What is more or less the new kid on the block regarding Market Square, Sunny Plaza and Sunny Park combined, Ramen Champion has a more modern and hip looking feeling about it. Not many places advertise themselves as much, and particularly not from the shop front persepctive. Thus, with those big letters it seemed inevitable that us foodies would migrate there sooner or later.
And there was one distint reason I got here finally. For quite a while, it brewed over about that Giant Ramen challenge that they have - whether or not I will take it on. Eventually, the idea was "why not" and - long story short - used it as a launchpad to meet up with some other fellow reviewers on here. After a while, just one turned up but that was enough for me. Enter: the Invisibile Food Critic. For the sake of brevity, I will refer to him as Mr. Invisible. For a while, he was wondering whether or not he would take on the challenge himself - he is able to eat big loads of meat in a short amount of time, but is less confident when it come to noodles. In the end, he thought why not and joined in the competition.
Ramen Champion has a slightly slicker aesthetic to it than other eateries nearby. Still maintaing some sort of tradition, they update it to get a semi-modern look and feel which really works. On on wall there is black tile, and another it has wooden planks. Every table is decorated with some serviettes (which all disappeared during the meal), a collection of chopsticks and some condiments for your meal. Additionally, they have a station for garlic and ginger near the counter. Look up on the wall, and the photos are there of those who have taken the challenge and won it (only 12-13 as I write this). From photos online, it looks like it transforms at night.
Getting onto what they offer, there is something about Japanese places where they are able to *really* focus down on a specific of their cuisine - sometimes gyoza, sometimes sushi as two examples - and get it down to a craft. Instead of audience pleasing, they get a slight niche and make it into perfectionism. This is so with Ramen Champion, which does - well - ramen. There are only around half a dozen types, plus they have gyozas and donburi on the side. That sums it all up really.
So, to take on the Giant Ramen challenge: this is a big version of their champion ramen, which is a pork bone broth, filled with vegetables, two hard-boiled eggs, several slices of pork, a couple of sheets of seaweed and so much noodles it seem neverending. It does not sound or look too bad until you see it in person; We are talking very huge, with probably pork two to three litres of broth alone with about a kilogram of noodles. Adding onto that at the aforementioned garnishes, which are more or less dwarfed in comparison to the rest of the meal. But, the real kicker comes in when you have a mere 25 minutes to complete this whole thing for a shot at having your picture on the wall of fame.
Specialty critique for this one, with the special attention for those deciding to take upon the challenge. They give you half an hour to wait around while it is prepared, which was ample time to socialise and have a conversation; Mr. Invisble was quite a friendly and interesting man, I enjoyed speaking with him. Getting back to the service, they ran you through the rules, gave you a timer (good touch) showing you how long you had left and were very polite - this was a good standard of customer service.
Looking out from the competition, as a general eatery it has the standard level of efficient and good customer service. They were always quite busy, moving back and forth between tables and the counter. It is the usual counter service, where you place your order, pay up and then after picking up your table number, simply go and find a table. Straightforward standard.
The question is, how well did I do? Did I beat the challenge? Three answers to that: no, yes-ish, and yes. No: I did not make it in the given amount of time, not for lack of trying either. Yes-ish - let's skip that one. Yes: even after being down and out for a bit, I made a come back to empty that bowl and not get defeated by food. So whether that is a success or not depends on the angle you were going. Mr. Invisible also put in an admirable effort, but it was the broth that got the best of him.
So let's get to how the ramen itself was. I liked it quite a bit. The bits of pork were simply beautiful, turning right into mounds of butter in the soup (plus a half inch thicker than its competitors), and the eggs were well solid with good yolks that were over medium so the yolk was still gooey but was setting fast. Getting beyond simply feeling that the noodles were never-ending, these noodles were objectively well cooked to the right al dente (is there are more language appropriate term anyone?) texture, very hot from the broth and went down a treat. The broth is some of the best that I have had, getting more on the creamy side and the notes from the pork bone flavour really came through. Add on to that the seaweed and chives, and it is a complete and rounded noodle soup.
Ultimately, as someone who is getting increasingly keen on ramen as a snack and starting to really like it, this rounds up as a good and reliable place. It has a better atmosphere than most places, the food was really good, and I do like the look of a lot of the other items. Ergo, Ramen Champion - you have my approval. And to be fair, you won't find me complaining with that amount of food in my stomach.
I also look forward to meeting up with Mr. Invisible more times in the future.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes