Yoshimaru Ramen Bar (Holland Village)

For more photos and reviews check out fourleggedfoodies!

The place wasn't too busy for a Sunday night and seats were available if you don't mind sitting at the bar (which you should, for ramen!). 

We ordered two bowls of the traditional hakata ramen ($11). Not long after they served us a bowl of roasted sesame seeds in the mortar and pestle - honestly have not seen this in a ramen place before, but it is standard practice for Tonkatsu places. Grind for that nice aroma and mix it into your broth!

The soup was good - thick (but not very thick, I prefer it slightly thicker) and heavy in tonkotsu flavour, it also wasn't too debilitatingly-salty, although the hakata style ones really should be (as are those at Ramen Champion). I guess it's toned down to fit Singaporean taste buds which is fine, still great.

Noodles were thin and chewy - not bad but I can't help but feel something was off but I can't pinpoint was it is. Felt a little starchy (?) somehow, but still good. The flavour of the roasted sesame tossed in does get a little lost in the super-rich soup, and with some chilli flakes and ramen pepper you do get a party in your mouth!

Egg was well done - Char Siew was not too bad as well but it wasn't as melt-in-mouthy as I had hoped. Overall what you get for $11 is really pretty good considering the portion, the quality, the great location and it includes egg as well (which is usually charged separately).

Yup, all in all this is pretty good value for just over $10, unless you add on extra toppings. When we were there - and I think this is ongoing for the rest of the month - we were each given a little bag of chocolates as part of their anniversary celebration. It was a nice touch and we appreciated the sweet ending to a salty meal :)

For more reviews with photos, please see http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2011/03/yoshimaru-ramen-bar-holland-village.html

Yoshimaru Ramen marks the Jumbo group of seafood restaurants' first foray into the Japanese ramen fad. It specialises in Tonkotsu ramen, also known as Hakata ramen. Yoshimaru is apparently quite a successful chain of ramen shops in Japan, originating from Hakata town in the Fukuoka prefecture.

We had:

1) Traditional Hakata Ramen Set ($16.90) - milky rich pork bone soup base, paired with thin freshly made soft noodles. I liked the sliced black fungus, they provide a little crunch.

2) Chicken Gyoza ($6) - wonderfully juicy and savoury.

Ordered the traditional Hakata ramen and was pretty blown away by how delicious the broth was. It was creamy and very tasty, with just the right balance to not feel heaviness after spoonfuls of the broth. I polished my entire bowl :9

Will definitely be back!

Most people who visits this Ramen place doesn't know the secret of the Yoshimaru Ramen.. Their Cold Ramen!

Not many places offer Cold Ramen that's ahem! Edible!

The Ramen is served chilled along with all the other fantastic condiments! Charsiew! wohoo! The noodle is just nice. Not over-cooked, nor under-cooked. Everything is chilled! Yet, tasty.

I have been visiting Yoshimaru for about 2 years now and I must say that together with their free-flow ice water (with prompt refill), Standard Chartered 15-bucks deal, lots of appetizers and affordable and good Ramen... makes it one heck of a place to visit and get time with friends.

The only issue I have is the seat closest to the toilet. It's really warm as it's near the air-con compressor I believe. And, the place is usually crowded during lunch/dinner time. Go after those timing (12-2pm), (6-8pm) and you'll be fine.

I had 2 sets of 15bucks deal, went with the potato croquet (which is nice), and heaty of course as it's deep-fried.. tasty, soft and yummy. I had dumplings, which i thought has degraded in quality since i last visited.

Their Ramen, the Cold and the Mori Ramen are good. Stock is not too salty but nonetheless tasty!

I will give this place an 8 for a review as I know there are nicer ramen places, and seriously, the place could be noisy and cramped if it's packed... well, what to do, this place is well-reviewed and much visited.

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar is this ramen place located in holland village that actually looks pretty much like a traditional japanese ramen-ya you would find in japan, complete with the chef-facing-you-preparing-the-dish-separ ated-by-a-glass-panel experience. that being said, the pretense of being traditional quickly evaporates when you notice that the servers are mainly foreign hires either from phillipines or china and that, well, the restaurant chain is managed by jumbo seafood. not that there is anything wrong with jumbo seafood -- in fact i think jumbo seafood does a great job with food-related business, both with yoshimaru as well as one of the nicer restaurants @ vivocity, j-pot. that being said, it's just kinda nicer to watch a wizened old japanese uncle laboring to make ramen noodles whilst one sips hot green tea in the cosy confines of a ramen-ya.. (ok getting carried away). let's talk food.

hakata traditional ramen - $11

now, considering the growing popularity of ramen stalls in singapore, it's kinda difficult at times to pinpoint what makes a good bowl of ramen worth it -- that is, worth 2 - 3 times more than a common bowl of prawn mee or the likes at hawker centers. in my opinion, the crux lies with the soup as well as the char siu pieces. the soup really separates the wheat from the chaff, as good soups are fragrant, immensely rich in flavors and when served piping hot, is the ultimate comfort food in winter. the char siew creates the additional savory taste that enhances the dish greatly and also breaks the monotony of flavor by just eating the noodles alone. so what about yoshimaru? well.. honestly, i wasn't too impressed with their ramen this time round-- considering that this place to me is a sentimental value-priced favorite where I have really tasted good soup before. yet, the soup i tasted this time round was rather flat, as though it hadn't been fully and thoroughly boiled. i dunno. kinda disappointed. the char siew was decent, but yet again,not impressive. i have tasted better. =(

 hakata mini burgers - mentaiko mayo prawn burger, $3.50

this appetizer dish is simple, relatively cheap and delicious. in fact, i have always wanted to order 3 mini burgers (other flavors include spicy char siu and teriyaki chicken) for a value price of $8 and just treat that as my dinner. but usually i come here to satisfy my craving of ramen.. so there. the fusion of east and west flavors creates a really good combination and is well worth a try.

overall, i expected better i guess. and well, i'm not gonna let one misstep (in my opinion) stop me from patronizing the place again. i'll give u another chance, yoshimaru. anyways, you're pretty value for money compared to other ramen chains. 

a word of caution though: avoid the other 'side dishes' like ebi tempura or the likes.. i think the only authentic stuff is the ramen, so stick to it.

Ever since Yoshimaru opened its first local outlet at Big Splash, it had been on my to-go list, but the thought of having to travel all the way to the east somehow killed the appetite. And then, there came its second outlet at Holland Village, which brought cheers (and relief) to noodle fans living in the other half of Singapore.

Their Moridakusan Ramen, aka all-in that I had, came with all the toppings you can expect of a bowl of hearty ramen. The toppings were excellent. I'm not sure whether it was because it had been too long since my last bowl of ramen, the tokotsu broth here was outstanding. Smooth, milky, and robust in flavours, I was totally sold. What made it even more delightful was probably a subtle taste from some unknown ingredient which made the soup less heavy.

Not only do they serve ramen dishes, you can try out this burger creations here. With this Mini Burger Combo, you get to savour all 3 different burgers at a much discounted price. My personal favourite was teriyaki chicken not just because of the juicy tender chicken I had, but the others were simply too spicy for me.

Citibank cardmembers enjoy 10% discount.

For more photos, feel free to drop by Amasou Umasou.

I've come to realize, after a few months of searching for the same bowl of Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen that I tasted years ago in a humble ramen store back in Fukuoka (I wish I had remembered to take down their name), that it is near impossible to find anything of the same excellence in Singapore.

However, I get the monthly ramen cravings, and when that happens, I need a quick fix and by quick, I mean NOW. So I've always passed by this place, and figured that it's now or never.

The manageress seems to be Japanese, but IDK really. Chefs don't seem to be, so I don't think that matters anymore. Service was surprisingly fast on a Friday afternoon; I popped to the loo (not very clean but oh well) after ordering the traditional Hakata ramen, and within less than two minutes after I took my seat at the bar again, my ramen was served! The staff weren't exactly enthusiastic or friendly though, just, well, doing their job I guess.

The noodles were alright, I'd give them at most a 6.8/10? The broth was delightful; not too thick, not too diluted. The egg was so-so, cuz as usual, the yolk wasn't as runny as I wanted it to be, but be warned, you can expect the yolk to harden gradually if you don't finish it within the first two minutes or less. The charsiew was acceptable, surprisingly softer than Nantsuttei's though. Could have been the fats, I wasn't paying much attention as I was wolfing it down.

All in all, the price is rather reasonable, so if you're hungry and you absolutely positively MUST have ramen, this is the best place to go, especially if you don't want to hurt your wallet. Seating's rather limited, so I suggest you go there by yourself.

So my friend reccomends me this place after she and her bf went last week. She gave me a 50% off the moridakusan ramen (up to 2 bowls) coupon they'd given her. So I made my boyfriend go with me!

It is a small, clean, Japanese looking restaurant. It has outside and inside dining. Theres seats infront of the cooking area and on the other side wooden booths.

I'm so happy that my gf had reccomended me the place! Everything we ordered was wonderful. We had the mini char siew and chicken terriyaki burgers. The char siew was great (and coming from me it must be really awesome because I don't normally like pork, much less char siew), very flavorful meats, warm f,resh buns. The chicken terriyaki was not what I'd expected- but much better! It had deep fried crispy chicken with lettuce in the mini bun! Both of them were like $2.50 each or something, very cheap!

On top of the many condiments they already offered out on the table, they gave us these bowls where we could grind the sesame seeds for the ramen. I'd never seen such a thing before, but it was fun! I'm sure they have a very good Japanese reason behind it ;) The ramen of course was my favorite part. Moridakusan means "everything" and they did have everything in it! pork, both dry and fresh seaweed, takana and egg among other things. My absolute favorte was the mentaiko (marinated fish roe)! I haven't seen other places offering it, so was my first time ever eating mentaiko and I'm really into salty things. This hit the spot! I could taste the seasoning and roe, plus they gave quite a generous serving for the bowl. Of course you're supposed to mix it into the soup- either way I loved it! The noodles were the right ammount of chewy and the egg the right ammount of cooked!

Staff wise they were efficient and over the top with their greetings as seems to be the trend for restaurants in Singapore now of days - especially the Japanese ones. Of course also no one smiled except the manager and they answered our questions abruptly. But hey, at least they're efficient! Some people just don't have people skills.

Anyway, our bill was about $41+ for the both of us and $25+ after the discount. So that was good. I definitely reccomend this place and I'd definitely go back!

A really nice Jumbo's venture, a really nice way to celebrate the first anniversary of I still don't know which Jumbo's venture.  Anyway, Yoshimaru is having a 20% off final bill (weekends included) till end of July.  As a cheapskate glutton, I flew down to its Holland Village's outlet the moment I hear of the promotion. 

I have long heard of the yummy mini burgers (Teriyaki Chicken, Char Siew, Mentaiko Prawn, $8.80 for 3) from foodie friends but did not have much of a motivation to try them out.  Deep inside my heart, I was skeptical about burgers in ramen bars. To my great joy, the mini burgers turned out ultra fresh and yummy!  It took awhile for my burgers to arrive and my lunch partner was already halfway through her ramen. The mini burgers sure did not disappoint! My fave is the Mentaiko Ebi ($3.90 if order on its own) as the prawn patty was extremely firm and fresh. Coupled with the firm bite, the flavours of mentaiko mayo and fresh vegetables were well balanced.  Total yums! Char siew burger ($2.90 if order on its own)'s char siew tasted tender and delicate.  If you are looking for a good balance of fats and tender pork, crunchy veg and nicely toasted bun, this is one good burger not to be missed! The most boring chicken teriyaki ($2.90 if order on is own) tasted like a nice chicken burger.  The fried chicken patty was fresh, slightly oily but still yummy!  Pardon my not so sophiscated taste, but these burgers are much fulfilling than many gourmet burger places in town. 

My lunch partner ordered a traditional hakata ramen, $11.  The ramen's broth was robust and thick with a strong hint of mushroom which I did not understand.  Hakata style's stock is supposed to be extracted from pork bones resulting in a thick broth.  Nevertheless, this is one ramen for the purist I think.  According to my friend, the egg tasted as good as it looks.  I am totally tempted by the glorious orange hue and vow to return to try their ramen soon.  Oh, the soup gets a bit oily when cooled.  So slurp up fast like a real Japanese ok?  

As a person who loves condiment, the other attraction of Yoshimaru will the the bottles of condiment at the side.  I will sure go back soon and eat the ramen to try these babies out.  Point to note: we are seated in between 2 tables of Japanese.  Eh a sign of the ramen bar serving authentic ramen...Good job Jumbo! 

went on weekday night 2 pax.

ordered a bowl of ramen, 1 pork salad, 1 plate of guo tie, 2 green tea.

we were given a bowl with sesame seeds and a small wooden stick to be grinded by ourselves.. to add to salad and ramen.

standard ramen is nice, at least taste good to me.

The pork salad is really good too.

the guo tie is just standard, nothing special.

small shop, quite attentive staff..