I have tried the Santouka flagship store in Sapporo, Hokkaido before and the toroniku had ever since been once of my top 10 meat listi. Naturally, when I saw in the papers that they are opening an outlet in Singapore I was delighted and dying to go!

It tooks me a long time to try it as you can see that I am only writing my review now. In the beginning, the crowds were horrendous at the times I can make it (sat, sun). At last I am able to recouncile my toroniku craving... and promptly went into the shop last sun when I was in the area doing some desperate xmas shopping and truly needed something to recharge my stamina.

The shop was located in a rather awkward location, having to walk through Grains (chinese restaurant) but the decor was clean cut and very similar to the one in Sapporo. My choice for the day was the special toroniku set (obviously) and shio ramen. Now, let's talk about the ramen! It came in this cute ceramic bowl and the temperature was just nice for immediate slurping. It was funny how they put a sign to indicate that the temperature is deliberately fixed at that warmth so that even the elderly and children can tuck-in immediately without getting scalded. I guess there must have been too many people complaining that the soup is not hot enuff so they had to put up the explaination. Personally though, I do like mine to be piping hot. I did not find the previously mentioned oiliness a problem as it was manageable. Furthermore, this is a hokkaido style ramen joint, a little trivia is that most ramen there tend towards the more oily side as the oil helps to trap the heat in the soup so that it doesn't chill too quickly in the weather there. But I do have a problem with the soup, mainly due the the acute "porky" flavour of the soup. You know sometimes how pork-bone soup could have a very distinct piggish flavour? This is something I'm not an admirer of, so thumbs down for me here. (Which is also why I do not lide Tampopo's black big ramen.)

NExt the toroniku, the main star! It also sadly fell short of expectations... Firstly I felt that the shoyu taste of the marinate was distinct from the pork. It did not meld together and so at first bite spoils the experience a bit. Next, the texture was lovely but they had sliced it too thickly here in Singapore. The one I had eaten in Sapporo was like 10 thin slices on the plate and it was slight smaller in size so it was just the right bite-sized melting in your mouth. Here, they cut it thicker, into 5-6 slices. Main problem with this is that the meat feels firm rather soft and tender. Also, it is very inconvenient when you are trying to eat the meat together with the ramen.

However, I must say that the service is ok, you don't have to dislocate your arm in order to get the staff's attention. Also, they gave me free additional leek when I requested for it (since the food is so rich, the regular amount just won't do, plus I love leek.)

All in all, the food is alright but not "Wow!" enough to warrant a return unless I'm in the area craving ramen. Plus, the toroniku set (less noodles) at S$20.00 (incl. GST n Svc charge) per pax is just pricey and I might as well eat other options.

My lady J surprised me with this place on one of our dates. It is one of her favorite places for ramen in Singapore so she decided to let me try it since I am quite a fan of the food from the land of the rising sun.

Ramen Santouka is a humble place with around 12-14 tables tucked away at the corner of Central at the second level. The place is typical of a modern Japanese restaurant with wooden furnishings accompanied by dark blue short curtains. One half of the restaurant is overlooking Clarke Quay which is scenic because of the bright neon lights.

The place specialty obviously is Ramen. They have 4 different types of soup base with a few side dishes available to go with the rame. The four soup bases are Shoyu, Miso, Spicy Miso and Salty. Initially I was really feeling the Spicy Miso as I have an affinity for spicy food but decided against it as I was wearing a white shirt that day. I went for the Miso base and my lady J went for the Shoyu base. As for the side dishes I decided to go for the pork cheeks and my lady J went for char siu pork. I was actually quite apprehensive about getting the pork cheeks at first as it did sound weird but as I've said before, my lady J brings out the adventurous side of me.

The Ramen was very enjoyable. The noodles was springy and not soggy which to me is very important. I absolutely do not like noodles that are soggy as the softness is too mushy for my liking. The miso soup was very tasty but at the same time not too overpowering. I drank most of my soup which to me is the most important component of ramen. The soup had white sesame seeds with bamboo shoots and jew's ear fungus that added the crunchy texture which was a contrast to the ramen and the softness of the pork cheeks. The pork cheeks were unique indeed which was nice to an extent as I think it went well with the other ingredients. It is something one should try as I think most places do not have pork cheeks. Never knew that some many parts of the pig can be eaten..we live and learn don't we.

The one thing that I was a little unhappy about was the tiny size of the table which made is difficult to eat and on top of that they have a large water container on the table which is convenient when you need water but awfully troublesome when eating due to the constant fear of accidentally knocking it over.

We've been here several times and we're very satisfied with the food. At first, we went there by accident when we asked the information counter which ramen restaurant was popular. She told us Santouka.

We went in and ordered a shoyu based ramen and a Toroniku ramen with shoyu based. We liked it. The toroniku was soft and melting in the mouth. The ramen had nice texture. Contrary to some reviews, we found the taste of the based soup was just nice.

Next visit we tried shio which was their specialty. It was cleared than shoyu and the taste was more subtle. I preferred that while my friend preferred shoyu.

Besides the food, we also liked the service such as they provided the bag to put our laptop bags or handbags. Plus, the ice water was just on the table, so that we could refill our drink ourselves.

All in all, we kept going back to Santouka whenever we felt like having ramen.

Kara Miso Toroniku Ramen (Small ) $18++

The taste is very rich for a tonkotsu broth, but with the spicy taste of miso. I think normal miso would be a better match. Comes with toroniku(pork cheeks), menma(bamboo shoots) , dried chilli?, some cabbage? The toroniku is very soft and the taste is just right. But not a life changing bowl of ramen for me.

Tsukemen ( $14 ++)
The noodles are slightly more thicker and chewier than the noodles than the toroniku ramen. Dipping sauce comes with aji tama(boiled egg), kakuni?, menma.. etc.. the aji tama is done nicely, with the egg yolk being still molten and soft.

The kakuni in the dipping sauce is a tad tough, not your melt in your mouth kakuni. I guess there arent much fats in the kakuni.

Total bill $38 for 2 , expensive for a bowl of ramen.

pics HERE at my blog

I haven't ever been to Japan, but when I do I definitely want to visit those ramen shops that the characters in Japanese serials routinely visit for dinner, usually alone for a quick fill.

This place comes close to how I'd imagine a ramen shop to be like in Japan - bustling and overpriced. As it was crowded, we sat facing the river. Next to us was a Japanese lady having ramen and beer by herself, just like on TV. From where we sat, I could see the chef (looked Japanese) over steaming cauldrons. At that moment I felt like I was in Japan.

The ramen was ok. I wish the meat was less fatty but some people like that. The boiled egg wasn't skillfully done - didn't have that nice texture I've had elsewhere. All of the above were really salty, even for a person who likes extreme-tasting food. It was a hearty meal though - went away feeling full.

Word of warning - this place is rather difficult to find. Best to look it up in the mall directory before attempting to locate it.