WHAT WE ATE

• 2 PCs Chashu Ramen (Original), 40/100 (17 Dec 2022)
• Shabu Shabu Ramen (Black), 55/100 (17 Dec 2022)

Akimitsu is a Michelin awarded brand renown for their Tempura but they also offer pretty decent ramen at their chains in Singapore. The ramen here is pretty customisable. Each ramen comes with different configurations of meat options and then lets you choose what broth you want. Original being the classic white milky Tonkotsu, Black being the garlic variant and finally the red for the spicy option.

SHABU SHABU RAMEN (BLACK) 55/100

Noodle – 5/35
The noodles are medium thick, wavy and a little springy, but overall a little mushy the and bite isn’t great. The noodles also have a rather noticeable alkaline taste – the Chinese yellow noodle taste. Rather disappointing as the other parts of the ramen was pretty good.

Soup – 20/35
The broth is rich and has a subtle sweetness to it. Despite the watery appearance the on my refractometer, the BRiX value shows up well at 10.1 which holds up against your classic Tonkotsu. Once the broth cools down, the layer of emulsified fat condenses into a thin layer at the top also shows the amount of effort put into brewing the tasty soup. The porkiness is well handle but the soup can be better if the garlic taste was a little stronger.

Note: You can read what this refractometer reading is about here.

Meat – 20/20
The difference here is the Shabu Pork. The thin slices of marinated pork belly were cooked to a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness with a savoury aftertaste that lingers. A lot better than their standard Chashu.

Toppings – 10/10
The egg yolk seems a little more cooked but overall it still delivers the nice runny texture. Marination was also quite on point. The other ingredients includes black fungus, fried shallots and some negi. The black fungus was quite soft and crunchy. The fried garlic adds in a nice layer of fragrance and subtle sweetness to the overall meal without overpowering it.

2 PCS CHASHU RAMEN (ORIGINAL) 40/100

Noodle – 5/35
Same noodles used here except the alkaline taste is more obvious due to the lighter soup compared to the black version.

Soup – 20/35
The soup base seems to be the same as the other variants but the “yellow noodle” alkaline taste really gets into the soup there. At the beginning, you’ll find a very enjoyable soup with sweet head and savoury end. But once you get to the end of the meal, the unwanted aftertaste is quite pronounce. On the refractometer, it shows a nice 10.2 which shows the richness of the broth. If they can fix the noodles, it would have been much better.

Note: You can read what this refractometer reading is about here.

Meat – 5/20
The standard Chashu didn’t quite hit the mark. The porkiness was noticeable not in the nicest way. The texture is also a little on the tough side.

Toppings – 10/10
Same eggs here – nicely done and marinated. Same toppings – soft and crunchy black fungus, fried shallots that added a nice aroma and subtle sweetness, and some negi.

DISCLAIMER

One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Find out more about our palettes and how we evaluate our ramen here. 😉