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Don’t be so quick to dismiss Buta Kin because you might miss out on a hidden gem that serves pretty decent Japanese cuisine in a hawker setting. For the affordable price tag, the ramen can easily measure up to that of a restaurant’s.
Located in an open-air hawker centre on the top floor of Beauty World Food Centre, its specialities include Japanese curry rice and Tonkotsu Ramen, which most people can be seen queuing up for. When it is not crowded, you only have to wait for five minutes tops before receiving a piping hot bowl of ramen.
Offering over 30 variations of ramen/udon combinations and over 10 Japanese curry dishes on the menu, you can take your pick from a wide selection and maybe even share a few varieties with your friends.
With various ingredients thrown into the mix, such as black fungus, char siu slices, nori and a soft-boiled egg, you are really getting your money’s worth for a legit bowl of Tonkotsu ramen. Where else can you find good ramen these days that costs less than S$10?
For those who have a bottomless pit for a stomach, you can also choose to order a la carte add-on ingredients that cost about a dollar.
What I tried at Buta Kin
Introducing the Special Tonkotsu Ramen (S$8). This ramen bowl really did live up to my expectations with a generous amount of ingredients and flavourful broth to boot.
My favourite part was probably the perfect soft-boiled egg that was doused in shoyu sauce. Instead of half an egg, you get a whole egg, and what’s more, the yolk wasn’t too runny.
The roasted pork slices were not only thick but succulent as well. You can tell that it was grilled beautifully from its tender consistency and slight fatty rim.
Coupled with spring onions, fungus and nori that enhance the flavour of the broth, everything was pretty much on point.
Boiling pork and chicken bones to make a standout broth, the Tonkotsu soup base was light, yet it still managed to retain some flavour. Although it could have been thicker and creamier, it was one of those soups that I would gladly slurp down in a single sitting.
For a full bowl of ramen that doesn’t even exceed the normal restaurant price, this is as good as you can get.
The Special Black Ramen (Garlic) (S$9) was a bit disappointing in comparison to the signature ramen. I was kind of expecting the black garlic oil to add a lot more umami to the broth, but it seemed to be nothing more than a garnish.
Although it certainly smelled nice, the soup base itself was rather bland. Perhaps the broth could have been simmered longer to extract more of that pork bone flavour.
That being said, the noodles were great due to their soft and springy texture. It also allowed me to pick up flecks of the black garlic oil, which I couldn’t get with the soup.
Although it has similar toppings, the Special Red Ramen (Spicy) (S$9) was significantly tastier than the Black Ramen. I would attribute this to the blob of spicy minced meat paste. As a lover of spicy food, this would probably be my top pick out of the three bowls I’ve had, solely because of the spicy kick I got out of it.
Again, the slice of pan-fried char siu was perfect. The ratio of meat and fat was just right, so no complaints in that department.
One thing I loved about this was that I could taste chunks of minced meat when I slurped spoonfuls of the Tonkotsu broth.
Final thoughts
With a choice of ramen or udon to go with your broth, you can always opt for the thicker udon noodles if you’re not a fan of ramen yourself. Personally, I’m Team Ramen.
Most people might prefer to have ramen in an air-conditioned environment, but I say it’s worth it to have a bowl at Buta Kin despite the stuffy hawker heat. Unlike most Japanese hawker stalls that pass maggie mee off as ramen, you can expect a great bowl of ramen here for sure.
Expected damage: S$8 – S$11 per pax
Order Delivery: Foodpanda Deliveroo
