What is chee cheong fun? It is simply a steamed rice noodle roll that is very soft and silky in texture and often mixed with a sweet sauce (and chili) and sesame seeds. According to my sources, this dish originated from China and Hong Kong where the Cantonese often have it for dim sum. The version which has filling in it ranging from char siew to prawns is often known as cheong fun. Another interesting anecdote is that chee cheong fun when translated literally from Chinese, means pig’s intestine noodles which is probably named thus since they look like distant cousins to a pig’s intestines (but of course tasting much better for those from Western shores).

And then we have yam cake. What is it? Apparently it is most often seen, sold and eaten in Singapore and Malaysia. Misleadingly, yam cake is not made from yam, but taro. If you wish to know how to cook it, this is how you do it. You have it made together with rice flour, salt, water, small chopping of carrots and then once steamed, dried pieces of prawn (hei bi), spring onion, shallots, sesame seeds are sprinkled over it. Sometimes you have sweet sauce layered over yam cake (as is the case with Jia Ji Mei Shi’s version), other times people just eat it as it is with chopped red chili.

So what is so good about Jia Ji Mei Shi’s chee cheong fun and yam cake that makes it the best in Singapore? First, you can mix both together or have them separately. I usually go for the total package and want it all, so my friendly advice is to order their mix of chee cheong fun and yam cake on a platter. The friendly lady staff at Jia Ji will then heap generous doses of sesame oil, sesame seeds and the mandatory sweet black sauce over it. The final result might be a huge mess of black blocks and springly rolls buried deep in an oily mess but once you put them in your mouth the sensation and taste are both heavenly.

I don’t normally go for yam cake (or taro since it’s not really made from yam) due to diet. However, Jia Ji Mei Shi’s yam cake is something I cannot avoid and there is just something special about it. It is all home made and fresh from the steam oven every morning. Needless to say it would be best to have it when the stall has opened (7.30am) but they also make extras throughout the day. The texture is extremely soft yet firm, and is not overly sweet, which thus enhances the mixture when the sweet back sauce is added.

I love chee cheong fun and used to have it very often during my tender growing years before I started developing my big fat belly due to eating too much good food (what else can a Singaporean do?) and lack of exercise. But it is still something that I recommend anyone to try when they are in Singapore. Now that I have rediscovered Jia Ji Mei Shi (which incidentally had temporarily relocated to Chinatown Street Market during Smith Street Market’s renovation before moving back) and their specialty, I find it very hard to ignore its calling. The best chee cheong fun in Singapore hands down and I will credit it not only for its texture, but also the dosages of sesame oil, sweet black sauce, chili and sesame seeds that are added. Simply lip smacking delicious! I seldom get the same high that I get from eating the best ramen in Singapore, but this chee cheong fun definitely gives me the same joy that I experienced as a child.

So how much does the most delicious chee cheong fun and yam cake in Singapore set you back by? You can have them both at only $2, and trust me, once you are done, you might have to skip one or two meals because they are simply filling. The aftertaste lingers on and makes you want to go back for more. There’s nothing quite as cheap and good as Jia Ji Mei Shi’s yam cake and chee cheong fun and if you are up for it, why not soak in the authentic local hawker centre that is Smith Street Market that is a must visit for any tourist and even our locals frequent it. Try out the other local hawker fare available in the market which I will try to introduce more in future columns.

Jia Ji Mei Shi opens at 7.30am in the morning and closes in the late afternoon or till they are sold out for the day. They have other great local food such as the delicious rice dumplings (bak zang), economy bee hoon or mee noodles, and fish porridge with raw fish (yee sang) if you order the latter too. Staff are friendly and be prepared for long queues, especially during peak hours such as breakfast and lunch.

Baikohken has a huge picture of its first ever shop in Japan on one of its walls, and that tells you the whole story. The menu serves the three common types – Miso, Shio and Shoyu. All three are great, although I have a soft spot for Shoyu. Singaporeans might enjoy Baikohken ramen more, as I found it less salty compared to those available from other ramen joints that offer authentic Japanese ramen, such as Ramen Santouka Singapore.

The serving size of Baikohken ramen in Singapore is amazing. It is perhaps one of the largest servings of authentic Japanese ramen that you will ever find in Singapore, and at comparably cheaper prices compared to other ramen joints. If you cannot stomach too much of a good thing, there is always the option of having a smaller serving at about half the price.

Baikohken ramen also has an interesting addition to your choice if desired – you can opt for butter and sweet corn to be added to your stock. The butter will bring out the sweetness and fresh pork taste of the stock even more, regardless of Shoyu, Shio or Mison ramen of your choice.

The ramen from Baikohken is just about perfect. They are served ad dente and remain so for quite a while during your meal there, even with the soup piping hot. Baikohken ramen in Singapore is curly, which is a trademark of the Asahikawa ramen.

For chashu lovers, there is no shortage of that at Baikohken. In fact, Baikohken serves perhaps the largest pieces of pork chashu of all ramen shops in Singapore, authentic of not. They come in large pieces and very thick, about 3mm in thickness at least. And you can typically get at least three to five pieces of chashu in Baikohken’s ramen, depending on which particular type you order from the menu. For those wanting more sinful pleasures, you can also order extra slices. Baikohken ramen’s pork chashu is quite an experience, chewy yet melts in your mouth. The fatty portions are definitely completely of the latter melt in your mouth variety.

On top of that, Baikohken ramen in Singapore also has excellent ajitama which is made perfect. The egg white is firm, yet the interior yolk is soft at the same time.

At the end of the whole meal, you would just want to slurp up all the soup from Baikohken’s ramen straight off the bowl. It is a fantastic eat, meal and experience all rolled into one. And at the prices offered, Baikohken is definitely one of the best authentic Japanese ramen shops in Singapore.

Baikohken ramen’s opening hours are from 11am – 3pm and 5pm – 10pm (last orders 9.30pm), and they open everyday. For a taste of one of the best authentic Japanese ramen available in Singapore, you cannot go wrong dropping by Baikohken.

Ramen Santouka is one such ramen joint, and they hail from Hokkaido, Japan. They are a common sight in Japan itself, and have also been cooking up a storm in California, USA. Not bad, considering that they are what you would call a franchise. Fortunately, the quality of the ramen is high, and in Singapore, Ramen Santouka can easily be considered one of the best, if not the best, ramen shop that can be found here.

You can find Ramen Santouka in The Central, and contrary to what some may claim, they can be easily found on the second floor, in the left corner at the front portion of the building. The joint is pretty small, but that contributes to the authenticity of the place, together with the decor. They have a solid view of Clarke Quay if you are sat by the window, especially at night. Outside the shop, you can find the standard plastic displays of what they offer on the menu – good enough previews in case you are a ramen newbie.

Creating their reputation of having the best and most delicious ramen in Singapore, Ramen Santouka have their prized dish of the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen, which is basically Pork Cheek Ramen. What is so special about this? First of all, if you want to get a taste of Ramen Santouka’s Tokusen Toroniku Ramen, you had better arrive at the shop early. The pork cheeks come in limited supply, enough for about 60 servings a day. This prized meat cut is so soft and tender that they literally melt in your mouth when consumed. The pork is also marinated in shoyu and is just heavenly. If you were to mix it with the ramen broth, it also brings out more flavour that might have been hidden for less discerning tastebuds.

There have also been comments that the various broths (especially the shio and shoyu) offered with your choice of ramen at Santouka can be rather salty. If you want authentic Japanese ramen in Singapore, and tasty to boot, then this is exactly what you will get if you were in Japan itself. The fat or grease level in their broths are also moderate, and again, you will get the same experience if you were to have ramen in Japan. Afterall, the Japanese live longer than a Singaporean on average, so health concerns here are taken to extreme levels. If you want healthy ramen, try making it at home. For authentic and absolutely lip-smacking, noodle slurping, broth guzzling quality Japanese ramen to be had here in Singapore, try Ramen Santouka.

Service at Ramen Santouka is also quite adequate. Staff are polite and not overdone, unlike at other wanna be Japanese restaurants in Singapore. They provide a full jug of cold water at each table, no doubt for those who cannot stomach the saltiness of Japanese food. So, service-wise, they are definitely better than what you get from other local eating joints, which are basically not excluded from the poor service standards that are pervasive throughout Singapore.

Ramen Santouka’s Tokusen Toroniku Ramen was the first on the menu I tried. I will be going back for more, needless to say, and the quality of the other types of ramen they offer will be recorded here with time. But for the excellent dish that it already is, it would be a worthwhile trip to Ramen Santouka for some pork cheek ramen! They also have Sapporo beer and sake on the menu, handy to be had with your ramen. Unfortunately, the effect would have been better if Singapore had some cold weather. Of their other menu items, others have spoken highly of their gyoza, so they will be next on my must try list.

Ramen Santouka
#02-76, The Central