First, you've got to know that I'm not one for ramen. I'm a soba girl. When Baikohken first opened (May 2007) 2 doors + 1 corner away from my office, I thought the long queues formed outside were just people who "want to try something new". Weeks became months and then one day, I decided to just pop in to see what all the fuss was about.

-THE MENU-

Their menu is very simple. In fact, it has a "grid" system in terms of ordering: On one plane, you'll have to decide what type of soup you want: Miso, Shioyu (Soya sauce) and Shio (Salt). In terms of toppings, you get to choose: Vegetables, Char Siew or Char Siew+Veg.

In fact, the beauty of their simple menu is that you can customise your meal. Just finished your gym? Add another egg ($1). Want to build muscles? Add Char Siew ($2) for protein. On a low carbs diet, half your noodle (-$3)

-THE TEST-

I ordered the simplest ramen on the menu....miso ramen (I equate "simple" to "cheapest" = no frills). When I ordered, the lady looked at me and said, "Miss, maybe you want to order the half size instead of the full size". I looked her and thought "Good grief, you underestimate my eating capacity." So I said, "It's ok.I can finish it". Perservering, she continued "there's a lot of vegetables that will make you full". And I replied, "I like vegetables...particularly beansprouts (beansprouts is the vegetable topping for that particular ramen)."

So, I made myself comfortable at the counter seat in front of the open concept cooking station and admired:

1) The cute Jap chef/manager and the way he twirled and swirled the noodles around the hot pot of water and lovingly prepared the miso broth (step 1: put miso in empty serving bowl Step 2: Wait for broth to boil. Scoop a little broth into bowl. Mix with miso. Step 3: Wait for noodles to cook, add more water into bowl. Then put noodles into bowl. Step 4: Add stir-fried beansprouts with minced pork Step 5: Shout out the usual Japanese words "it's ready. So serve it now....QUICK QUICK before it become cold" (loose translation....best taken with a pinch of salt)

2) The powerful exhaust hub over the cooking station that sucked out all the oil fumes and whatever food smell created in the kitchen

Now, the taste test:
I took the spoon and scooped the broth. Bliss. Comfort.Tasty
Picked up some noodles and put it into my mouth. Firm. Not soggy, not under-cooked. Just nice.

Like I said, I'm not a Ramen fan but I sure know what broths should taste like and how "al dente" noodles should be....and this Miso Ramen at Baikohken really really "rocked my boat"!

[Beppu Menkan! Beppu Menkan! Shame on you for passing off your noodles as Ramen...*wagging finger*]

-SECOND VISIT: Shioyu Ramen-

Anyway, needing confirmation that the ramen was authentically Japanese or a "rip off" like Beppu, I brought my friend who had lived in Japan and knew what REAL JAP RAMEN tasted.

This time, we ordered the Shioyu Ramen (Ramen with soya sauce broth)+ Egg (Hardboiled/Stewed) + Char Siew. Again, we took the counter seat to temporarily take ourselves back to Japan and drank our FREE Japanese tea (not the green tea, the other type that tastes of roasted maize-Ocha). Then my friend spotted Gyoza on the menu and ordered that as a starter.

In no time, we were served our bowl (we shared because...ahem....I couldn't finish my "normal sized" bowl of noodles the last time) of Shyio Ramen + Egg + Char Siew. Here's the verdict:

Shioyu Ramen Broth: Perfect. Blended with Broth to bring on a slightly salty flavour to the stock. Friend said, this is good. Better than THAT PLACE AT FAR EAST SQUARE. But honestly, I prefer to the miso version

Shioyu Ramen: You know how some noodle places just can't control the consistency of their noodle "bite". Well, Baikohken's ramen was perfect to the bite. Friend said, "It's authentic"

Egg: One look and you know it is different from your usual stewed egg. The egg yolk is 75% hard and 25% mushy...and I managed to extract as much of the "yolk taste" from that level of "done-ness". I liked it.

Char Siew: According to my friend, the meat was "authentic", "chunky" and "tasty". Not your regular red roasted "Char siew", the ramen version of char siew melts in your mouth and is well marinated.

-MOST RECENT VISIT-

If you are wondering what I think of the Shio version of the ramen broth, it's wonderful. In fact, I rank the different versions of the broth in the order of preference:

1) Miso (strongest differentiated flavour)
2) Shio (enhances flavour of the base broth)
3) Shioyu

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PLACE:

1) Forget about getting a table during lunch hour on weekdays.
2) Best times to go: Mon-Fri: After 5pm-9:30pm. Weekends + Public Holidays: Lunch @11am-3pm Dinner@5pm-10pm.
3) They are OPEN EVERY DAY
4) The wallpaper photo of an old man in front of a Baikohken shop is the Baikohken boss. The shop in the photo is the original shop in Hokkaido - 40 years ago
5) The chef/manager learnt his skills from the old man himself. From what "cutie" tells me, his learning process is very much like the comedies we watch on Japanese dramas on cooking....a lot of "Teacher Scolds Apprentice" scenes
6) If you are a girl, get the half size bowl
7) To "transport" yourself to Japan, sit at the counter
8) Talking about transportation, you can easily find parking along the roadside and if you can't, park at OCBC and walk across. For those who take public transport, Raffles Place and Clark Quay stations are the nearest. But both require 3-5 minutes walking once you are on sea level.
9) They are open on Chinese New Year! And prices don't change like the way hair saloons raise their prices....
10) Since Jan 1 2008, they registered for GST. So when you order, the prices you see are pre-GST.