Sunday Japanese dinner with BB — black garlic tonkotsu ramen $11.80 + tonjiru onsen udon $10.20. Japanese noodle specialty pair.

We ordered:

Black garlic tonkotsu ramen — $11.80
Tonjiru onsen udon — $10.20

Total: $22 for both bowls.

The black garlic tonkotsu ramen is the proper Hakata-style ramen variant. Standard preparation:

Rich pork bone broth (tonkotsu — 12-18 hour long-simmer with rolling boil)
Black garlic oil (mayu — toasted garlic + sesame oil reduction) drizzled on top
Thin straight Hakata-style noodles
Sliced chashu pork belly
Menma (bamboo shoots) + scallion + sometimes nori sheet
Sometimes ajitama (marinated soft-boiled egg) addition

The black garlic mayu is the defining element. Different from standard tonkotsu (which presents the pork bone richness directly) or shoyu tonkotsu (which adds soy depth), the black garlic mayu adds the proper smoky-burnt-garlic complexity.

The black garlic preparation:

Whole garlic cloves slow-roasted at low temperature for weeks
The result: black-coloured + sweet-savoury + slightly sweet
Made into oil for the ramen application
The proper umami enhancer without aggressive raw garlic punch

The Hakata-style ramen elements:

Thin straight noodles (vs. wavy alkaline noodles of other ramen styles)
Firmness preference (Hakata uses kaedama replays — extra noodles added later)
Pork bone richness (the proper tonkotsu category definition)
Optional toppings menu (typically additional eggs, chashu, vegetables, etc.)

The tonjiru onsen udon is the Japanese udon variant. Tonjiru (豚汁) translates as “pork miso soup” — the warming pork + vegetable + miso soup traditional Japanese home cooking.

The tonjiru onsen udon format:

Thick udon noodles
Miso-based pork broth (sometimes red miso, sometimes mixed)
Pork pieces (often pork belly slices)
Mixed vegetables (daikon, carrot, burdock root, sometimes potato)
Onsen tamago (soft-poached egg with runny yolk)
Garnish: scallion, sometimes shichimi pepper

The onsen tamago is the defining textural element. The Japanese soft-poached egg cooked at the precise “onsen” temperature (65-70°C) for proper white-set + completely runny yolk format. Different from soft-boiled egg (the proper hot-water cooking + immediate cooling shock) or poached egg (water-vortex poaching), onsen tamago has the distinctive smooth set + jelly-like texture.

The combination of black garlic tonkotsu ramen + tonjiru onsen udon is proper Japanese sit-down restaurant sampling. Different from a single ramen order or two similar ramens (which would be flavour-monotonous), the contrast across the two noodle dishes provides:

Different broth profiles (rich tonkotsu vs. miso pork)
Different noodle types (thin straight vs. thick udon)
Different protein focuses (chashu vs. mixed pork + vegetables)
Different textural elements (black garlic oil vs. onsen tamago)

At $10-12 per bowl pricing, this represents proper Japanese specialty restaurant tier. Different from the budget Japanese (food court $8-10) or premium destination ramen ($15-22 at famous ramen specialists), the mid-tier sit-down sweet spot.

Singapore Japanese ramen + udon specialists: