Ramen Hitoyoshi — generous chashu tonkotsu bowl!
Ramen Hitoyoshi at Tiong Bahru — tonkotsu broth loaded with 5+ chashu pork slices, ajitama, kikurage wood ear mushrooms, scallions.
Dinner at Ramen Hitoyoshi Tiong Bahru — tonkotsu ramen with stacked chashu stack. 😋
What was in the bowl:
- A wide round white ramen bowl with:
- Creamy tan tonkotsu broth — proper pork bone milky-style.
- 5+ chashu pork slices layered across the entire bowl — way more than the standard 2-slice ramen serving.
- Ajitama (marinated soft-boiled egg) cut in half — both halves visible, deep orange jammy yolk centres.
- Kikurage (wood ear mushroom) clumped in the centre — the black wavy fungus.
- Chopped scallions scattered on top.
- Thin straight Hakata-style noodles mostly hidden under the broth + chashu mountain.
Ramen Hitoyoshi is a SG ramen shop named after Hitoyoshi city in Kumamoto, Japan — the broth specifies the regional Kumamoto-style tonkotsu (compared to the more common Hakata or Hokkaido styles). Tiong Bahru area.
Kumamoto tonkotsu is distinguished from Hakata tonkotsu by:
- Slightly darker tan colour (longer-boiled, more caramelisation)
- Mayu (garlic-flavoured black oil) as a common topping (not used in this bowl, would be a black drizzle on top)
- Thicker straight noodles rather than Hakata’s ultra-thin
The signature of THIS bowl is the chashu loading — 5+ slices vs the standard 2. Hitoyoshi must run their chashu special or this is the chashu-men upgrade (extra chashu ordered as add-on, usually +$3-5).
Chashu execution test — proper rolled-belly chashu should be uniform fat-marbling + tender enough to fall apart with chopsticks but slice-able. This version looks paler/pinker than the usual deep-braised dark chashu — could be a lighter brine instead of dark soya braise (Kumamoto-style sometimes does this).
Ajitama is the soft-boiled marinated egg standard — properly executed yolk = the deep orange jammy texture. Both halves showing means BB and I split + each got half.
Kikurage = the textural mushroom in tonkotsu — soaks up the broth + adds the chewy-crunchy contrast. Standard topping for tonkotsu ramen.
Total: probably $18-22 for this loaded chashu bowl.
Overall: 4 / 5. Chashu loading was generous (the dish’s selling point), broth had proper tonkotsu depth, ajitama yolk was right, chashu was slightly paler than the deep-braised standard. Will reorder with mayu garlic oil add-on. 😋👍🏼
