Enishi Review: Hidden Michelin Bib Gourmand Ramen Joint From Japan Found At Tanjong Pagar

All it takes is an ambitious group of entrepreneurs to splash some cash, and you’ll see the latest foreign sensation from Japan or Taiwan sprouting up in a glitzy mall a couple of months later. It’s as well nice that they’ve been internationally recognised with a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the 2016 Hyogo Michelin guide.

You’ll only find two Enishi restaurants in the world — one in Kobe, Japan, and another in Singapore. Food at Enishi There are only two items on the menu: Dan Dan Noodles ($17.90+) and Japanese Dashi Noodle ($17.90+) .

Enishi does not serve up any of the rich and soupy Hakata-style ramen that dominates the menus of noodle houses here. Having the right amount of spiciness can be quite a delicate thing to achieve, and it’s nice that they offered a varied selection of spice and mala levels for all taste buds. It’s easy to go overboard when mixing in a bit of everything and this might lead to an overly sour bowl of perfectly edible noodles.

Take a picture of the noodles within 20 seconds, mix them from the bottom for exactly five times, before adding the onsen egg, a dash of dashi stock, and pouring over a dab of flavoured vinegar. After visiting several times, my favourite way of eating these noodles is to pour the egg over, splash some dashi stock and a slight kiss of spicy vinegar before giving everything a long and thorough mix.

These thicker noodles seemed to do the trick in soaking up the flavourful sauces better and giving more savour with each bite. It’s difficult to determine what my favourite component in this dish was. Minced meat and chashu made up the protein options in this dish and they’re no slouch either.

The minced meat was cooked in earthy spices that gave a breath of spiciness to this dish, while also injecting a kick of nuttiness. Those looking for soup options will in addition take comfort in their Japanese Dashi Noodle ($17.90+) .

There are significantly lesser items here as compared to its dry noodle counterpart, but you’ll still find a slight variation of the dashi-based soup and, of course, white diced onions as well. I would go out on a limb here and say that a thicker slab of chashu—and not the duck—would have been much more welcomed here. While the dashi noodles were good in their own right, both my dining companion and I felt that it was missing a certain X factor that the dan dan noodles so brilliantly had.

It’s worth noting that the restaurant only sells up to 100 bowls a day. I remember visiting the store at 8:30pm, only to find that they’ve sold out everything. But step into this remarkably quaint store and you’ll be impressed with its authentic and satisfying ramen experience that would rival any store in Japan.

Serving up a mean bowl of noodles and displaying excellent hospitality in a beautiful setting, Enishi looks set to being a special place for ramen lovers in Singapore.