raw meat right beside you when you are eating. usually that happens only at steamboats.
Most of the items are done very nicely, esp the bamboo clams, very nice and juicy.

This place is worth a visit. do try it if you have the time..

address: Bugis Junction, 230 Victoria Street, #B1-05 (Other outlets here)
contact: 63349015
ambience: 7
taste: 7
service: 7
value for money: 7
overall rating: Food was quite good, not that expensive for teppanyaki