Ramen Champion @ Bugis Iluma

Another weekend right ahead! Are you running out of lunch/dinner ideas?

If authentic Japanese ramen interests you, then be sure to check this place out at Bugis Iluma.

Ramen Champion is a Marché-style (or food court-style) dining place where you can choose to dine from a selection of food stalls, charge all your orders to a card given, and only pay when you exit. Well, as the name suggests, Ramen Champion is all about ramen! You can find six ramen stalls there, each carrying their own specialized ramen flavor representative of different cities in Japan!

Here's an overview of all six ramen stalls at Ramen Champion:

Gantetsu [Sapporo]

See Gantetsu's menu

This one was actually recommended by a friend. But both wx and I were turned off by the massive portion of corn on the pics. 3-year award winning ramen from Sapporo - miso soup base with classic yellow ramen noodles.

Menya Iroha [Toyama]

See Iroha's menu

Toyama's ramen - the black shoyu ramen! Menya Iroha has been a 2-year ramen champion in Tokyo. Specializes in the black shoyu ramen and traditional miso with chili mara ramen.


Tai-Sho-Ken [Tokyo]

See Taishoken's menu

One of the most famous ramen shop in Tokyo. Known to have invented the tsukemen ("dipping noodles") soup broth - made from pork, chicken and anchovies, and served with soba, either on the side or in the soup.

Ikkousha [Hakata]

See Ikkousha's menu

Rich pork bone soup base with thin flat cut noodles is this Hakata ramen shop's killer combo. Ikkousha pays much attention to its ingredients. It is said that their pork bone soup base does not have the strong smell of pork bone that most ramen shops have. Their chicken gyoza is pretty good as well.

Bario [Tokyo]

See Bario's menu

Listed by Guardian UK as one of the "50 best things to eat in the world," no one should ever miss out on Bario's Jirokei (Jiro style) ramen. Super milky-white rich kyushu-style tonkotsu (pork bone) soup with thick and heavy bread flour noodles - the Bario Ramen!

Tetsu [Tokyo]

See Tetsu's menu

What used to be a small shop in quiet town is now one of the top spots for ramen in Tokyo (like a chain ramen cafe). You'll probably see Tetsu in Tokyo as much as you find a fast food restaurant in US. Tetsu's signature is also the tsukemen soup broth with soba on the side.

What kind of ramen (soup base + noodles) do you like?
Which ramen at Ramen Champion will you go for?

Find out which ramen we went for on first impression and whether we like it on the "Ramen Championship Adventure" series!

• Trial 1: Who's the Ramen Champion?
• Trial 2: Not just your "noodles in soup"

These six branded ramen shops are competing for the Ultimate Ramen Championship!! Support the ramen shop you like on Facebook:

1. 'Like' the Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011 Facebook page
2. Go to 'Questions' (the FB polling app)
3. Click on 'Who's your favorite Ultimate Ramen Champion 2011?'
4. Vote!