Friday, August 06, 2010

Miharu @ Gallery Hotel, Singapore

Singapore holiday post #1 - Hearty (non Halal) ramen :)...

It was a gloomy, rainy day when me and Jo arrived in Singapore... and a part of me was afraid that we really should have packed an inflatable raft* since it had been raining for the entire day:
(* As advised by Super Banker Fai, in reference to the Orchard Road area flooding last week)
Dark and gloomy....

Of course, dahling Kelvin immediately whisked us away into a taxi, saying that he knew the perfect place to brighten the day, or at least help warm us up.

"Where?...", we asked, curious. :)

He teased that he was "bringing us to a hotel"**, but finally revealed that we were headed to Miharu, reputedly one of the best ramen restaurants in Singapore:
(** LOL. Sorry Kelv - Almost like putting words in your mouth but hey! It really was part of the conversation, wasn't it?)
Outside Miharu....

Located at the base of the funky Gallery Hotel (near the Robertson Quay area), this little eatery is popular with the office lunch crowd so it was packed when we arrived.

In the end, the friendly waitress could only offer us a table outside but it was cool and breezy (Thanks to the rain), so we didn't mind at all:
Seated in the outside walkway area....

Looking at the menu, there was only a small selection of dishes (about 7 ramens, 3 rice dishes and a couple of side dishes) but we still had trouble deciding because everything looked interesting...
(... and we were really hungry! Haha...)

With Kelv's recommendation, we ordered the Chashu Rice (about SGD 5++):
Rice 1....

... and also the Mayo Pork Rice (about SGD 5++):
Rice 2....

(Both servings were kinda small but with a decent amount of meat on top - seemed pretty reasonably priced by Singaporean standards)

While the Chashu Rice with its thick slices of fairly tender and tasty pork hit all the right spots, I found the Mayo Pork Rice more interesting - chilled cubes of pork tossed in a sweet-ish mayo sauce served with some preserved? minced vegetables and hot rice.
(To be fair, the mix of these 3 ingredients was just a tad too salty but overall still tasty....)

Of course, the specialty there is their Sapporo styled ramen, so I couldn't miss trying it. :)
(They use the famous Sapporo Nishiyama brand noodles imported from Japan and reputedly made with fresh well water...)

Pictured here is my bowl of Miso Ramen (SGD 13++):
Tummy warming meal....

At first I thought the soup was a tad too salty, but when eaten with the bouncey ramen, it balanced out well:
(Note: It is stated on the menu that while this is the style of the soup, you can request for some clear soup to mellow it down if you find it too salty)
Springy strands of ramen....

As I continued eating, I realised that there was more to this bowl of ramen - every single ingredient seemed to have been lovingly prepared:
- the ramen, as mentioned, had a nice bouncey/ springy texture,
- the soup, while salty, didn't taste at all "flat"/ one dimensional as most ramen soups can be,
- the corn was fresh and tasty, complementing the noodles, and
- even the boiled egg was perfect, firm yet the yolk was still moist!

What a meal....
:)
Partly because of the good food, but mostly because of the long overdue catch up with a dear friend and lots of laughter.
(Definitely the best panacea for any form of blues)

THANKS KELVIN! *waves*

So, it's: Casual dining, fast and fairly friendly service, yummy ramen! :) BUT quite focused menu (just a couple of ramens/ rice and side dishes) and could be a bit too salty for some....


Summary Information:
Sapporo Ramen Miharu @ Gallery Hotel, Singapore

Opening Hours: 12noon - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm (Closed Wednesdays)
Phone: +65 6733 8464
Address: 1 Nanson Road, #01-11/12 Gallery Hotel, Singapore 238909

NOT HALAL



OTHER REVIEWS:
- I Eat I Shoot I Post
- Camemberu
- The Travelling Hungryboy

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9 comments:

  1. and best of all, it's non-halal too! :-D

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  2. YARMIE!!! u making me DIZZZYYYY (rhymes!) happy fly day :P

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  3. to Lyrical Lemongrass:
    Yeah. Pork is great food for the soul, for us babi-tarians. :D

    to Ciki girl:
    Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....!
    :) :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I never did understand why the soup in authentic Jap ramen was so high in sodium but it makes sense somehow when you explained it! I am dying for some good working-class ramen here... where to find in KL?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. to minchow:
    hmmmm... I think there are some good authentic Jap restaurants in the Shah Alam area but I can't remember where exactly! :(
    (They're usually kinda small and tucked away in some obscure location near all the factories... Ate at a few before when I was still in Audit...)

    ReplyDelete
  6. arrrghhh look at the pork on top of that bowl.. i know i should not have come back to this post..!! hungerssss

    ReplyDelete
  7. to Ciki:
    Sorry? :P
    (Hey, you torture me with your blog+photos so I if I torture you back a little bit then it's only fair, right? LOL)

    ReplyDelete
  8. to thenomadGourmand:
    Yup yup. There are a few rice dishes there priced around SGD 5 (The serving is a bit small, but good for a light lunch...)

    Most of the ramens are priced around SGD 12-15.
    (If I remember correctly)

    ReplyDelete

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