ramen santouka

tucked into a little corner of the mall, ts decided that this ramen shop needed some business from us. although we were apprehensive about the food before we stepped into the restaurant, reassurances were quick as we noticed tables of japanese enjoying their ramen.

it was a nice ramen dinner although the soup base was on the salty side. ramen-wise, we all felt it is way better than bishamon at the basement of raffles city. perhaps the more chewy bishamon ramen is an acquired taste.

the interesting thing about the santouka menu is that the ramen also comes in set meals with a choice of rice or don. unlike other ramen shops, you can also up or down-size your ramen depending on your appetite.

i couldn't resist not ordering the tokusen toroniku [limited to only 60 servings daily]. those conversant in japanese must be intrigued by the word toroniku since toro is tuna belly and niku is meat.

but it's not melt-in-your-mouth tuna belly sashimi, it's the pork equivalent since the meat is taken from the cheek and slow-cooked to a level of tenderness that i feel can only be achieved with fat, streaky pork belly.

it's yummy without the cholesterol overload. hopefully, they can tone down the salt and that will be bliss.