TacoCat's TrEats #95: Getting Spicy at Kanshoku Ramen Bar! 🍜

Hey Hive!

Now that it's been quite a while since Singapore has has been out of lockdown, or what our government has termed "circuit breaker", restaurants have been operating pretty much as usual aside from implementing safe distancing measures. We've also been eating out more and trying new places!

And one of these new places is Kanshoku Ramen Bar!

We were in town the other day to run some errands and just chill in general (it was a weekday), and we decided to stop here for lunch! Sean had heard some good things about this place but neither of us had ever tried it before and since it'd been a while since we've had ramen we decided why not.

The restaurant itself looks really nice too; with the royal blue contrasting with the minimalist furniture. It gave off a minimalist/industrial look with some contemporary vibes. The restaurant itself also has an open concept since there are no dividers and either side is open for people to walk through.

The kitchen is also fairly open, and you can see the chefs hard at work preparing all the delicious ramen!

The only downside is that this place is kinda small for how many seats there are. I think if it wasn't covid period that this place can get quite claustrophobic very fast if there are too many customers. So weekends are definitely a nope.

Anyway, here's the menu! They offer a few different types of ramen, as well as rice and various side dishes and drinks.

We wanted to try different things so Sean got the Signature Tonkotsu Ramen while I decided to try the Flaming Hot Tonkotsu Ramen since I like my ramen with a bit of spice.

About 10 minutes or so later, our food arrived! This was Sean's Signature Tonkotsu Ramen, which was richly flavoured from 12 hours no less of boiling with no added MSG, and includes charshu, black fungus, seaweed and spring onion:

And this was my Flaming Hot Tonkotsu Ramen, which is a locally curated blend of chili and spice that will satisfy tastebuds looking for a more fiery adventure! And includes charshu, black fungus, seaweed and spring onion.

I like that the bowls and cups were blue as well; it really keeps matches well with the interior decor. But anyway, the ramen itself was pretty delicious! But man, when they say Flaming Hot they weren't kidding! I thought I could handle the spice but I love eating the soup together with the noodles and after a while it got way too spicy! But the good thing was it wasn't a lingering spice, so after a sip of water I could still enjoy my ramen.

I think I liked the signature tonkotsu broth better though, not only because it doesn't burn my tongue but the seasoning is more pronounced and just blends together better.

I read that Kanshoku Ramen is a home-grown Singaporean business, founded in 2014 by a pair of friends, and apparently kanshoku itself means ‘to finish eating every last bit of your food’ in Japanese! (Cr: kanshokuramen)

I didn't know such a term existed in Japanese, but it's very fitting especially in Asia because we always make it a point to clean our plates. They said that creating a bowl of ramen requires over 12 hours of work so I tried my best to finish it but the soup was just too much for me and I was absolutely stuffed!

I felt bad but I also drank quite a bit of Sean's soup which is why his bowl is emptier than mine. The spicy soup got too much for either of us unfortunately. It was still really tasty though!

Kanshoku Ramen currently has 3 outlets in Singapore - two in town, so if you're in the area and looking for a quick ramen fix, I'd definitely recommend it!

Thanks so much for reading!

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