Known globally for their ramen, ramen chain IPPUDO will be launching their tenth outlet in Singapore at The Star Vista. For the first time ever, IPPUDO Star Vista will be offering coffee and cafe-inspired dishes as well to cater to the younger demographics and students. The interior for this outlet is also done differently where it takes on a more café-inspired modern Japanese aesthetics with the bright open concept, glass walls and wood-toned furniture to be more attractive to younger consumers.
As such, the menu at this outlet is priced at slightly more affordable prices as compared to other outlets. To thank Singaporeans consumers’ for their loyal support, signature ramen dishes: Shiromaru and Akamaru will be offered at a lower price from $13.80 (U.P from $15) and from $14.80 (U.P from $16) respectively only at this outlet. Kaedama – an extra serving of ramen, will be available at $1 instead of the usual $2.
All ramen will going at 1-for-1 prices all day when they officially launch on the 6th November, Monday for all their Facebook Fans!
In collaboration with Hattendo, IPPUDO Star Vista will be offering the famous Hattendo Japanese soft cream buns, which you can get as a set with a cup of coffee of your choice at $6.50! First 500 customers on 6th November will also receive a complimentary Hatendo cream bun!
The innovative café-inspired dishes offered are of a Japanese-Western fusion style that is unique to this outlet.
Lasagna Gyoza ($10)
Good as an appetizer that can be shared with your friends, the savoury combination of the gyoza, potato chunks and cheese over-baked with the warm cheesy tomato sauce really comes together in comforting unison that would satisfy any cheesy cravings. By having gyoza’s instead of the usual lasagna pasta, there is lesser skin, as such the dish is less starchy and more flavourful together with the light tomato base instead of overwhelming. It has a slight sourish and peppery aftertaste that perks up your appetite.
Spam Mustard Itame ($9)
For this dish, spam, pototao and broccoli were pan-fried with pork stock and grain mustard. While the combination of pork stock and grain mustard was innovative and create an interesting taste, this dish was way too salty for our liking where the taste of the broccoli and potato were overwhelmed and the saltiness of the spam enhanced instead.
Wash it down with Sakura Tea ($5 by pot, 1 time refill), which was light and sweet on the palette with the floral aroma of the sakura.
Beef Tataki ($15)
The thinly sliced beef is laid together with a bed of fresh onions and IPPUDO’s own original onion sauce. If you love the combination of beef and onion, this is right down your alley. The onion suace is very light and not too overpowering where the taste of the beef still shines through. Best recommend way to eat: Take a slice of beef and wrap it with the fresh onions and sauce!
Ebi Mayo ($16)
Fried to crispy perfection, the homemade sauce made of lemon, chili, salt, mayonnaise and condensed milk is then poured over the ebi’s. The sauce is very light, hence the zest of the lemon and sweetness of the condensed milk stands out more as compared to the mayonnaise. While the sauce goes well with the outer crispy layer of the ebi, it does not really bring out the dish entirely and does not leave something amazingly memorable.
Ramen Dishes
Widely known for their ramen, the star of the show was definitely the ramen. Though slightly on the pricey side, the Maze Soba and Tan Tan Men are available exclusively at IPPUDO Star Vista and they are definitely something you will want to come down to Buona Vista for.
Maze Soba ($15/with Tamago, $12/basic) Extremely addictive. The homemade dry noodles is tossed with IPPUDO’s homemade minced meat miso paste before being topped with diced chashu, spring onions, bamboo shoots, seaweed, onsen tamago, fried noodle bits. The dish itself is a whole mix of a variety of textures from bouncy chewy bamboo shoots to the crispy fried noodle bits that are brought together by the thick sauce. The taste and consistency of the sauce is similiar to a sweet and sour sauce, except with more savoury tones, less sourish aftertaste, and a subtle kick of spice at the end.
The recommended way for eating this is to first mix it and try it as it is before adding a dash of lime if you want to accentuate the sauce and the kick of spice. Definitely a must try!
Tan Tan Men ($19/with Tamago, $16/basic)
Perfect for spicy lovers! The savoury combination of the thin and straight noodles mixed with a special blend of Japanese sesame paste and IPPUDO’s signature tonkatsu broth really packs a punch. Topped with a medley of spicy minced pork miso, tender pork loin and fresh coriander, it is the savoury kind of spicy that you will want to keep going back for as it lingers in your mouth, not overly spicy such that it becomes biting on the tongue.
Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice for an extra zesty kick and aroma that helps to balance out the richness of the sauce and prevent it from becoming too heavy.
Matcha Crème Brulee ($5, $7 set with any coffee)
While the custard inside is matcha flavoured, it does not have the distinct matcha green tea taste most would expect and tasted more like a vanilla creme brulee. The sweetness of the custard overwhelms the matcha powder atop as the matcha flavour is not strong enough. This would be a good pick if you are not too big a fan of matcha and would like to get something refreshing after a rich meal.
At the end of the day, IPPUDO’s ramen dishes are still their forte. Although the cafe-inspired dishes are not mind-blowing, they are interesting dishes unique to IPPUDO Star Vista, and it is definitely a step towards improving and re-innovating themselves to reach out to the younger generations.
Promotions:
IPPUDO will be having a 1-for-1 for ramen dishes all day on their opening day – 6th November Monday for all their Facebook fans. So grab the chance and head down to try their signature and exclusive ramen dishes with your friends!
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