Review - Ippudo Ramen at Mandarin Gallery

Ippudo is one of Japan’s top ramen shops and there was a hype when it opened in 2009. The founder of Ippudo, Shigemi Kawahara, is known as the Ramen King after three consecutive first place wins on a nationwide ramen-making competition where the top ramen chefs compete to create the best ramen. There was often a long queue at the Ippudo Ramen restaurant at Mandarin Gallery. Hate the queue.

Tried out the restaurant with Onyee and Weiling on a Saturday for lunch. It was my second time there. As usual, the queue was long. Maybe they should expand the size of the restaurant so that they can accommodate more people.

Like other ramen restaurants, Ippudo has its own regular customers who swear by it and visit it on a regular basis to satisfy their ramen cravings. There are also others who felt that it is overrated and not as good as the one in Japan. For me, I haven't tried the Ippudo restaurant in Japan but although I find the Ippudo ramen quite good in Singapore, I find that it is not worthwhile for me to queue so long just to eat it.

Total damage: About S$60 in total.

My ramen.

Ippudo Ramen
333A Orchard Road
#04-02/03/04 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6235 2797
Mon to Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 11am – 10pm