Konjiki Hototogisu

The meals are served with a clam rice appetizer. Clams were sweet and nicely marinated! Had the signature shoyu ramen. Presentation is quite elegant. The first sip of the broth was clean and light with earthy hints of black truffle oil. The noodles were thin and had a good chew and texture to them. The meats were surprisingly flavourful and well seasoned. Well portioned. However, perhaps I'm just not a fan of soup-based ramen. The broth quickly became too salty for me. The saltiness became more compounded the more I ate until it had a somewhat iodine effect, becoming almost metallic and one-note. The iced hojicha is definitely recommended because its bitterness cuts through the saltiness and monotony, making it really refreshing and welcome. My friend had the quattro meats ramen and the broth was a strange muddled flavour of ...meat. The meats were good but the. Could have used some grated garlic for more depth of flavour because the saltiness was also overwhelming and one-note but the restaurant doesn't provide it. We had a set that came with gyoza but it wasn't well-fried and had the texture of mush. It's clearly frozen gyoza and it certainly fills you up, but it's definitely not anything noteworthy nor recommended. Service was decent but they could definitely use a 3rd server during the weekends. I'm surprised by the Michelin Star and I wouldn't say it's particularly special but I had a pleasant experience.

Ok, so a Michelin starred ramen in Tokyo turned into a chain in SG. I have been to the actual main store in Shinjuku, so how does it compare? Actually it is pretty interesting. Lets start with the side order of pork belly chashu and aji tama, both nice but the egg was way too cold. The noodles have the same firm bite and some gentle roughness to it, same as the main store. I am comparing the signature shio ramen using hamaguri clams in the broth btw, as this is the Tokyo signature AFAIK. The broth has similar pronounced umami steaming from the seafood base, but it is way less refined and clean than in Tokyo. I mean this is a whole different level of sophistication. The truffle puree, same thing. Basically tasteless. Don't get me wrong, this is a decent bowl to fix that ramen craving, but very far off the Tokyo original. Which should not come as a surprise really. Side order of gyoza looked a bit dull, but were actually pretty nice!

Quality of food worth the one michelin star, however, the service needs to be improved, Esp how the waitress passed me my food and drinks over my friend's head... Very dangerous and rude. She could have moved closer to my seat and passed me that... Shrug* The seasonal special of yuzu cappuccino is refreshing, as adding a bit of sourness to a rather thick and rich pork bone soup base.

Decided to try it after seeing its banners at strategic locations at CHIJMES, touting as the only Michelin Star ramen place in Singapore. It took awhile to be seated since the only server was too busy to notice there were customers waiting outside the door. Ordered the Shio Hamaguri with gyoza set at $17. The iced water and clam rice appetiser were served promptly. Next was gyoza and I thought it was quite good, thin skin, nicely pan fried. The Shio Hamaguri came in clear clam soup, the homemade ramen is not the typical yellow version. I like the light but flavourful unami of the soup, with no MSG and not salty. It’s quality meal at reasonable price, will be back to try other versions.

Dining here was quite a special experience. The ramen broth isn't the ones you usually find in Singapore with very strong flavour, but tends towards a lighter but still very aromatic broth. I really like the complimentary clam rice that's given prior to the ramen served in a tiny bowl. Always tempts me to order more. The tamago and extra char siew on a plate was ordered separately on top of the ramen, but wow I love ajitsuke tamago but this one is just perfect. Definitely a nice place for comfort ramen!

The fact that it has a Michelin Star is really a matter of personal taste. I prefer other ramen restaurants but all things considered it’s still a 5 star experience. Weekday evening is rather quiet so there’s no issue getting a table to dine in. Food is only prepared when you order and they are generally well done. Ramen portion isn’t huge but is enjoy so that you can enjoy it with other side dishes. Would go back again but wouldn’t bother if the queue is too long. There’s lots of other ramen choices nowadays in Singapore.

The service was terrible. Food was too salty. We were seated at the alfresco area and waved at the service crews for approximately 5 minutes. However, having 2 main crews at the counter and 2 other visible ones on the ground serving, nobody bothered to attend to us. Will not patronise this restaurant again. Strongly NOT recommend here for ramen although it has 1 Michelin star.