Among all the weird things that are happening in Yishun, something good happened. Earlier this month, the minds behind Timbre+ Singapore launched their second project, Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
This new space has stalls selling food of all different cuisines and price points, and we even found one that sells what are possibly some of the cheapest Japanese mains in Singapore.
Japanese ramen lovers, Ajisai Japanese Ramen is the stall for you when you’re here. The most basic bowl of ramen here is priced at merely $3.50.
Yes, you read right. Ramen for the same price as a plate of chicken rice; perhaps, even cheaper.
We tried the chef’s recommendation, the Pork Cha Shu Ramen ($3.50). It came with seaweed, half a Japanese ramen egg and a piece of cha shu.
I know, you’re thinking those are very few ingredients for a bowl of ramen, but for $3.50, it is a decent portion size. If you still think it’s not enough, feel free to add on toppings for $1 each.
The soup was akin to a shoyu-based broth, but we felt that the soup would have tasted much better if it was boiled for a longer period of time. It was also a tad salty,
The ramen noodles were well-done, cooked ’til springy with a bite. It was also a generous serving size for its price; we actually could not finish the noodles.
The Japanese ramen egg had a yolk that was part-molten, part-solid. The egg is not a Shoyu Tamago though, so do not expect any infusion of intense shoyu flavour.
The cha shu had a good ratio of fatty to lean meat, giving every bite into it the perfect combination of textures. The fatty part almost melts in your mouth – fatty meat lovers will definitely enjoy this.
Although the slice of cha shu seemed small, it was actually quite thick, and you can always add on additional cha shu ($1).
The ramen here was definitely not the best we’ve had, but for $3.50, it will be able to temporarily stave off your ramen cravings.
A bowl of ramen at food courts can easily set you back $7 or $8, but it’s half the price here, so it’s definitely a steal.
Apart from ramen, Ajisai also sells Japanese Curry and Don Bowls, that were also very affordable with the most expensive bowl being $5. Unfortunately, they were all sold out by the time we got there, so we did not have a chance to try them. ‘Til next time!
Expected damage: $3.50 per pax