Ippudo, Here We Come !!

After gal's gown selection session, we headed to Ippudo for our dinner. Ramen is one of our favorite dish and we have always wanted to try Ippudo.

We reached Ippudo at around 9pm and we still encountered a long queue. So what's so special about Ippudo, we wonder. Waited for around 30 mins before we were able to get a table. Hungry si us !

browsing through the menu ...... everything looks delicious !!

We ordered Tamago for the starter. When the dish came, we were quite disappointed with the dish as it looks very normal. And it taste bland too. The Tamago from Marutama is still the best so far, at least to both of us. Perhaps its speciality is its Ramen and not other dishes.

Gal's nice Miso Tonkotsu .....
i like the soup base and the pork is very soft and tender ! =p~~

My Shiromaru Tamago ....
the pork taste was quite strong initially ...
However, the taste grows on me !

The tamago is simply delicious ! it's very soft and tasty !!!

we enjoyed the ramen !!!

The fried Gyoza ..... It's pretty normal too. Perhaps one should sticky to ramen only if they were to frequent Ippudo. After trying out the Ramen, both of us finally understand how come it is able to attract so many people at any time of the day, and people is willing to wait.

This got to be the best Ramen place we tried so far, or at least on par with Marutama. Due to its higher pricing and long queue, i think we'll still stick to Marutama if we want a pipping hot, nice ramen.

We passed by Jones the Grocer on our way back, and gal spotted a nice picnic basket.
Ok Ok, i promise u a picnic soon k?

A Ramen Affair @ Daikokuya

Gal had cravings for ramen and suggested Daikokuya @ Raffles City. I have never been to this ramen place before, wonder how would it be like......

having a hard time choosing her ramen ...
and somehow a serious look =p

My Miso Ramen !! It comes with an egg, cha siew, some corn and a nice miso-based soup! To me, a tasty tamago is very impt ! Here, the egg was quite soft and the yolk was not thoroughly cooked, which was a plus point. The char siew was quite soft and tender, but still pale in comparison with the one from Marutama.

Gal's Spicy Miso Ramen. Everything was the same as mine, except for the spicy miso soup. Thumbs up ! Gal like her ramen too =)

We have tried 5 restaurants that specialise in ramen and decided to rank them accordingly to our preference. Here's gal's choice:

1st - Marutama Ramen
2nd - Daikokuya
3rd - Tampopo
4th - Santouka Ramen
5th - Ken's Noodle House

Gal says: "Marutama still tops the list due to its eggs and the char siew that literally melts in the mouth. A close match between Tampopo and Santouka as both are not really nice, especially the eggs. Maybe we ordered the wrong thing. Ken's Noodle house? I dun like the noodle."

And my choice?

1st - Marutama Ramen
2nd - Daikokuya
3rd - Santouka Ramen
4th - Ken's Noodle House
5th - Tampopo

Marutama Ramen still top my list. Daikokuya was second mainly due to its tamago and char siew, which is much better then the remaining outlets. As for why Tampopo came in last? Maybe I ordered the wrong ramen. I ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen, which has a strong Pig taste, something that I dun like. And I gotta pay $2 for a tamago, which was quite blend and the yolk was over-cooked.

By the way, we have yet to make a trip to Ippudo Ramen. Hmm......

A shot for my gal...
Her latest whatsap background.....

Mini Celebration for my gal

It was my gal's birthday today. As i was unable to take leave on this day, promised her i will give her a belated birthday celebration on Sunday. Tried to finish work early today and rush down to town to meet my gal. Decided to have a simple dinner before finding a place for cakes.

As my gal has always wanted to try Santouka Ramen after reading great reviews about it, this was our dinner place.

Spicy Miso Soup base for the birthday gal .....

and a Non-Spicy Miso Soup base for me ....

We ordered 2 additional sides to go along with our ramen. This was Young Bamboo Shoots with Char Siew. This dish can taste better if it is not very salty. For someone like me to say it's salty, you can imagine how salty it is. The char siew were quite hard as well.

The Gyoza was very nice ! The skin is very soft and the fillings inside was juicy. It was fried to perfection, at least to me. Most of the gyoza in other restaurants were over fried, hence it became hard and oily.

Tamago is always a must to go with Ramen.
The eggs here are really soft ! And it is nicer than Tampopo's

Hungry, Hungry !! Let's start eating ! =p

Suddenly, we became food critics. We were breaking up the ramen and making comparisons with Marutama's, which is our fav Ramen place so far. The noodles here were much tastier than Marutama, and the eggs were quite comparable as well. For the soup base, we prefer Marutama's.

Lastly, the char siew were a big disappointment. The char siew was big and thick as shown in the top left photo. It was a bit tough to chew too. Santouka do however offer a wide range of sides, and it look yummi-licous.

i love the gyoza here

After a little window shopping around Central, we headed to Clarke Quay for a walk before settling at Nectarie. A birthday celebration can never do without a cake !

Nice lighting and background @ the fountain .....

she's in love with the cakes here

Can i have this plssssssss ?? and this... and maybe this .... ? =p

Gal was having a hard time deciding .....

It's Pistachio White Chocolate, Brandied Cherries, Lavender & Coffee Macaroons

The two of us with our cakes. Gal was making fun of my cakes, saying it look like a face of an alien. The 2 small cherries looked like eyes and the piece of chocolate in the middle looks like the mouth.

Gal and her Polaroid camera.....
Happily taking photos with the Polaroid camera

Toy Story 3 Polaroid film......
and the cartoons have some glittering effect

You snapped me?? I snapped you back ! =p

Gal happy to have Toy Story 3 Polaroid films for her birthday.
Another collection in her hot pink album

enjoying a cup of Peony Jade Tea ...

Gal with her new Charming Kitty iPhone case. Had a great night chatting, laughing and doing stupid things together !

Singapore Food Fest = Our Food Fest !!

It's Singapore Food Festival. Since both of us love feasting, decided to check out the event held on a bridge at Clarke Quay. It turned out to be a disppointing one for us as we thought we would be able to try a varieties of delicious food. It was just a collection of famous stalls from various Kopitiam food court. All purchases have to be paid via kopitiam card, no cash allowed.

Walking down further towards The Central, there was riverside flea market and a puppet show.

Dinner at Marutama Ra-men !! This was our 5th or 6th visits, but first time dinning with camera. Finally able to add these food photos to my collections.

Though it has another outlet at Liang Court, preferred to dine here where the chefs and the supervisor are all Japanese. Hence, it seems more authentic and tastier to me. Shortly after we arrived, queue was forming up fast.

There were a choice of 3 soup base: miso, soy or spicy. Both of us love the spicy soup base and would always top up with Ajitsuke Tamago (egg), which is a must have ! So far, both of us feel this is the best place for ramen! Nama Karashi Ra-men for both of us please !

The char siew literally melts in your mouth and we love the chicken base soup. Some would find the soup a bit salty.

The famous Ajitsuke Tamago ! The whole egg is well-seasoned, and it is very very soft ! It is around 70% cooked and the york is still in liquid form. It is available for for top-up at only $1 compared to Tampopo's $2. Give me a few more eggs and i certainly wun mind !

Another muz have dish, its signature Char Siew! It's surprising soft and tender. And a few drops of lemon juice actually bring out the taste. Goes well with the chilli powder too ! Yummy !!

I am drooling all over !

My gal's muz have dish, Doshimaki ! This made by folding layers of egg omelette together. It's soft and sweet despite many layers. Compared to the egg on top of the tamago sushi, this egg is simply much more hevenly !

Gal was craving for some desserts and the ice-cream at Haato looks savory ! Chose Cookie and Cream and Wild Raspberry! Nice combination and love the rich taste ! Definitely better than most of the Italian Gelato ice-cream....

Nite shots without tripod was tough !
Regretted not bringing the tripod out.

Love the lighting of the bridge in the background. On normal days, this bridge doesn't seems to have the colorful lighting. No tripod, could not get a good shot.

Nice view of the ACM ! Guess all these buildings are lighted up due to the NDP rehersal at the Padang.

Beautiful interior structure of Fullerton Hotel. Heading back home after a long walk. A Feasting Saturday for both of us .......