It was my 4th visit to this ever-long queue ramen restaurant last evening. My initial suggestion for Ma Maison (I'll write one on it when I revisit this lovely restaurant in a cosy french cottage setting) was overruled by my friend's strong liking for Marutama ramen.
Marutama, located at the 3rd level (#03-90) of The Central (opp Merchant Court Hotel), maintains a neat & simple appearance of a traditional japanese ramen stall. A conspicuous menu (written in a mixture of Hiragana, Katakan & Kanji) was mounted onto the restaurant's exterior wall, perhaps a 'closer to home' icon to attract their japanese customers.
After waiting for 20min, we were led into the restaurant. I was greeted by the usual wooden tables, chairs and some bamboo partitions. Nothing much has changed since my last visit (at least half a yr ago), there are still a flask of iced water, a box of tissue, fried shallots & sesame seeds (optional garnishings for the ramen) placed on every table. Same goes for the menu, patrons are still limited to 3 types of ramen (strictly-speaking, I would say there are only 2 types) and the same old sides. Ok, there was this new item on the list...several dumplings soaked in (what appeared to me) some kind of hot chilli oil (so we didn't order).
Since it was the first visit for one of my friends, I recommended their 'Principal' ramen (also called the Marutama ramen). I had the same thing too. It was a chicken soup based ramen with seaweed topping & a piece of char siu (pork belly) at $12. For additional topping, you MUST try their Ajitsuke tamago for another dollar!
Ajitsuke tamago is the best seasoned egg I have ever eaten. I never failed to add this since my first visit to Marutama. The egg white was hard boiled but the egg yolk remained moist & savory! Simply Sedap! (I wonder how the chef prepares it).
The springy ramen plus the rich & flavorful chicken soup, makes every mouthful a pleasurable intake. The seaweed, unlike the ordinary ones you get from the yong tou foo stall, is a delightful complement to the noodles too. For bigger eater, you may like to leave some soup in the bowl to add another dose of ramen for a dollar more.
Apart from the Marutama ramen, I had tried their Nama Karashi ramen & Aka ramen on previous occasions. I felt the Nama ramen was a clone of the Marutama ramen (also chicken-based) but mixed with chilli to please the spicy taste buds. The Aka ramen was something new; it was a seven kinds of nuts soup base Ramen with Coriander...can't remember the taste vividly (afterall it was donkey months back when I tried it) but I did not recall any nutty aftertaste. Well, my favourite is still the original Marutama ramen.
Moving on to the sides...I would recommend the Yaki Char Siew that I tried on the last visit. Sorry no picture here cos' my friend didn't feel it was value-worthed to pay 4 bucks for 4 thin slices. I agreed it is pretty pricy but very nice! The selected meat for the grill was of a right combination of lean & fats; neither stiff nor oily. Other more popular sides include the braised radish - $6 & dashimaki tamago (the usual japanese omettele you will find on top of the sushi rice) - $8
Alright time for the final verdict...
Ambience - 6/10 (a small restaurant with a simple traditional japanese decor)
Service - 6.5/10 (bit slow in responding)
Food - 8.5/10 (authentic ramen...Oiishi! But pity no dessert in the menu)
Value for $ - 6.5/10 (pretty pricy for a ramen fix)
Btw, here is the no. 65348090, but fyi the business is so bustling that they accept no reservation.
After waiting for 20min, we were led into the restaurant. I was greeted by the usual wooden tables, chairs and some bamboo partitions. Nothing much has changed since my last visit (at least half a yr ago), there are still a flask of iced water, a box of tissue, fried shallots & sesame seeds (optional garnishings for the ramen) placed on every table. Same goes for the menu, patrons are still limited to 3 types of ramen (strictly-speaking, I would say there are only 2 types) and the same old sides. Ok, there was this new item on the list...several dumplings soaked in (what appeared to me) some kind of hot chilli oil (so we didn't order).
Since it was the first visit for one of my friends, I recommended their 'Principal' ramen (also called the Marutama ramen). I had the same thing too. It was a chicken soup based ramen with seaweed topping & a piece of char siu (pork belly) at $12. For additional topping, you MUST try their Ajitsuke tamago for another dollar!
Ajitsuke tamago is the best seasoned egg I have ever eaten. I never failed to add this since my first visit to Marutama. The egg white was hard boiled but the egg yolk remained moist & savory! Simply Sedap! (I wonder how the chef prepares it).The springy ramen plus the rich & flavorful chicken soup, makes every mouthful a pleasurable intake. The seaweed, unlike the ordinary ones you get from the yong tou foo stall, is a delightful complement to the noodles too. For bigger eater, you may like to leave some soup in the bowl to add another dose of ramen for a dollar more.
Apart from the Marutama ramen, I had tried their Nama Karashi ramen & Aka ramen on previous occasions. I felt the Nama ramen was a clone of the Marutama ramen (also chicken-based) but mixed with chilli to please the spicy taste buds. The Aka ramen was something new; it was a seven kinds of nuts soup base Ramen with Coriander...can't remember the taste vividly (afterall it was donkey months back when I tried it) but I did not recall any nutty aftertaste. Well, my favourite is still the original Marutama ramen.
Moving on to the sides...I would recommend the Yaki Char Siew that I tried on the last visit. Sorry no picture here cos' my friend didn't feel it was value-worthed to pay 4 bucks for 4 thin slices. I agreed it is pretty pricy but very nice! The selected meat for the grill was of a right combination of lean & fats; neither stiff nor oily. Other more popular sides include the braised radish - $6 & dashimaki tamago (the usual japanese omettele you will find on top of the sushi rice) - $8
Alright time for the final verdict...
Ambience - 6/10 (a small restaurant with a simple traditional japanese decor)
Service - 6.5/10 (bit slow in responding)
Food - 8.5/10 (authentic ramen...Oiishi! But pity no dessert in the menu)
Value for $ - 6.5/10 (pretty pricy for a ramen fix)
Btw, here is the no. 65348090, but fyi the business is so bustling that they accept no reservation.
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