Quick, when I say “tonkotsu ramen”, what’s the average price point that comes to mind? Most decent ramen bowls I’ve had tend to be around the S$15 to S$20 range, if not more. So when I heard that a place called TempuRamen located in Amoy Street Food Centre was selling bowls of tonkotsu ramen including tempura for just S$6.50, I was understandably gobsmacked.
TempuRamen is run by former chefs Eric Tan and his wife, Foo Sher Loon. Both of them have a culinary background in Western-style cooking, including French cuisine. I asked Eric, “Why ramen?” He responded that Western-style stalls are a dime a dozen, and he wanted to be different.
TempuRamen features a D.I.Y. concept menu. You choose your soup base, whether you want ramen or udon, and then 2 sides or toppings. Mazesoba is also available for the same price point. You can top up S$1 if you prefer double servings of items under Option A. There’s also additional types of tempura and fried items to choose from, such as different types of croquettes.
Not feeling noodles? There’s a Tempura Tendon (S$6.90) with 5 pieces of tempura.
One of the thoughts that I had was, “Wait, but how can it taste good at that price point?” (Don’t lie, I’m sure some of you probably thought that too.) Well, let’s find out.
What I tried at TempuRamen
As it was an extremely hot and humid day, I opted for the Mazesoba, and for my sides, I got ebi (prawn) tempura and a yasai (vegetable) croquette (S$6.50 for the set). A bowl of soup was also given on the side, and I appreciated that. (I love soup.)
First off… wow. The amount of toppings took me aback for a moment. There was a heaping pile of spring onions, dried nori, bonito flakes, pulled pork, a raw egg yolk and a large slice of pork chashu. I couldn’t even see the noodles under all of that. As I began to mix everything together, I was eventually able to verify that, yes, there were in fact noodles beneath all that.
Specifically, Hakata-style ramen noodles. This style of noodle is thinner than other types of ramen noodles and can be ordered in different textures, such as kata (hard), futsu (normal), or yawaraka (soft). I personally like my noodles a bit above al dente, so I tend to like the firmer textures. The noodles here are just the right doneness, so a point for that.
The egg yolk didn’t really contribute to the overall creaminess of the mazesoba, perhaps due to the large amount of toppings. The pulled pork had a distinctive tang to the aftertaste, which Eric explained could be due to the gochujang used in the marination process. I personally prefer the mazesoba dressing to lean more savoury-sweet, but it’s not overly heavy and isn’t bad at all.
The chashu is a large generous slab of porky goodness. It’s not the most tender I’ve had, but it’s far from being rubbery. I would like it to be a little more intense in flavour, but for this price point, I can’t really find that much fault with it.
The bowl of ramen soup was generously topped with spring onions (yum!) and it definitely had a certain flavour profile to it that I hadn’t experienced before with other bowls of tonkotsu. It’s not as heavy as some, but the distinctive tonkotsu richness is enough to be satisfactory. I asked Eric how long the pork bones are boiled for to make the soup, and he said, “A minimum of 4 hours.”
Those who like their ramen broth on the lighter side should find this right up their alley.
The tempura and croquette were served separately on a bed of shredded cabbage with a light drizzle of sauce. The croquette was unfortunately room temperature and the crust was a little soft by then, but the insides were still quite fluffy and had a slight sweetness.
The potato filling wasn’t gluey, and it was studded with peas, corn kernels and cubes of carrot. (I suppose that’s where the yasai component comes into play.) If this were fresh out of the fryer, it would be such a treat.
The ebi tempura fared much better. The tempura batter looked more akin to a panko-coating than normal tempura, but it was fresher and thus more crispy. What was great about it was how fresh and sweet the prawn encased inside tasted. Eric shared that they source their prawns fresh from the market daily, and it shows in the end result. I’ll take another 4 or 5 more of these, thank you.
Final thoughts
I’m not going to sugarcoat this. It’s S$6.50 ramen in a hawker centre, it’s not realistic to expect it to be just like S$25 ramen from an upscale joint. But the portion sizes are generous and it’s quality food for superb value. If you work in the area, shake up your lunch routine a little and give TempuRamen a try.
Expected damage: S$6.50 – S$6.90 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda Deliveroo
Price: $
Our Rating: 3.5 / 5
TempuRamen
7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre, #02-124, Singapore 069111
TempuRamen
7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre, #02-124, Singapore 069111
