Le Shrimp Ramen | Singapore | 75/100

WHAT WE ATE

• Prawn Dumpling Tonkotsu Ramen, 75/100 (29 Jan 2023, T3)
• Le Signature Trio Shrimp Ramen, 85/100 (6 Mar 2022, Paragon)
• Ebiko Prawn Paste Shrimp Ramen, 85/100 (6 Mar 2022, Paragon / 29 Jan 2023, T3)
• Blackie Squid Ink Ebiko Prawn Paste Shrimp Ramen, 75/100, (27 Mar 2024, Buangkok Grand)
• Pork Chop with Preserve Vegetable Tonkotsu Ramen, 75/100, (27 Oct 2024, Plaza Singapura)

Its not exactly your normal ramen – on their website it says.. Inspired by the flavours of Japanese ramen broth and silky threads of Chinese la mian, Le Shrimp Ramen is a perfect marriage of Chinese and Japanese culture, offering a simple menu of elaborate flavours. But still, I think there’s merits evaluating them against the likes of other crab or truffle fusion ramens.

Review for Pork Chop with Preserved Vegetable Tonkotsu Ramen: 75/100

Noodle: 30/35
The noodles are medium-thin and straight, like those used in Hakata-style ramen. Served more al dente, they have a slight chewiness and a firm, snappy bite. There’s a nice earthy wheat taste without any unpleasant alkaline flavor, common in some noodles. However, the noodles soften quickly in the hot broth, so they lose some of their initial firmness by the second half of the meal.

Soup: 25/35
The soup is rich, thick, and creamy, showing signs of a long simmer with a thin gelatin film forming on top. The flavor starts mildly sweet and savory, with a slight sour tang from the preserved vegetables, followed by a lingering “beany” sweetness similar to soy milk. It’s a straightforward, pleasant flavor profile, though it feels like it’s missing a strong tare to give it more depth.

Meat: 15/20
A generous serving of five strips of deep-fried pork makes for a standout topping. The pork is wrapped in a crispy batter that tastes like Singaporean prawn-paste chicken—crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. The meat is tender and well-seasoned, with a salt-and-pepper flavor similar to Taiwanese fried cutlets. It’s tasty but could be better if it were slightly less oily.

Topping: 5/10
Toppings are kept simple with some spring onions (of the local variety) and a bit of preserved vegetables. The preserved veggies add a hint of flavor but might benefit from a more generous portion to balance the dish and enhance its complexity.

Le Signature Trio Shrimp Ramen: 85/100

Noodle – 25/35
Taste was still ok, there wasn’t any “yellow noodle taste” and it has a light aroma that went well with the broth but “silky threads of la mian” – sorry, I can’t taste whats so silky about it. But in terms of texture, I was hoping for a little bit of springiness or bite.

Soup – 30/35
There some reminiscence of your Singaporean prawn noodle but it also has this creaminess that you won’t find in our local favourite – I can see where the Japanese influence comes in. Its a rich concoction of sweet, savoury and a hint of spiciness towards the end. For those that love your prawn noodles, this dish takes it up a notch.

Meat – 20/20
Unlike other ramen, here we are reviewing prawns and shrimp dumplings. It’s called “Trio” because there’s 3 types of prawn / shrimp here. The variety really allows you to try out all the permutations to figure out what you really like – for us it’s the shrimp paste.

1. Big prawns – visually appealing but meat was tough. It also didn’t add much to the already prawny dish in terms of taste but might be a different case for prawn lovers.
2. Prawn dumplings – there seems to be a mix of of pork and shrimp / prawn? As we take our bite in, there’s this “juiciness” in the dumpling that carries a slightly different taste.
3. Ebiko shrimp paste – and then there’s these “siew mai” looking things that are absolutely delicious. Just give us the soup and this thing and we’ll be good enough actually.

Topping – 10/10
Very different from your normal ramen eggs – here you get Long Jing Tea Lava Eggs. For those that aren’t familiar, “Long Jing” is a renown variety of green tea from China. Lightly roasted with a distinct balance of freshness of the green tea and very subtle aftertaste from its roasting. The aroma and fragrance of it gets so well marinted, it’s like a marriage between your Chinese tea-leaf egg and Japanese Tamago except it’s much better. Just comparing eggs, this is one of the best we’ve ever had.

For the other toppings, there’s some negi and some cabbage which are nothing extraordinary but the parsley made quite a difference. When you have a very rich broth and ingredients, you’ll expect the meal to go flat rather quickly, but the parsley has such a strong taste that it “resets” your palette mid-way. Pretty good choice given that parsley isn’t something you’ll find in ramen or prawn noodles.

Ebiko Prawn Paste Shrimp Ramen: 85/100

Noodle – 25/35
During our subsequent visit at T3 almost a year later, the standard is pretty consistent. The noodles were slightly firmer than what we can remember and the bite has also better. Taste wise goes very well with the strong savoury shrimpy base.

Soup – 30/35
The same rich prawny / shrimpy base.

Meat – 20/20
This is where its different – instead of all 3 types of prawn / shrimp, you’ll only get one. But if we had to pick 1, this is probably the best we’ll pick. The Ebiko Shrimp Paste is something that we cannot have enough of. There’s this regular “shrimp paste” but it only lightly blended such that you can taste difference in the texture, and adding in the ebiko gives a secondary layer to it’s taste and texture as well. Overall it’s something you’ll want to ask whether you can buy back home.

Toppings – 10/10
One of the best eggs around. Other ingredients also layers well.

Blackie Squid Ink Ebiko Prawn Paste Shrimp Ramen: 75/100

Noodles: 25/35

Utilizing the same noodles as the base, the taste remains satisfactory without any distinct “yellow noodle” flavor. While boasting a light aroma that complements the broth, the touted “silky threads of la mian” didn’t quite deliver on texture expectations; a tad more springiness or bite would have been preferred.

Broth: 20/35

Notably, the prawn brain essence takes a backseat here, overshadowed by an added sweetness from the squid ink and a subtle spiciness. However, the overall flavor profile feels muted compared to the pure prawn rendition, resulting in a clash of two potent tastes that ultimately flatten the taste experience.

Meat: 20/20

Consistency remains with the inclusion of the same meat and delightful Ebiko shrimp paste. Additionally, the “siew mai” resembling toppings offer a burst of deliciousness, making them standout components alongside the soup.

Toppings: 10/10

Mirroring the previous iteration, the toppings retain their excellence, with the eggs particularly shining. While the rest are standard, they contribute to a satisfying ramen ensemble.

Prawn Dumpling Tonkotsu Ramen: 75/100

Noodle – 20/35
Quite sure its the same noodles used here but when paired with the Tonkotsu broth, it felt like something was missing. The noodles didn’t have sufficient distinctive flavour to layer on the broth – felt flat going with the broth. Might be due to the slightly thicker than usual noodles for Tonkotsu broth.

Broth – 25/35
The porkiness is well subdued. The creaminess and richness of the broth comes through nicely despite the slightly thinner viscosity. Taste wise can be more layered – can’t taste whats their secret sauce / “Tare” or if even there’s one.

Meat – 20/20
The same prawn dumplings are used here and the flavour came through a bit stronger when not eaten with a strong shrimpy broth. The juiciness and mouthfeel is really good here.

Toppings – 10/10
One of the best eggs around. For the other toppings, the Tonkotsu version didn’t have must “liao” or toppings apart from the spring onions but the ones use has more of a subtle spicy kick to it which is quite nice.

Conclusion
Is it prawn noodles or is it prawn fusion ramen? I think it’s both. There’s enough to remind me about ramen and there’s also enough to remind me of the local favourite prawn noodles. A good fusion I guess in this case.

DISCLAIMER

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