Wednesday 23 July 2014

Keisuke Tonkotsu King – One of The Best

Tonkotsu King Ramen
Tonkotsu Ramen is my favourite type of ramen. The rich and robust milky white broth, derived from long hours of simmering pork bones and other ingredients that the chef decided to dump into it, always have a special affinity with me. The milky richness and gelatinous (fat) sensation when you first sip that broth with the ramen, to me it is a true comfort food. If there is a ever a phrase of Slurp Me, Slurp Me, Slurp Me!! this will be the right time to use it.


Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King ('RKTK') originated from Tokyo, the birth place of Tonkotsu Ramen. The innovator of this delicious ramen is Celebrity Chef Keisuke Takeda whose culinary background not only in Japanese Cuisine but also in French Cuisine. With the idea to introduce Ramen to the world, he expanded his Ramen shop concept to Singapore.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

RKTK in Orchid Hotel is the second outlet in Singapore. It can easily be identified with people queueing to get into this tiny shop which can only cater about 30 pax. Be prepare to wait, as their normal waiting time for this tiny shop is about 30 minutes. The dining concept here is very simple, come – queue – order – eat & drink – pay – out. You can do your socialising when you are queueing or after you exit the shop.

The Menu on the door

As this is my first time here, I decided to order Tonkotsu Ramen Special (All Toppings) - $14.80. For flavour, I decided to go with the Original Japanese taste, meaning NORMAL for taste of soup, chicken oil and noodle texture.

Order Sheet
While waiting for the ramen to be serve, you can make yourself busy by pounding the black and white sesame that you can incorporate to your soup. You can help yourself to unlimited helpings of hard boil eggs and pickled bean sprouts. For Chubby Botak Koala, the first thing he start is always snapping away with his Nikon.

The usual table setting


Black & White sesame to pound

Free Side Dish - Boiled Eggs and Pickled Bean Sprout.


The serving of the ramen is just a sight to behold. Size is huge, but the presentation simple yet appetizing. I like the enormous size of the seaweed, kind of giving you a screen to cover our greedy faces when you go on your ramen slurping rampage. I took a quick snap of of the whole bowl and lift up the ramen and started my 'ME & Ramen' only time. I can imagine that I put Do Not Disturb sign on my forehead.

Tonkotsu King Ramen - Special

The ramen has a nice thickness to it, noodle is cooked to al-dente. Each slurp of the ramen is well coated with addictive robust, milky and collagen filled broth. Some people will find it slightly salty, but it is agreeable to my tastebud. The meat is lean, but it is tender and flavourful. Although I would prefer it to be pork belly, I have to agree it might just too overwhelming here. I was bedazzled, and finished my bowl of ramen, almost to the last drop. Yum Yum, Two Thumbs Up!!

Tonkotsu King Ramen - Special

Service is warm, friendly and laud. You can consider them to be efficient and decisive when they try to turn the table for other customers in the queue.

The Ramen Counter

Where the Magic happen

Overall, this is definitely one of the best ramen in Singapore. I really enjoy my dining experience here. After my first visit to Japan recently, I believe Ramen is best enjoy in a confined space, where you are shoulder to shoulder with the other customers. Once you slurp the broth, you won't realise that there is someone beside you until you accidentally elbow the one sitting next to you.

Word of caution: If you prefer a light soup base ramen, this is not the place for you. To offset the richness of the broth (jelakness), it will be good to order some Oolong tea.

Food: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Budget per Person: $11-25

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King
1 Tras Link
#01-19, Orchid Hotel
Singapore 078867

T: +65 6636 0855
Op Hours: 11.30 – 15.00, 18.00 – 22.30 Daily


1 comment:

  1. Definitely agree with you. Tonkotsu King is one of my top 5 ramen in Singapore. Have you tried their other outlet, Keisuke Tokyo, now at Suntec? It has crab broth. That's another one on my top 5 list.

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