The famed Ramen Nagi has opened finally opened its first Singapore outlet in Singapore, in Suntec City Mall.
Ramen Nagi was established in Fukuoka, Japan by chef Satoshi Ikuta. There are now 22 outlets in Japan and 28 overseas branches in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines and now Singapore.
Singaporeans have waited 7 long years since Ramen Nagi’s overseas expansion, the restaurant is perpetually overflowing with people. Be prepared to wait quite a bit especially during lunch and dinner times. The restaurant has thoughtfully lined up stools and there is free-flow water.
Ramen Nagi serves 4 signature Ramen King: Original King [$13.90], Black King [$15.90], Green King [$15.90] and Red King [$15.90].
You can customize your ramen by choosing the richness of the broth, the amount of special sauce, amount of garlic, pork shoulder or belly, green onion or cabbage. For those of you who are unsure, the rule of thumb is to choose “normal” for the most authentic ramen experience, or you can also choose Chef Recommendation.
There are free-flow beansprouts and pickles, and the condiments include soy sauce, black pepper and white sesame.
I wanted to try the original taste so I ordered Original King [$13.80]. I took my own advice and chose “normal” for all options and pork shoulders. The thick and creamy tonkotsu pork-broth is loaded with thin long ramen, chopped cabbage and black fungus. The pork shoulder that I chose is leaner than pork belly and it has a good bite to it. My only complaint is that the thin long noodles are a little too stiff and it doesn’t quite have the “smoothness” like Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King or Ramen Dining Keisuke Tokyo.
Black King [$15.90] is not that aesthetically pleasing to the eye but the taste is something else althougher. The blackness comes from a combination of blackened garlic, squid, minced pork and black sesame. The broth has a robust pepper and garlic taste which is pretty interesting.
Red King [$15.90]’s fiery red appearance comes from a special blend called Butao Home Made Spicy Sauce, made by blending garlic, chilli oil and cayenne pepper. Truth be told, it is actually not as spicy as it looks and you can always indicate the level of spiciness you want on the order form 0-10.
If you are looking for something a little lighter on the palette, Green King [$15.90] is the one for you. Served with fresh basil, olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, it is fragrant with just a hint of creaminess from the parmesan cheese.
I like the variety of tonkotsu broth available at Ramen Nagi, which gives me a few more options to choose from, but I still have a problem with the noodles which I find are too dense for my liking.
What do you think about Ramen Nagi? Please share in the comments below!
Ramen Nagi
Address: 9 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall North Wing #01-512/513, Singapore 038989
Telephone: 68211601
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm