Home Food Reviews The Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011 – Tetsu

RAMEN SHOWDOWN PART 7: Tetsu at Ramen Champion, Iluma

Dip it...and slurp it!

Tsukemen is a type of ramen where the noodles and soup are served separated. You basically dip the noodles into the soup – which is thicker and more concentrated – and slurp them up. Tetsu comes from Tokyo and is said to serve the best Tsukemen Ramen by Tokyo Times. Service at Tetsu was the least bubbly of the six ramen stalls at Iluma; the chef was more reserved, unlike the jovial chefs from Gantetsu and Ikkousha.

Very Rich! Paitan Tsukemen + flavoured boiled egg

The chef recommended the Very Rich! Paitan Tsukemen (SGD11) and asked if I wanted the flavoured boiled egg (SGD2) to go with my ramen. I nodded in greedy excitement. The noodles were fairly thick and cooked katame (al dente), resulting in a toothsome bite. But it was the broth that did the talking at Tetsu.

Concentrated pork and chicken broth...

Made with chicken, pork leg and bones and vegetables, the broth takes a laborious 15 hours to prepare. The thick, brownish broth was well-balanced and had plenty of umami. Do not attempt to drink the reduced broth as it can be quite a salty shock — I was shocked! When eaten together with the noodles, it was delicious. The chashu was pleasingly tender with a thick layer of tasty fat. It can be off-putting to some, but I loved it. I think my cholesterol level skyrocketed that night.

Mmmm... :)

Not so pretty egg because of my bad chopsticks skills -_-

While the egg yolk was nice and runny, the whites were a bit on the hard side. That said, I was too absorbed in my tsukemen to nit-pick. For those with leftover broth (I had almost none!), you can take your bowl to the stall and request for a hot stone to heat up the broth and add some hot water to dilute the broth.

I should have ordered the special portion as the tsukemen left me craving for more. But it was a good thing I didn’t as I probably wouldn’t enjoy this as much if the portion was bigger.

Other ramen posts:
Yoshimaru Ramen Bar
Ippudo at Mandarin Gallery
Bario (contender for The Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011)
Gantetsu (contender for The Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011)
Ikkousha (contender for The Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011)
Menya Iroha (contender for The Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011)

Ambiance: 6/10
Price: 5/10
Food: 7.5/10 (non halal)
Verdict: Thick, porky and flavoursome broth. I regretted not ordering the special portion.


Tetsu
(Ramen Champion at Iluma)
201 Victoria Street
#04-08/09/10 Iluma (near Bugis MRT)
Tel: 6238 1011
Opening Hours: 11.30 am – 10.30 pm daily
Website: https://www.ramenchampion.com.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theultimateramenchampion2011

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16 comments

Simple Person March 22, 2012 - 1:36 pm

My grandfather is very strict on using chopstick n chinese table manner….
so now you need to start training on chopsticks..
perhaps using chopstick by catching fly.. LOL

Reply
Bangsar Babe March 22, 2012 - 1:49 pm

My grandparents too. They always complain about it, but I can’t seem to get it right. These days…I use a fork when they are around. Lol!

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The Yum List March 22, 2012 - 3:11 pm

I think I’d go for the extra rich version too. :-)

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Bangsar Babe March 22, 2012 - 4:09 pm

Mmmm hmmm! You should try this. But remember to keep some broth for the end part. :)

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Sean March 22, 2012 - 3:43 pm

ooo, for the jovial chefs, you should try to convince them to open branches in KL. we’d all be grateful to you for it! :D

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Bangsar Babe March 22, 2012 - 4:10 pm

That would be nice hor? Ramen championship in KL. But hopefully non-halal! ;)

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Michelle C March 22, 2012 - 5:36 pm

Wow, a 7.5. You must really like it a lot!

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Bangsar Babe March 22, 2012 - 5:46 pm

It was quite good lor. I found the concept very interesting too!

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Baby Sumo March 23, 2012 - 12:40 am

A Japanese chef told me that the ramen broth in Japan is very salty. In KL, they make it less salty as Malaysians like to drink soup. Maybe they follow Japan style still at Tetsu. I do like the color of the soup here.. looks so rich.

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Bangsar Babe March 23, 2012 - 8:47 am

Yeah, I think so too. All the chefs were Japanese. Even the assistants. You should try this. :)

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missyblurkit March 23, 2012 - 2:03 am

such perfect yolk! i reckon its not the easiest to achieve the perfect egg but if the soup is good, i am always good to eat the white with the broth:D

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Bangsar Babe March 23, 2012 - 8:47 am

Mmmmm…good point. Once the soup is good, half the battle is won. ;)

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ciki March 23, 2012 - 7:00 am

what an epic ramen fest! too bad I dunno half of them.. next trip will try to use ur guide;) well done !

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Bangsar Babe March 23, 2012 - 8:48 am

Hehehe thanks!!

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unkaleong March 23, 2012 - 11:38 am

I’m so going to use your guide man when I’m there next week. See if I can steal away from corporate dinners to sneak out for Ramen or not :P

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Bangsar Babe March 23, 2012 - 11:45 am

Lol. Go go go! :D

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