Mentaiko Ramen
I’m a big fan of Japanese ramen and if you are looking for a good ramen place in town, you got to give Uma Uma Ramen a shot.
Located at Forum The Shopping Mall, I was introduced to this yummy ramen by my wife and am I glad she brought me there. I’d normally go for a standard tonkotsu ramen and any ramen joint but upon her recommendation, I tried the lesser known Mentaiko Ramen on the menu (lesser known because it’s not stated as one of the crowd favourite).
For the uninitiated, mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock and roe and was nominated as Japan’s number one side dish. The Mentaiko Ramen here comes with a generous portion of chashu pork which unfortunately can be a little tough. I’m used to chashu being softer because I’m always choosing tonkotsu ramen but if you don’t mind the chashu being a little tough then here’s the great part - mix the mentaiko well with the ramen and you get a very savoury bowl of dry ramen. If anything, it’s like caviar-covered ramen, ramen so soft and yummy that you yearn for a bigger bowl. The best part is, you would think it’s salty and high on msg but I didn’t fill myself silly with water after my dinner like I usually do when I have tonkotsu ramen. Put simply, it’s like a bowl of atas and yummy ramen at a very affordable price - S$14.00.
Now, this is not even listed as a crowd favourite on the menu. Makes me crave for a bowl of one of the listed crowd favourite ramen.
Shiromi Fry
As a side dish, I also ordered the Shiromi Fry. It’s basically Japanese styled fried white fish. Well, this tasted normal - nothing spectacular. But, that’s before I coated my fry with the tamari soy sauce. Now, with the tamari soy sauce, this dish does taste different. If I hadn’t dipped the tamari soy sauce, I probably wouldn’t be recommending something average. But hell, the sauce made all the difference. It just makes the Shiromi Fry that little more tasty (nope, it’s not bordering on salty).
The portion is decent for S$8 and if you are getting this, remember to dip in the tamari soy sauce. If you don’t usually dip your fried stuff, then if it’s your last $8, you probably want to save it. Or borrow $6 for another bowl of Mentaiko Ramen.
Uma Uma Ramen
583 ORCHARD ROAD
FORUM THE SHOPPING MALL
#01-41/42/43,
SINGAPORE 238884