Ippudo Singapore (Mandarin Gallery)

This is the best tasted ramen I have so far.. U can see long queue outside this restaurant during dinner hours almost every single day.. One will have to queue for nearly 45 minutes in order to get a seat.

But your time is not wasted with the queuing.. because.. ramen serving at $15 for the quality is really value for money..

Only thing is the whole restaurant is so noisy that you will find yourselves screaming at your friends at times..

Was there on a Thursday night at around 8.20pm, not too long a queue. Managed to get a table before 9pm.

We ordered Akamaru with tamago, Karakamen with chashu, Kyushu Miso Tonkotsu, salad, one pot of green tea ($4++), shrimp bun, cherry blossom ice-cream and yuzu sherbet.

Green tea comes in a pot (good for 4 cups) and non-refillable. Kyushu Miso ramen seemed to be the largest bowl, followed by Akamaru and finally Karakamen. Personally, I prefer the Akamaru broth as it is flavorful yet not too heavy as compared to the seasonal Kyushu Miso Tonkotsu ramen.

Cherry blossom ice-cream takes a second bite to get used to, but its milky taste leaves a sweet afternote on the tongue. Yuzu sherbet was refreshing and fruity. Both desserts were $5++ each.

The restaurant was noisy and conversation across the table was almost impossible unless you raise your voice. Interesting to observe other people since we're sitting just next to strangers.

Service staff are always polite and when as you walk away to leave the restaurant, you'll hear loud resounding thanks, more than once.

I like ramen. Since i had my first decent bowl in the ramen museum in yokohama, I was hooked.
The ippudo ramen is good, in fact it is one of the most decent i tasted in Singapore. But it is really not what i expect ramen to be hence the low score. 
Things I disliked:
First I have to say i do not like the noodle, I want my ramen to have a certain texture, and a certain bite. ippudo ramen is just too thin. However, I have to say that for the thickness of the noodles the texture is better than expected. 
Second, my experience is tainted by the fact that at 8pm I had to queue for almost an hour for my table and that I was not allowed to order from the main menu at the waiting table, I wanted to try the gyoza..I respect that the management has their rules, but too me gyoza especially at that size is, finger food and should be available at the waiting table.
Things I liked:
Once we were at our table, service was brisk althought the noodles did take a while to cook.
The tonkatsu soup is  great. I love it. Just that I enjoy my food as a whole and the noodles kind of spoils it for me.
The gyoza is.....ok. At 6 dollers for 5 or 6 ( i honestly cannot remember) i would give it a miss. It's novel to see such small gyozas (they were literally thumb sized) but nothing special.
My gf asked for garlic and they gave us a bowl or garlic ( fresh) and a garlic press. Great idea and that is as fresh as it gets, but seriously...They should have offered to help us press it from the start ( they eventually did) as it was not easy. 
To me, if you like to try a different type of ramen (thin) and don mind the wait...go ahead. else I would give it a miss for the moment as it's still too hyped up.

taste is the Tonkotsu soup stock taste that I craved for whenever I am away from Tokyo for a while.
Noodle could have been a tad softer....garnishes and spices not variable.
Queue itself is too long, I think for good Ramen places, it is not about ambience, could have been done better if all counter....service is slower as a result which makes a kind of disappointment since obviously the establishment cannot cope with the high demand.Be prepared to queue....avoid peak lunch time at all cost 1200-1330?

Will be better if without frill and cheaper as result?
Yet - despite that - If I want good Ramen....I know where I'll go....IPPUDO SG...Ikimasu.!!!

Heard quite a lot about Ippudo from my friends and decided to go try it out. Was shocked when i arrived as there was still quite a long line at 830 pm. Waited for about 30 min before getting a seat and by that time I was starving. Thankfully the food and service was not disappointing, and it was an overall pleasant meal.

Ambience/Setting:

The place is nicely decorated as you would expect from a restaurant in Mandarin Gallery. The lighting is a little dim, but I didn't have to strain my eyes too much to see my noodles. Overall nice setting to have a comfortable meal.

Food & Beverage:

The ramen was just above average, nothing spectacular, but quite satisfying nonetheless. Unless you really like theI also had the chef's special appetiser, which was some pork hamburger, but it was nothing to shout about as it was too salty.

Value:

Well ramen at a restaurant is never really value for money, since it is just ramen. However, since Ippudo is priced competitively with the other ramen restaurants, and tastes above average, I guess it is relatively good value for money :)

Service:

The service was pretty good, with the place sufficiently staffed such that I never had to struggle to get their attention. Staff were also quite well trained and polite.

I'm simply overwhelmed by Ippudo ramen.

The soup is one of the best I have tasted, but this is subjected to personal preferences. It is not as salty as Santouka's, yet it is rich enough for me to taste the pork bone flavour. The soup tastes authentic and sincere enough, without making me feel that it's too fanciful (like Marutama's). The noodles are really springy and the taste matches the soup perfectly fine. I have no issues with the chashu too - soft and tasty.


Some people may have problems with the egg, because the yolk is indeed more cooked than most. Well, while it doesn't run, but it retains the fragrant taste. 


I tried Kyushu Miso Tonkotsu the first time I was there, and it blew me away with the excellent taste that came from the miso, the sides, and the pork bone soup. The noodles had a salty taste on their own, but they ain't too bad.


The second time I went there, I tried Akamaru Tamago which had a drizzle of garlic oil and miso paste added in, which had me slurp everything down. The noodles for this dish were the blander ones - which I think is good cos it doesn't overpower the soup.


I also tried the gyoza - tiny pieces that didn't quite speak up to the price.


But not to deny, the charges here are rather expensive. $17 for a bowl of ramen may be too much for one who's not much of a ramen fan. However, if you are those who go on ramen hunts, this is not a place to be missed.

Just ate there few weeks ago, was in the long queue as my gf and I wanted to try something soupy and her dad reccommended this place.

Soup was a tad too bland for my liking. Not too sure if it was msg or what but after drinking the soup, it really made me uncomfortable. (It normally happens if my food had msg or chinese wine) The pork was tougher (i.e. doesn't melt in the mouth) than what I ate at Marutama Ra-Men. Only advantage is that they gave more slices. Noodles was not too bad though.

But seriously, for the price I pay, I rather still eat at Marutama Ra-Men anytime.

 

 

 

We're here at Ippudo Singapore for some Ramen

The menu comes in 2 languages
Japanese and English
with a simple description of the dishes below the item name

The service is prompt and warm
Staff were very attentive and responsive
Offered descriptions about the dishes
and are always wearing a smile
Its amazing

Orange juice
$4
If I'm not wrong, its Sunkiss bottled fresh

Ippudo is a rather famous ramen chain in Tokyo, Japan
They finally opened a chain here in Singapore
The design of the ramen restaurant is pretty unusual for a ramen ten
which is usually small and cozy with bright lightings
Here we can find contemporary furnitures and designs
Its pretty spacious too
I swear its the first time I'm eating ramen in a place like this

On the walls, we have manga of the restaurant
educating customers on the extra services they provide
1. You can choose how chewy you want your ramen to be
2. You can order an additional ball of noodles to add into your soup

Agedashi Tofu
$10
Soft and tasty

Gyoza
$6
These dumplings are really mini-sized
for a pig like myself
I personally find the fillings too little
but its pretty tasty, yes

Shiromaru Ramen
$15.00
First, I find that the soup is not thick enough
Ok, there's no second
I've no issues with it other than the soup
If I'm paying $15, I'm expecting super thick soup
The portion size is pretty alright
Ramen taste pretty good

Thin ramen noodles
But the additional egg is horrible
1. The yolk is fully cooked when it should be creamy, soft and semi-watery
2. The yolk is yellow and not orange, why?

Shoyu Ramen
$15.00

Akamaru Ramen
$15.00
I kinda prefer this to my shiromaru
cos the taste is more robust in comparison
and it costs the same T_T

Kaedama
$2.00
I added another portion of ramen noodles
and something felt missing
I realise I din want to eat an additional portion of noodles
but want to enjoy the action of having the chef/cook
scoop and toss the noodles into my bowl
You know? Like Naruto in Ichiraku Ramen Bar
But it came in a bowl, oh well!

Total Damage: $90.60 for 3 pax

General Ratings
Food Quality: 8/10
Food Portion Size: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Beverage Quality: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Ambience: 10/10
Return Factor: 6/10
Other Remarks: I wouldn't call it contemporary Ramen Ten, it just lost many of the essence you would wish to experience in a conventional one.

http://leongmingen.blogspot.com/
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/ippudo_singapore_mandarin_gallery/

What I liked best about Ippudo was the decor and atmosphere - halfway between street and fancy. Enough bustle, pretty cosy, nice dark wood and bright white/red crockery. It's not a quiet place but not extremely noisy either - I liked the level of energy and it put me in a good mood.

We started with the 'lasagne style dumplings,' which were named - in a pun which I loved - "Gyoza-nya" and they did indeed taste rather lasagne-y. The fried ramen dish was tasty - a little reminiscent of mee pok! - but the portion was too small. We had their classic ramen dish - the noodle texture was nice, the soup was yummy, and, best of all, they give you noodle refills for $2! Score for us greedy ones.

My friend and I arrived relatively early for dinner, so we were lucky enough to not have to wait too long in line - though by the time we had finished our meal, the line had tripled in length outside! This is a fun, cool place with good food, but I don't think I'd wait more than 15 minutes to eat there.

I usually try to give a new restaurant some time to get over their teething stage. Unfortunately, after giving them a couple of months, I wasn't impressed with Ippudo.

Spent 20 minutes in the queue, which judging from the other reviews is pretty good. Once inside, loud rock-jazzy music greeted us and definitely clashed with the atmosphere and deco as the place became market-like.

Wait staff were polite but didn't allow us time to browse the menu. Grant it's not a thick menu, I still need some time to browse it. Maybe they didn't want us to be surprised by the prices. I was not surprised by the prices, they were not on the pricey side considering the location of the restaurant.

Ordered the recommended Ramen and was surprised when the bowl came. Floating sesame seeds. Not something I found in Japan. Clumpy noodles, unslurpable. Soup was not piping hot.