Review: Tampopo Restaurant @ Liang Court - Japanese Ramen with a Beefy Twist!

I apologise for not posting this entry sooner. That's because everytime I visited Tampopo since the start of this month where they have the Beef Soup Stock Ramen/ Udon promotion, I have been too anxiously slurping up my noodles to remember to take photos!

By now you'd know that I'm addicted to Ramen. Tampopo has always been well known for their Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, but from now till 7 Nov 2010 (not much time left!!) they have launched a series of ramen and udon that has a beef bone soup base instead of the conventional Tonkotsu (pork-bone soup) ones.

Being spoilt for choice with ramen joints sprouting everywhere in Singapore, this has been a welcomed (and very pleasantly surprising) change. I have gone to Tampopo for their Rich Beef Udon (below) 3 times this month, and also got Kays to order their Original Beef Ramen so that I could steal some of that too!

Rich Beef Nabe-udon

On arrival, the lovely rich aroma of the beef stock filled the air, somewhat like an oxtail stew. The sheen of the soup came from the glorious beef collagen (good for skin!) and because it's all scalding hot, I quickly spooned over the soup onto the raw egg so that the top portion gets semi-cooked too. The thinly sliced beef is nothing short of expectations, with marbled fats lining the edges and perfectly cooked. You are forced to slurp the soup ever so gently because of the heat, but that's how you would best savour it anyway! It's been a while since I tasted something that made my eyes open wide with glee, and in Kays' words - made me want to 跑沙滩 (translated: run along the beach in slow motion)... Not sure what I mean? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHBMl7KSmc0 

Original Beef Ramen - Shio flavour

Kays' Original Beef Ramen uses a similar soup base, but unlike my claypot version which boils and thickens the soup, it is lighter but just as tasty. This one comes with a couple of slices of pan-fried steak, which is succulent and sweet, and sticks of chewy Konnyaku that we're familiar with in Oden. The ramen series also feature Miso, Kimuchi and Wasabi flavours which I have yet to try. If anyone has any feedback on these, do let me know please! 

Remember, it's till 7 Nov so there's not much time left! Not sure if their other outlets under the Tampopo family (such as Tarafuku @ 313 Somerset) has the same promotion, but I'm sure the Liang Court and Takashimaya branches definitely has it, so hurry! Hopefully enough people love this as much as I do and Tampopo makes this a permanent menu item! *fingers crossed*

9 out of 10

Tampopo Restaurant

177 River Valley Road

#01-23/24 Liang Court Shopping Centre

Tel: +65 6338-3186

Opening Hours: 

Daily 11:30am - 10:30pm

391 Orchard Road

#B2-33 Takashimaya Shopping Centre 

Tel: +65 6235 2318

Opening Hours: 

Daily 11:00am - 10:00pm

Review: Itacho Sushi - Ah Mak's MUST ORDER list

Hailing from my hometown, this Hong Kong sushi chain is usually a must-do stop when ever I'm back home, although there's almost always a long queue and no less than half an hour's wait!

So imagine my delight when owner Ricky decided to open a branch in ION Orchard! Business has been off to a good start and while its sushi are generally good value, I say... focus on the good stuff!! we'd always order the same stuff over and over - like clockwork we'd sit down, take one of each colourful order sheet and tick our "usuals". These items may not be cheap per se, but compared to other pricier sushi joints, these "premium" items are excellent value in our eyes! So here goes:

1. Fatty Tuna (Otoro) sushi - I like mine with less tendon

2. Negitoro Handroll (Minced fatty tuna with scallions)

3. Cod Liver with Scallop sushi

4. Ikura (Salmon Roe) Chawamushi

5. Foie Gras sushi - pan seared and caramelised with sugar

6. And I always save this for last - Wagyu aburi sushi 

(grilled wagyu beef topped with minced garlic)

The bill works out to be about $30 per pax - where in other fine dining Japanese restaurants would be the price of just 2 pieces of Otoro sushi! However, I noticed that they've raised prices a couple of months ago...

And then a perfect ending to the sushi feast - head down to B4 ION Food Hall's Mei Heong Yuen (味香园) for a nice big bowl of Taiwanese "Snow Ice". It's light, fluffy and milky, just like the ones I love in Taiwan's shilin market! Only thing about this place is that it's TINY and always full! So pray that you'd get a table!

Mango Snow Ice ($5)

8 out of 10
Itacho Sushi


#B2-18 ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

8 out of 10
Mei Heong Yuen

#B4-34 ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

Review: Shabu Hana @ River Valley

This Shabu Shabu place has opened in River Valley (along Mohamed Sultan Road) for some time now and I'd been curious about it every time I walked past over lunch. They are not open for lunch so last friday evening (after being turned away by a packed En) DS & I decided to give this place a try.

 Kurobuta shabu-shabu pork 

The service staff here all wore pretty kimonos, and were trained to be super polite albeit not all of them were Japanese. They were generally well-versed with the menu and did a good job up-selling some items though at one point I thought it was a little over the top.

The menu featured 3 main sections: Shabu-shabu, Suki-Shabu and Yaki-Shabu. For each section, various grades & cuts of wagyu beef and kurobuta pork (or black pig, pictured above - apparently imported from Kagoshima, known to be one of the best sources around). We ordered the original shabu-shabu sets, one with wagyu beef and the other with kurobuta shoulder and loin mix. Both types of meat were decent though I had hoped for richer tasting beef. I personally preferred the fatty pork loin and it went perfectly with the ponzu & sesame dipping sauces. The soup was also very flavourful at the end!

As sides we'd ordered the Grilled Mentaiko and the Grilled Stingray fins, and the latter was probably the highlight of the meal for me - tasted like freshly barbecued cuttlefish!

Overall a great place for chilling out & while it's somewhat pricey ($48 for wagyu, $40 for Kurobuta pork sets), the ambience was fabulous and they also have a weekend set which is cheaper @ $38 so I would return again to try that out! 

  

 Vegetables with Kuzukiri noodles

Grilled Stingray fins (Eihire no aburi)

 

Grilled Mentaiko~

7 out of 10
Shabu Hana

14 Mohamed Sultan Road

#01-01, Singapore 238963

Tel: +65 6235 8216

Mom’s Pan Fried Steak (煎牛排)

This is one of my all-time favourite dishes cooked by mom – I suppose this is comfort food for me like mac & cheese is to some others. The key is in using good quality beef cuts. You can’t go wrong with US Tenderloin fillets or ribeye otherwise.  Steak slices shouldn’t be too thick - about 1-1.5 inch should be good enough. Also important to keep the natural beef juices that ooze out after you’ve seared them for the first time and reuse that as part of your sauce.

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

Beef Fillet                     200-250g (preferably tenderloin or ribeye)

- Marinade -

Garlic, crushed               2 cloves

Sugar                            3 Tsp

Soya Sauce                    2 Tbsp

Wine                             1 Tbsp

Black pepper                           1/2 tsp

Oil                                1 Tbsp

- Sauce -

Worcestershire sauce     2 Tbsp

Cornstarch                     1 tsp

Sugar                            1 1/2 tsp

Beef juices                    whatever you can get!

Directions: 

1. Cut fillet into 1.5 inch thick slices 

2. Marinate with above along with garlic cloves for 30 mins. Oil should be the last item to go in to seal in the marinade 

3. Heat oil and pan fry on high heat, searing each side till golden brown & 30-50% cooked 

4. Remove steak slices from heat, cut into cubes and drain juices. Mix juices into sauce and set aside. Return steak to low heat, add sauce and allow to simmer for 1-2 mins. Taste & Eat up!