Ramen Soshiji: Incredible ginger shoyu ramen that you’ll need to queue for
You’ll usually need to queue to get a bowl of Singapore’s best ramen, because of space constraints — good ramen joints tend to be small and intimate spaces.
For example, International Plaza has Enishi and Brothers Ramen, while Orchard area has Sanpoutei Ramen. Now, the new Ramen Soshiji has joined the fray.
The cramped 12-seater is snuggled deep in Orchard Plaza and has a perpetual queue outside its door.
Despite being located in a mall that doesn’t have the best crowd, it’s become somewhat of a destination spot for ramen lovers.
Of course, we had to head to Orchard Plaza to check out Ramen Soshiji ourselves.
Ramen Soshiji’s ginger shoyu ramen
The first thing you have to know about Ramen Soshiji is its menu selection: It only has four types of ramen on its menu.
There are the two signatures of ginger shoyu and tonkotsu ramen, and also the ie kei (tonkotsu and shoyu broth) and jiro-style (a style of ramen known for its massive amount of toppings) ramen, which are served on a rotational basis.
Sure, it also offers a bunch of sides and rice bowls such as the Stamina pork belly rice bowl (from S$7), but the reason we queued 40 minutes was to try the ramen.
Of the two options, the unique ginger shoyu ramen (from S$13.80) is the much more interesting one — we don’t think we’ve seen it anywhere else in Singapore, except at Ramen Soshiji.
Originating from Niigata, it featured a pork bone and vegetable stock mixed with a housemade shoyu concoction, and ginger.
This is the epitome of comfort: The soup was clean, while boasting oodles of umami, with pleasant sweet undertones and, more importantly, suffused with the most intoxicating ginger aroma.
Although ginger typically runs the risk of being pungent and egregiously sharp, this was an elegant and controlled fragrance that didn’t burn the throat at all.
Ramen Soshiji used buckwheat noodles for its ginger shoyu ramen, and it’s springy, with a touch of earthiness that makes it the perfect foil for the broth.
The other signature at Ramen Soshiji was the Hakata tonkotsu ramen (from S$11.80), a more run-of-the-mill dish.
That’s not to say it’s mediocre — it’s plenty solid, with a creamy and flavourful broth.
However, Ramen Soshiji’s tonkotsu ramen doesn’t really do things much differently from the crop of well-established tonkotsu ramen brands that litter Singapore.
But we still have to give kudos to its al dente pencil-thin noodles, which are super slurpable.
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As for the ingredients, we were in love with the flavoured egg and tender chashu, which come with both the shoyu and tonkotsu ramen.
In particular, we were obsessed with how velvety and jammy the yolk was — it’s basically perfect in our books.
If you’re the kind of person who always needs a side dish to accompany your mains, Ramen Soshiji also serves some great homemade pork siumai (S$10).
You get three massive balls of juice-gushingly sweet pork siu mai — honestly, this beats out many dim sum restaurants in Singapore.
While we might be incredibly impressed by this ramen spot, we have to admit that not everyone can stomach the grueling wait time, which some say can stretch up to one hour.
But if you have the patience, and/or a love for ramen, Ramen Soshiji is definitely somewhere to include in your hunt for the best ramen in Singapore.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the places for the most decadent ayam penyet in Singapore and Joo Chiat’s coolest new artisan bakery.
Wed 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 11.30pm
Thurs 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 11.30pm
Fri 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 11.30pm
Sat 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 11.30pm
Sun 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 10pm
- Somerset
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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