This new burger joint was highly recommended to me by various friends, especially if they were already fans of Island Creamery. The local ice cream people have decided to start another burger place at Bukit Timah to target the student market.

I must say that the customer service part did not start well with me. I called them to schedule for an interview, but received no follow-up at all. To me, no reply was worse than ‘no’ as a reply.

I dropped them a visit nevertheless. The vibes was pretty pleasant and it was well-filled with Hwa Chong students (my great8 grand juniors!) on a Friday evening.

The kitchen was also well in sight which added to a visual experience. The flip side is you would smell like burgers after 2 hours there, so please sit outside where is it a lot airier. Another minor complain: The sound system announcing your queue number was poorly wired up and created lots of interference though (like Burger King’s but a lot louder).

The décor of chalkboard, contemporary wooden finishing was a tad too similar to Relish though. No wonder some thought this Burger Shack was opened by Willin Low, which is not.

Burgers are priced from $5.70 (for original) to $7.70 (for a Mushroom Suisse). Add $3.20 for fries and soda. I ordered the Ramli burger ($6.20).

It tasted nothing like the oily but tasty ones across the causeway at a third of the price. The spicy chilli was salah out of place and something sweeter and with mayonaise would have be a better blend. The egg was dry too. The consolation is that it was light with a fluffy bun and not overwhelming.

The fries, seems inspired by Botak Jones, are a winner with its ’specially connoted’ spicy Cajun powdering. If you do not like buns, you can also choose to swap your burger bun for garlic butter rice for free.

Burger Shack, while not considered gourmet burgers, has a league on its own by targeting at the young students with its more affordable prices.

Back in my JC days, there was the Yee Cheong Yuen Noodle Restaurant at Holland Village which served oyster sauce chicken noodles that I particularly enjoyed. Now that people’s tastes are becoming more sophisticated, I wasn’t that surprised that it had to ‘give’ half its space away to Yoshimaru Ramen Bar.

In a ramen craze now, I got my old classmates to try this shop at Holland Village. (I probably ate like 3-4 bowls last week!) Anyway, Yoshimaru serves Hakata ramen. What’s the difference – You may ask. Hakata ramen is usually thin and straight, while using pork-bone for a milky broth. This is usually contrasted with Sapporo’s springy noodles and thick shoyu or miso stock.

Looking at the pictures, you may realize there is something common among all of the dishes. Got it?

Yes, sesame. There would be a little bowl of sesame seed for you to crush, mould, play and garnish over the ramen. Something to play with while you are feeling bored. The Shabu-Shabu Beef Salad and Spicy Char Siu Burger were sesame-covered.

The Spicy Char Siu Burger seemed like a rip-off of MOS Burger. Therefore, I wasn’t particularly impressed as it was visually more exciting in the pictures, and I expected softer bread and juicier meat.

Fortunately, both the pork and beef salads were saving graces, with the sauce having a mustard-sesame taste which was a suitable blend with the thin cold meat. Refreshing. Though I had the feeling I could very well make this at home on my own.

As for the Ramen, it was just ‘like-that’. I won’t say it was particularly good or bad. Perhaps spoilt by the influx of choices, there was not one major selling feature that made it memorable, whether it was the noodles, broth or ingredients.

As for the décor, it attempted to recreate an in-between contemporary-meets-traditional look, resembling Japanese counter bars. If this may interest you, Yoshimaru is started by Jumbo, attempting to diversify from its seafood business.

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar – Not particularly exciting, but it will probably ride well on the Ramen wave.

Miharu’s ramen was my ‘breakup recovery dish’. If the term does not make sense, it was where my friends brought me to eat after a breakup in order for me to ‘find comfort in food’.
They must have a lot of faith in this place. And that they know that very bowl of ramen can cheer me up again.

Maybe you have not heard of Miharu but it has earned its reputation purely through word-of-mouth. Firstly, not many people know of this haunt as it is not widely advised. Secondly, it is at a rather hidden corner of Gallery Hotel, a distance away from the bus-stops and MRT station.

As I enter the little shop, I immediately had a sense of familiarly, with the setup reminding me of what I watched in those Japanese dramas and movies. It had this traditional and ‘rustic’ feel, where Japanese workers would hang out after a day of hard work. You can choose to see ‘kneeled’ (there’s a hole in the floor to rest your leg) or along the counter row.

Back in 2008, perhaps I was too used to ‘mass market’ ramens. The first bowl of Miso Tonkostus ($13.00) I had was almost life-changing, and that to me was how ramen should taste like.

The bowl contained chewy Sapporo ramen, said to be made with water from the well. These Japanese noodles come frozen from Japan and have to be thawed for a number of days to achieve the bite.

And the soup was SALTY, full of miso and pork-flavoured fragrance. It almost felt like the all the goodness of the pork has been absored by the soup from the long hours of cooking. The broth was so tasty, my friend and I finished every drop of the soup.

What’s more important to me was that unlike most commercial eateries out there, Miharu has a very homely and calming ambiance about it, which makes you feel comforted. My friends did not recommend wrongly.

Miharu – No frills but full of thrills.

Before Ippudo came to town, the most positively reviewed yet unnoticed ramen shop was Santouka. My friend recommended me as “the little corner shop near the escalator next to the Shanghai Noodle Shop” at Central.

Central should be renamed “Ramen in Wonderland”. Finding Santouka in this maze can be quite a challenge for the unfamiliar, and yet there is already a long queue in line for the famed ramen. If you are lucky (like me), you can take a bench seat with a picturesque riverside view of Clarke Quay. How more romantic can you get.

Santouka ever won the 1st place winner in the most delicious ramen noodle salt-flavoured soup category by the popular magazine “Hokkaido Walker” in the year 2006. And coming from colder seasonal Hokkaido, the ramen is the springy chewy type with a salty milky thick broth. If that’s your cup of tea.

The house speciality is the Tokusen Toroniku, which comes with a piping hot bowl of ramen in broth, and the pork cheek on a separate plate. It is said to be limited to 60 servings per day. This is because a few hundred grams of pork cheek can be retrieved in each pig. No wonder the costly price tag of $19.90.

Frankly, I had a hard time trying to get myself the mental barrier of eating ‘the face’ of a pig. To its credit, the pork cheek was superbly tender, soft, fatty and melts almost instantly in your mouth, see if you have the cheek to eat it all.

Santouka Ramen – Little Pig Little Pig, what tasty cheeks you have!

It was a warm and humid day and Orchard. Six guys sans their tops were wearing happily posing for pictures with tickled girls. Some passer-bys were selecting which was their favourite, with comments like “The one of the right has killer-abs,” “That guy is quite salah, shouldn’t even be there in the first place.” Wouldn’t say which one.

I already felt a bit embarrassed for them. But anyway, I found out they were promoting something. Guess what:
a) 花样男子 programme
b) Butt-hugging jeans launched by Levis
c) An energy drink that boosts endurance
d) Men’s Health Magazine
e) Japanese Ramen

Nevertheless, the guys did not look shy at all, and seem pleased with the attention. On the other hand, I was supremely amused, and part shy of myself after looking at my belly. Haiz. The sacrifices I do for my programme and blog.

Anyway, if you have guessed Answers a-d, then you are quite wrong.

Yes, they are promoting yet another new Ramen Shop at Orchard Road. Huh? Ramen Play is collaboration between our familiar local chain BreadTalk and Japan’s Sanpou Co. Its signature ramen contains three treasure (sanpou) of cha shu, pork cheek and braised belly.

What’s the relation – I do not know. If only eating those ramen can give me killer abs. It might have worked better if they were sitting along in the shop sipping bowls of delicious ramen. Would be quite a sight.

Just as I was thinking about the power of advertising, two pretty meimeis in short shirts passed me Ramen Play’s pamphlets with a discount coupon. Ah. So how -another lousy gimmick or real good stuff?

Huat Ah! The 1003 DJs have gathered again for the once a year reunion dinner at Comfort Seafood Paradise. It must be my 7th or 8th reunion dinner with the gang, and I try my best not to miss any of the dinners.

Due to my busy schedule, we hardly get the time to catch up. It’s comforting and to meet all of them, especially when I hear them on the radio everyday.

Well, the difference between having a dinner with DJs with my usual friends is…… we really talk a lot. Everybody will have something to say about every dish, whether it’s the taste, presentation, or symbol.

And lo-heing with the DJs is very fun, because we just go crazy and sprouting many words of blessings.

I will take this opportunity to wish everyone at Radio1003 a Healthy New Year. And thank you for all the guidance and not forgetting me! All of you have worked really hard the last year, and I know this will be a better one for us. And may those who wants love to find love.

Thank you to our listeners for your support and growing along with us. 谢谢! Sharing with all of you some of the great and fun times we had.

Limei ah Limei… don’t kill me for posting this photo! I know it’s very unglam.

Okay, this is a much prettier and thinner one. hee hee.

The girls trying to feed Jianwen.

The ’shuai ges’ of 1003 = Jianwen & Ah Ken

The young and bubbly Xiao Yuan Bang 校园帮.

Let us welcome the new additions to the 1003 family.

After a long wait, I finally decided to join the queue at Mandarin Gallery to see what the Ippudo fuss is all about. One Monday night, 20 people in line, and a 25-minute wait.

A little caution: While you think the line outside is the only queue, there is one more inside where customers wait very patiently around a table. To kill time, some customers can then decide their orders with the menus lying around.

Many waiting customers whipped out cameras big and small for their blog moments, and the interior of Ippudo is quite worth picture-taking. It has a stylish fusion décor with bowls and utensils of red, white and black bringing out its signature colours.

A little history on why all the fuss: It’s founder Shigemi Kawahara earned the title of Ramen King after three consecutive first place wins on a Japanese television show. The popular chain has 44 restaurants in Japan and opened with a big media bang at the revamped Mandarin late last year. And it is the only ramen restaurant in Singapore with its own factory, producing its own noodles and soup.

To its credit, the queue moved along quite fast, and the serving staff (many speaking in Japanese-accented English) was prompt and attentive. I quickly ordered some appetizers: The Ippodu Shrimp Buns ($4) and Ippudo Home Made Gyoza ($6).

The Hakata style mini gyozas were bite-sized pan-fried dumplings that somehow gave a feel of eating tidbits. With that said, the outside skin was crispy fried while the inside was flavourful with broth and meat. Small but packed and delicious

The Shrimp Bun was like the usual “Kong Bak Bao” steamed bun that we were used to, with one shrimp deep-fried in a special Ippudo sauce. There was nothing that special about this bun, but the salty and crunchy batter was an appropriate blend with the soft bun.

I had an Akamaru Modern with Egg ($17) which was served with pork belly. The serving staff would also ask if you would like your thin noodles soft or hard. My preference is always a little more ‘al dente’. Reviews had been mixed, and so I did not expect much – and was pleasantly surprised. The noodles were springy and bouncy. Ippudo’s soup may be light on the palate, but yet full of pork braised goodness. There are too many ramen soups out there that are just salty. I also liked it that it has chopped kikurage (wood ear mushroom) and scallions that added bite to the soup.

If you prefer something more salty, try the 2010 Kyushu Miso Tonkotsu Special ($17) which had a very ‘brothy’ feel. While I had better and softer pork bellies and eggs elsewhere, its winning formula was really the noodles and soup. I finished almost every single drop!

While fans of Santouka, Marutama and Miharu would argue that Ippudo is too hyped-up, it certainly spices up the whole ramen market in Singapore. And I am officially ippudoed.

Other Related Links
Santouka
Tom Ton
Menya Kaiko

But this, I don’t understand… …

Now, you are not seeing wrong, or wonder “What happened to all the rice?”

The newly opened Japanese restaurant around City Hall area LOOKED promising. BUT with a sushi costing $4 or more, you get one usual slice of Unagi, and rice dough thin and flat with size smaller than your thumb? One pop and its gone.

Never had a sushi this diminutive. Sorry, but next.

Thank you Chef Jimmy Chok from the Academy Bistro for the following tips to make your Yusheng just a little different from usual if you are making your own.

1) Some plum sauce can be too thick and strong. You can consider adding some Mizkan sauce and Mirin to the Plum Sauce (recommended Woh Hup brand) for an added refreshing flavour and light sweet and sour taste.

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2) Some Yusheng ingredients sold outside can contain too much colouring, salt, and preservatives. You can consider adding some dried fruits like cranberry and orange peel for that same sweetish taste as a healthier alternative.

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3) Or even mushroom for some crunch.

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4) The main ingredient in an Yusheng is ultimately the fish. Do not go stingy on it. Add some fish roe or caviar if you are feeling extravagent. Fresh salmon should have a consistent reddish colour with a shiny and dry surface. If it is going bad, there is a greyish slimy surface.

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5) If the stores run out of 'golden pillow' crackers, the usual cornflakes with Japanese crackers could be other crispy options. It's less fattening too!

6) Some people choose to add cucumber of the green colour in your Yusheng. For a more authentic taste, just add green radish (rather than cucumber) along with your white radish and carrot.

If you have listened to my radio interview with Chef Martin from So-Ez last week, he also recommended Lavender or Hibicus essence for a floral and romantic feel to the Yusheng sauce. After all, it's Valentine's Day too!

Of all the Chinese New Year dishes, I particularly enjoy eating Yusheng 鱼生. Admit it, it’s not because it is symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. Here are 8 reasons why it is just so popular.

1) It’s for Dieting
This colourful dish seemingly gives people the impression that it is super healthy because it is made of ‘raw vegetable and fish’. Yah, right. The perpetually-on-diet Nancy says it’s “Healthy Chinese salad”. Whatever you call it Nancy, but please remove the oil and preserved vegetables to lessen your guilt. And don’t eat up all my crispy crackers!

2) It’s for Fun!
While your mother always tell you NOT to play with your food, YuSheng is probably the only one where you can have all your fun can have. Toss it high, nevermind, mummy will think its fine.

3) It improves your Chinese!
Have you tossed Yusheng with a table full of Chinese teachers? If not, find one. That’s when you can improve your Chinese by leaps and bounds by sprouting four words by four words of prosperity and health. 恭喜发财and万事如意 is way too cliché, So How about 16 words of 七星高照，八方来财，九九同心，十全十美?

4) It can be a Game
Or play a game where you have to connect the last word with the first word of the next one…一帆风顺， 顺利福气， 气势如虹，鸿运当头… Now who says eating Yusheng is boring?

5) It can help impress others
I am always particularly impressed with serving staff who can remember what every ingredient in the Yusheng. Nevermind if the waitress are making them up, as long as it sounds good and overly rehearsed. So to impress your prospective mother-in-law, maybe go memorise every item and its meaning yah? Don’t anyhow anyhow.

6) It can build relationships
Also Yusheng is probably one of the rare dishes where more than 10 people can ‘prepare’ together. Even if they toss the vegetables with that very same chopsticks they have eaten with. Ewwwww.

7) It tells you about the eaters
I love to observe people tossing yusheng as it shows the dynamics of the group. A very close knitted group of family and friends would probably cheer their hearts out and toss it as high as possible. While a more cordial and overly polite group, who barely toss it above 10 centimeters, probably needs more interaction.

8 ) It is just freaking delicious.

Happy Chinese New Year!