Char siew ramen ($6.90)!
Chinatown hawker char siew ramen: SG-Japan fusion bowl with creamy tonkotsu-style broth, glazed char siew slices, narutomaki, wakame, lava egg and scallion. $6.90.
Lunch at Chinatown: char siew ramen, $6.90. SG-Japan fusion. ๐
What was in the bowl:
- Creamy pale broth: the cloudy, tonkotsu-style pork soup with the froth still on top
- Char siew slices: the Singapore-style glazed roast pork (dark caramel edges) standing in for Japanese chashu, three thick slices
- Narutomaki: the pink-spiral fishcake, the classic ramen garnish
- Wakame: the dark green seaweed ribbons
- Lava egg: half an egg with the orange molten yolk
- Scallion + thin noodles underneath
This bowl is the fusion in one dish: a Japanese ramen frame (tonkotsu-style broth, narutomaki, wakame, ajitama, thin straight noodles) topped with Singapore char siew instead of the rolled-belly Japanese chashu. The local char siew is leaner, glazed with maltose and soy, with charred edges, so it brings a sweeter, smokier note than the buttery Japanese version. Whether that is heresy or genius depends on your purism; at a hawker stall it just reads as a good idea.
The broth ran the proper cloudy tonkotsu style, pork bones boiled hard enough to emulsify, the froth a sign it was blended fresh rather than ladled flat. The lava egg hit the right jammy stage, and the narutomaki and wakame did their textural duties.
At $6.90 for a loaded ramen bowl in Chinatown, this undercuts the dedicated ramen shops ($13-$18) by more than half, with the char siew twist as the talking point.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. ๐๐๐ผ The SG char siew over tonkotsu broth was the standout fusion move. Would re-order.
