Keisuke Tonkotsu King
1 Tras Link
#01-19 Orchid Hotel
Singapore
PRICE: $$
RATING: ????-
It feels like I’m back in Japan. This teeny little noodle shop called Keisuke Tonkotsu King is on the corner of Orchid Hotel and is seemingly perpetually crowded. There’s always a queue outside, though it moves pretty swiftly since the place is much like those quick ramen shops in Japan. Opened by the Japanese chef Keisuke Takeda, it says a lot when you learn that he was TV Tokyo’s Ramen King of 2011.
As you wait, you’re given a little slip of paper to checkbox your order. Want your broth more or less rich? Your noodles harder or softer? Make your selection, and the waiter takes back the sheet of paper as you’re shown to your little wooden table.
It’s all a bit cramped, but that’s part of the charm. On the table is an assortment of sauces, bonito flakes and a big jar of bean sprouts (gag!). But the most interesting is a basket of hard boiled eggs, provided complimentary on each table. You can take as many as you want (brown-shelled for low cholesterol, white-shelled for regular) and just peel them at the table and pop into your bowl of noodles. I have 2 eggs every time 🙂
A little bowl comes with white and black sesame seeds in it. You grind it mortar-and-pestle style to crush the sesame seeds and release their beautiful nutty aroma. It’s to sprinkle onto your noodles later..
The noodles come in piping hot broth and are not a huge portion, but decent for lunch. I have mine “normal” style and that’s perfect for me. The broth is rich and a tad on the salty side, but very lovely. Dotted on top are scallions, black fungus (a type of mushroom), and a big slab of pork lies on top. I love the whole flavour of the dish and can slurp up every last bit. The broth is delish!!
I must note, however, that on one occasion, I found the pork to be a little on the tough side. A shame as previously it was done super tender.
You can opt for the flavoured egg for an extra $2. The egg has been cooked in a sort of (soy?) sauce so it has a mild flavour to it, but the best part is the half-liquid egg yolk. It’s creamy and wonderful stirred into the broth.
So far, I haven’t had any other ramen that feels as authentic as Keisuke Tonkotsu King. Plus, it’s right next to my Selective Fitness gym, so it makes a FANTASTIC meal after a workout 😉
I’m so going there for lunch with my friend on Saturday! The egg looks yummy!
Yayyy hope you like it!
Wow the egg in the last photo looks DELICIOUS.
(This is “rapkat0021” on LJ or “mayeh” on twitter btw :D)
You have to pay for that flavoured egg but man it is GOOOOD!
so interesting to note that they give complimentary hard boiled eggs!!
Fun concept huh? I guess they already put it into the price of the bowl of noodles though, haha
baby friendly? They have high chairs?
nup cos it’s a typical Japanese quick-food joint..
That bowl with the egg looks soooooo good. Have you ever seen an amusing Japanese film called Tampopo? It’s a comedy about a single-mother trying to run the best ramen shop she can. It’s a real foodie film and lovingly goes into detail about broth and noodle preparation.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
OMG so cute.. I’m going to try and see if I can download it. Thanks for the tip!
There is no difference in nutritional value between brown and white shelled eggs
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2103/whats-the-difference-between-white-eggs-and-brown-eggs
That article is from 2003 and out of date. Farmers have been attempting to feed chickens different diets to alter the nutritional quality of the eggs (e.g. raise the Omega 3 level). There is definitely controversy about the efficacy of this practice, but the important point is that is a relatively recent innovation.
Whoa tha’ts interesting, either way!
Luckily, I go for the ‘normal’ eggs anyway so it makes no difference to me, heh. I didn’t want the “low cholesterol” ones in case they didn’t taste as good.. 😉
Article from 2011 http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/difference-between-brown-white-eggs-1315/