WHAT WE ATE
- Matcha Ramen, 60/100 (14 Sep 2024, Raffles City)
- Toripaitan Ramen, 65/100 (14 Sep 2024, Raffles City)
Mensho Tokyo, the acclaimed ramen restaurant, has finally opened its doors in Singapore’s Raffles City. Known for its Michelin-awarded San Francisco branch and multiple other awards, Mensho Tokyo brings its authentic Japanese flavors and innovative creations to the local food scene. The restaurant’s star dish is the Signature Toripaitan, featuring a rich chicken broth, alongside unique offerings like Chilli Crab Ramen (Singapore special) and Duck Matcha Ramen. With freshly made noodles, premium toppings including A5 wagyu chashu, and a stylish ambiance, Mensho Tokyo is a much talked about experience in the heart of Singapore.
Matcha Ramen: 60/100
Noodle: 35/35
The noodles are a highlight here—thick, wavy, and reminiscent of tsukemen in form. Served al dente, they’re not just springy but have a snappy bite that’s highly satisfying. The noodles carry a distinctive earthy sweetness, which could only come from high-grade flour. They’re made fresh in-house, and you can actually see the chef milling the flour and preparing the noodles using the famous Yamato noodle-making machine. It’s been a while since I’ve had noodles this enjoyable in Singapore.
Soup: 10/35
Creamy chicken matcha soup with whipped cream. I had my doubts about ordering this dish since unique flavors like matcha in ramen can either be amazing or disastrous. Unfortunately, the balance here was off. The matcha flavor was overpowering, creating a taste profile that was hard to enjoy. Imagine unsweetened soy milk with a heavy dash of matcha, plus a salty punch. There’s a fleeting sweetness followed by salty-savoury notes when you first slurp the soup, but it quickly transitions into a lingering grassy matcha bitterness. While I love matcha and paitan on their own, this combination didn’t work for me.
Meat: 5/20
The meat, on its own, had a pleasant umami note, but the texture was overcooked, tough, and stringy. Out of the eight generous slices, only one was tender, chewy, juicy, and had a lovely smoky-savoury aroma. However, the bitterness from the matcha soup masked much of the meat’s flavor, making it difficult to appreciate what little goodness it had. Quite a pity.
Topping: 10/10
The toppings were mostly well-prepared. You have leek, negi, and asparagus. The larger pieces of leek were somewhat inconsistent; only one out of three retained its juiciness and sweetness. The other pieces were limp, overcooked, mushy, and lacked the fresh bite. The fine slices of negi, however, were excellent, offering a nice piquant aroma to the dish. The small strips of asparagus were cooked perfectly, retaining a crunchy texture and a juicy sweetness. Despite the inconsistency with the leek, the toppings overall were still quite good.
Toripaitan Ramen: 65/100
Noodle: 35/35
The noodles in this Toripaitan Ramen are the same thick, wavy ones seen in other offerings, and they deliver yet again. Served al dente, they have a springy texture with a snappy bite that’s immensely satisfying. The noodles have a distinctive earthy sweetness, likely from the high-grade flour used, and they’re made fresh in-house with the famous Yamato noodle-making machine.
Soup: 20/35
The soup is rich and frothy, starting off with a pleasant sweetness followed by a savoury body. However, the overall flavor profile is pretty one-dimensional, and the experience becomes repetitive as you continue eating. The soup also has a somewhat grainy or powdery texture, which may not appeal to everyone.
Meat: 5/20
The smoked chashu falls short again in this dish. The smoky flavor is almost undetectable, and while the meat is mildly savory, it doesn’t stand up to the robust soup. The texture is also problematic—tough, dry, and stringy, making it less enjoyable overall.
Topping: 5/10
The toppings include menma-style fermented king oyster mushrooms and negi. The mushrooms were a decent addition, offering a balance of sweetness and savoriness, but otherwise, the toppings were fairly standard and didn’t add much depth to the dish.
DISCLAIMER
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Find out more about our palettes and how we evaluate our ramen here. 😉
