Ippudo SG

Finally finally finally had the chance to be around the area at 530pm on a weekday! Tropped up, saw no queue, and so so inside we went.

Shrimp cake spring roll ($6) - this really didnt have any 'cake' as in 'crab cake' but was more of prawn paste in deep fried spring roll. Nicely fried, and the spring roll was lighter than typical, which was a bonus. It could have came with a better sauce than bottled chilli sauce though, as I felt as the run of the mill sauce destroyed the dish.

Karakamen ($17) egg ($2) - "Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen served with minced pork and spicy paste". Tried the soup, and it tasted like dan dan mian. The egg that cost $2 was also overcooked; the yolk was not runny at all. Disappointing.

Shiromaru Classic ($15) - "Original recipe tonkotsu soup served with thin noodles, Rosu chashu (Pork Loin), cabbage, kikurage & scallions". Ordered this because it was the classic dish. Didnt realise it came with ginger too, I had to take it all out because I'm not a ginger person. The broth was alot creamier than expected, with a delicate but obvious porky taste; a tad more salt and I would have found it too salty. The creamy texture made the soup quite je lart for me, and I couldnt finish it, although it was probably bursting with collagen. Luckily the thin noodles was not overcooked. The chashu was also mostly lean with a tiny bit of fat trimmings.

I thought the visit would explain the hoo-haa and the neverending long queues on nights and weekends, but I didnt quite get it. Perhaps the hype surrounding this place is too big for their own good, as I went to expect a drama moment when I took my 1st spoonful of the broth. It was not that bad, but it is not something I will brave the queue for either.

Service was typical Jap polite service and smily staff, so bonus points for them. But still not going to be on my return visit list anytime soon.