Takagi Ramen – Satisfy your Ramen cravings in Ang Mo Kio’s heartland

Opened two years ago, Takagi Ramen is run by Yang Kaiheng and his Australian-Japanese wife, Ai Takagi. Kaiheng specialised in science while Takagi majored in law, but they decided to fly to Australia to master the skills and techniques of ramen preparation from Takagi’s father. Her father brought over Japan’s Hakata Ramen to Melbourne, Australia, so the couple learnt everything from scratch before setting up the first Takagi Ramen in NUS.

Kaiheng and Takagi spend approximately 12 hours daily to prepare their soup. They recently increased the amount of meat and bones placed into the broth for simmering to make the broth richer and creamier than before. According to them, the toughest part about making ramen broth in a coffee shop is the issue of hygiene. Freshly-made pork broth spoils very easily, especially in Singapore’s humid conditions. While some places use preserved soup concentrate for ramen broth, the couple insists on making it fresh from bones and meat. The broth was indeed robust and flavoursome, with hints of porcine sweetness.

The eggs and chashu are also freshly prepared in-house, while the noodles are ordered from their Japanese food product supplier. The couple meticulously peels each and every egg before marinating them overnight. This process is as simple as ABC but can be a very time-consuming chore. The chashu is gently simmered and marinated for over 6 hours to ensure its tenderness, allowing it to have a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

We had the Miso Ramen ($6.50) and Black Tonkotsu ($6.90). The former features a miso-flavoured Tonkotsu noodle soup with corn while the latter boasts a Tonkotsu noodle soup with charred garlic oil, black fungus and bamboo shoots. The noodles are well-cooked and slightly springy. The broth for the Black Tonkotsu fared better as the flavours are stronger and more full-bodied. The savoury eggs with a runny centre and fork-tender chashu are great accompaniments to the bowl of ramen. There’s also an added crunch thanks to the black fungus and bamboo shoots. Every mouthful leaves you feeling satisfied.

We also shared a plate of Deep-Fried Gyoza ($3.50). You can opt for the steamed version as well. A blend of minced chicken and vegetables are enveloped within a thin layer of gyoza skin and fried to a crisp golden brown. It wasn’t entirely crispy, but sightly chewy. We would’ve preferred the gyoza to be juicier, with stronger flavours.

Although running a hawker stall is exhausting, and requires long hours of standing in the crazy heat, the couple feels that it is less stressful than when they were in their previous jobs. We felt that the standard of Takagi Ramen is quite good, given that they’re a hawker stall and their dishes are priced so affordably. Taste is very personal and subjective so you’ll have to try it and pass your own verdict. 

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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