Singapore Food Log: Tampopo, Ngee Ann City
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It has been raining lately and the weather in Singapore finally become a bit cooler. That means it’s the right time to eat the soupy stuff. However, instead of cream soup or herbal soup, I feel like eating a bowl of ramen. A bowl of ramen from Tampopo to be exact. I still remember the first time I tried Tampopo. I see a lot of pork-based ramen out there but Tampopo elevates this basic ramen staple by using black pork instead of ordinary pork. The picture menu from Tampopo shows a sign of chili in front of some of its ramen choices. This is because their soup broth has a subtle flavor of chili and not-so-subtle look of spiciness. Don’t worry, they are not that spicy unless you see many chili signs in front of the dish but I did not recall seeing one.
The outlet at Ngee Ann City tends to have long queue everytime I pass by during dining peak hour. However, if you reach slightly earlier like 6PM on Saturday, you won’t have to wait for a table for a long time. I usually order Tampopo’s famous dish, its black pork shabu ramen. However, this time I wanted to try something else so I ordered Tampopo Black Pork Tonkatsu Ramen (SGD 16.80). The black pork tonkatsu is served on a mini steel tray lodged on top of the ramen bowl to keep it safe from getting soaked in the ramen broth. However, I intentionally let some small pieces of the tonkatsu to soak in the broth and then slurp it together with the ramen. I’m not sure why but Tampopo’s ramen seem to be loaded with veggies. Good for those who usually don’t really eat their greens.
It was my dining buddy’s first time at Tampopo so he ordered Tampopo’s black pork shabu ramen. He slurped the whole bowl so I suppose he loves it too. There are a lot of condiments available but I realise I did not use any, except to take picture with Brown. The ramen is already so full of flavour you don’t really have to add any condiments to it. The good thing about it being located in shopping mall is that the restaurant opens everyday from 11AM to 10PM, following the operating hours of the mall I figure. Go try it out if you have the chance, ok!