Menya Kokoro, Plaza Singapura – Top Six Ramen from Six Different Countries

The third outlet of Menya Kokoro, Japan’s largest maze-soba chain at Plaza Singapura brings about another smashing record. Singapore’s biggest maze-soba party, featuring six bestsellers specially curated from Menya Kokoro’s international lineup, will be available on the menu from late October onwards.

Savour Menya Kokoro’s best-selling dishes from Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Jakarta, Vancouver, and Manila, along with the top three best-selling side dishes of Menya Kokoro Singapore. Surprisingly, it is not the original, but the Kokoro Tantanmen ($13.80/$15.80) that is the best-selling dish from the Tokyo outlets. This ramen-based dish is a comforting one that is served in a tonkotsu broth, complete with secret recipe minced meat, tender char shu slices, and spring onion.

Appealing to maze-soba purists is the Tokyo Maze-soba ($10.80/ $12.80), featuring a wholesome bowl of ramen served with ground saba fish, poached egg, nori, green onions, chives, and fragrant chopped garlic, and topped with Japanese-style slow-braised minced meat sauce. Break into the poached egg to reveal its runny golden centre, before tossing it carefully to coat the noodles completely! What results is an explosion of umami flavours that’s simply hard to resist. It’s no wonder that this original dish is the dish of choice for the Thais in Bangkok.

Proof that Menya Kokoro does not rest on its laurels when it comes to charming its local customers, lies in the creativity behind their localised dishes. The unique characteristics of local palates come to the fore with quirkily named dishes like Cheese Maze-soba ($13.80/ $15.80) and Zenbu Maze-soba ($14.80/ $16.80), which represent Jakarta and Manila respectively.

Similar to the Tokyo Maze-soba, the Cheese Maze-soba yields distinctly umami notes that hold no punches. The use of melted cheese is also an ingenious way of adding more richness to the dish. The Zenbu Maze-soba lives up to its name of “everything in”, as its served in a bowl that’s brimming with several of Menya Kokoro’s signature ingredients. If you’re that one diner who can never decide which combination of toppings to order, this dish is for you.

Seafood and greens come together to create a lip-smacking delicious union of flavours in Vancouver’s most popular dish, the Mentai Ebi Maze-soba ($13.80/$15.80). Vibrant both in flavour and appearance, this dish stood out as one of my favourites with its medley of fresh prawns with arugula, seaweed, shiso leaf, ebiko, and onsen egg, topped with a generous amount of mentai for that much-needed umami burst!

Challenging diners on their home turf is Singapore’s representing dish, the explosively spicy, take-no-prisoner Furious Mala Ramen ($14.80/ $16.80). Combining a medley of Szechuan peppers, dried chilli strings, and chilli oil, this is one dish to proceed with caution if you, like me, have a low threshold for all things mala and spicy.

Between the maze-soba and ramen, my vote definitely goes to the maze-soba. Cooked perfectly al dente, they are indeed a unique addition to the range of Japanese noodles us Singaporeans are already familiar with. And there’s nothing better than stirring up those ribbons to coat them with our delicious toppings of choice!

And that’s not all. Every bowl of maze-soba is served with free mushroom kombu-based soup and oimeshi – 100% high-quality Japanese rice that complements the dish. Enjoy with a side dish or two, such as Chicken Karaage ($4.80/ 4pcs) and Takoyaki Balls ($4.80/ 4pcs), all made in-house!

 

Menya Kokoro

68 Orchard Road #B2-53, Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839

Tel: +65 6261 2428

 

Sun to Thu: 11AM – 3:30PM, 5PM – 9:30PM

Fri and Sat: 11AM – 10PM

Website: https://www.facebook.com/menyakokorosg/

 

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Words and Images by @chuepachups

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