Hello all, it's the weekend and I was out looking for nice food to eat. I had two objectives I need to fulfil when seeking for food this weekend. While I need to feed myself, I also need to feed my car and have it charged up for the new week. And with this in mind, I headed to a mall that is equipped with a supercharger to charge my car and my stomach.
The Place
Ajisen Ramen (Causeway Point)
Address: 1 Woodlands Square, Basement 1, #18 Causeway Point, Singapore 738099
Notes on this place: This outlet is just one of the many outlets that is available in the country. Ajisen Ramen has a total 11 outlets islandwide for anyone to savour a heartwarming bowl of Ramen just footsteps away from your place.
Some special facts about Ajisen Ramen brand:
The brand was founded in Kumamoto, Japan in 1968 and has more than 700 outlets worldwide. Some other places that I've eaten Ajisen Ramen outside Singapore include Taiwan and Shanghai.
Ajisen Ramen might be something not special to many as it has been in Singapore for quite a while. There are also many whom even commented that the standard of the Ramen had dropped over the years and not as nice as compared to other Ramen shops. However, I think otherwise as they are one of the places that I would head to for a nice bowl of Ramen whenever I have a craving for Ramen.
The Food
Ajisen Ramen as the name of the shop suggests, offers a wide selection of Ramen.
What I ordered:
Mala Cha Shu Ramen Set - S$13.00
What my wife ordered:
Spicy Cha Shu Ramen Set - $13.90
Food Showcase:
Mala Cha Shu Ramen
Time to talk about the food. The Ramen that I ordered is the Mala Cha Shu Ramen. The Ramen was served with slices of Cha Shu, beansprouts, an Onsen egg and a big scoop of Mala paste carefully put at the side of the noodles. Since we are reviewing a Cha Shu Ramen, I will review it based on 3 factors, namely broth, Cha Shu and the noodles.
Broth: Nice and rich, packed with loads of flavour, depending on your preference, you can add amounts of the Mala paste into the broth. For me I added everything and fully enjoyed the spiciness and numbness from the paste.
Cha Shu: Done just right where the meat just melts in your mouth, not overly salty.
Noodles: While I didn't get to specify the toughness of the noodles, it was done nicely with medium texture and hardness. I usually don't like my noodles to be too mushy, slightly harder with a bite is always nice.
Spicy Cha Shu Ramen
My wife ordered this. While spicy and mala are bought talking about spiciness. But this two flavours are not the same. The taste can be tell apart easily because the one that I ordered had the numbing sensation after a while but the one my wife ordered did not have. The spiciness is more like the usual chilli oil offered at Japan eateries.
(From wife)
Broth: Nice hint of spiciness, rich taste and it was so good that she finished the whole bowl of broth.
Cha Shu: Same as mine. Melts in your mouth and very tender.
Noodle: She took some of mine and compared. She felt that her noodles felt a little softer than mine but it was not mushy.
Side Dishes
The nice thing about ordering sets for the Ramen is that the set come with a small side dish and a hot/cold tea. This time we picked side dishes that are different from one another so that we can share a variety of side dish. The tori karage (fried chicken) was good, no thick batter and lightly spiced. The meat is very tender as well. The other side dish that we ordered is the Thai Fish Cake. This dish is rather common and came be found in many places especially Thai eateries. The fish cake by itself tasted ok, but when combined with the sauce that it came with, it added a hint of sour twang to make it very appetising.
Overall:
Nice meal for my wife and I. Inexpensive as well considering that we have side dish and a drink. While it is not the best Ramen I ever tasted, it is definitely above average. Simple, fuss free and a nice location to dine in while I get my car charged up. The place has many other version of Ramen which include exotic ones like the Volcano which is supposedly the spiciest Ramen the shop has to offer and also the Tom Yum flavoured one that is probably designed for people whom love Tom Yum soup. A place that I will return often because it warms my stomach and taste really decent.
Closing
A simple and nice meal that I had. Those whom had harsh comments on this brand, I would certainly hope that you can give them another chance as they did not drop in standard and still serve good Ramen.
Thank you for coming by and reading my post. Hope you enjoyed my sharing. Let me know your thoughts and I hope to share more good food with the community soon.
