WHAT WE ATE

• Akamaru Ramen, 70/100 (6 Jan 2023, Ikeda, Osaka)
• Karaka-Men, 75/100 (6 Jan 2023, Ikeda, Osaka)

Akamaru Ramen 70/100

Noodles 30/35
The noodles are thin, long and seems thinner than what I recall having in Singapore. The texture is smooth and bite is firm. Noodles also hold well throughout the meal. The thinner noodles somehow slurps a little better here – might be just a placebo effect but hey, everything in Japan just taste better right?

Soup 25/35
The soup is rich and savoury. The broth overall is a little sweeter (from the pork) and the spiciness also seems sharper than the ones I had in various other countries.

Meat 10/20
Chashu is quite tender but not the melt-in-your-mouth type. Marination is even and well balanced. Meatiness of the pork is also well handled but taste of good pork isn’t quite there yet.

Toppings 5/10
Tamago is done well. Gooey in the middle. Marination is not too salty or overtly strong. The rest of the toppings are just negi and crunchy black fungus. Nothing special but there’s the complimentary marinated side dishes that you can choose to add in.

Karaka-Men 75/100

Noodles 30/35
Noodles seems a little thicker here – might be because it’s ordered to have soft hardness. But overall the taste, texture, etc is similar to the Akamaru version.

Soup 25/35
The soup here is noticeably different from the Singapore version. Honestly, I find the Singapore karaka-men better. The spicy paste here taste different and more like Sichuan pepper kind of spiciness. The spice also kicks in right at the beginning – more choking type of sharp spiciness compared to the slow burn in the SG version. The nuttiness of the broth is also more subtle here despite having larger chunks of nuts found in the soup. Overall it taste more towards being a spicy concoction rather than a well balanced one.

Meat 15/20
In lieu of the regular chashu, you’ll have minced meat as part of the spicy meat paste. The meat is tender and savory but marination is a little strong – the spiciness seems to mask some of the other taste.

Toppings 5/10
Same eggs. Other toppings are just negi but there’s the complimentary marinated side dishes that you can choose to add in.

DISCLAIMER

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