Esther's always on a lookout for good ramen. But she's really choosy when it comes to ramen - the noodles have to be springy, while the stock none too porky. It doesn't help that our standards have been set high during a recent Japan trip where we ate through half-dozen really good ramen shops.
Last week, she stumbled upon Baikohken on HungryGoWhere.com, and decided that we should give it a shot one night for dinner. Interestingly my workplace is a mere 10-minute walk from Baikohken, yet it's amazing how I've never been to the popular ramen shop ever with my colleagues for lunch.
The menu here is really on the modest side - you're not going to find much beyond three different versions of ramen (shio, shoyu and miso) with choice of additional toppings, a rice dish and a handful of sides like gyoza. But we like eating places that specialize, so that's fine by us.
Esther's shio ramen is more of a chicken stock than the regular tonkotsu pork stock we're more used to, but Esther liked it. The noodles were nice and springy and Esther proclaimed the char-siew pork excellent, but she wasn't quite so impressed with the Japanese-style boiled egg we had added as a topping. Its texture was just right - it takes skill to perfect the balance between melty centre and tender exterior - but it didn't have the flavour that comes from enough soaking in soy sauce during cooking.
My miso ramen came without char-siew but an awesome heap of beansprouts and some minced meat. The miso stock is more robust than the shio one, although I did wish there was a spicy option.
Be warned - portion sizes here are huge. My appetite is considerable and even then I didn't manage to finish my noodles. If yours is more modest, order the half portion. At around $14 per full portion, it's no wonder this place is always packed during lunch. It was also packed the Friday night we were there, with a considerable queue snaking outside the shophouse as we were leaving.
Overall the ramen here is pretty decent, but our search for the best ramen in Singapore still continues.
Baikohken is located at 7 North Canal Road and Takashimaya B2 #01-04.
