Last weekend, after catching a movie at Iluma, JAF decided to settle our dinner at the 4th level where there are a number of eateries. We were attracted to this huge-sized banner, and the ramen choices offered looked tempting to us. It was only after we sat down and looked through the brochure, then we realized that there is a ramen competition going on.
上个周末，找食趣到Iluma 武吉士看电影，就顺便在Iluma的四楼走走看看。看到这么一个巨型的布条，以为是什么新的日本餐馆开张了，所提供的拉面选择看起来也很多样化，就决定在这里解决晚餐了。
找到位子坐下后，仔细看了传单才发现原来这里正在进行一项“拉面冠军争霸战”的活动。
6 well-known ramen restaurants from Japan are invited to participate in this Singapore Ramen Champion Competition, which will run for one year starting from July 2011. They each have a stall located at Iluma@Bugis. Diners can cast their votes for their favourite ramen stall via SMS, Facebook and voting slips provided onsite. The ramen stall that gets the highest votes will be invited to set up a restaurant in Singapore next year after the competition.
喜欢吃拉面的朋友有口福了。6家在日本极受欢迎的拉面店家受邀参加这项从今年7月举行到明年6月底的新加坡“拉面冠军争霸战”的比赛活动。这6家拉面馆都汇集在同一个地点，就是Iluma的四楼。
食客们可以通过简讯、Facebook 或置放在门口的投票表格投选自己最喜爱的拉面馆。登上冠军宝座的赢家就能在比赛后在新加坡正式开张营业。
The 6 participating restaurants are:
Bario from Tokyo – Bario Ramen
来自东京的“バリ男”。
Taishoken from Tokyo – Mori Soba
来自东京的“大勝軒”。
Tetsu from Tokyo – Paitan Tsukeman Ramen
来自东京的“哲つけめん”。
Gantetsu from Sapporo – Gantetsu Special Miso Ramen
来自北海道札幌的“がんてつ”。
Ikkousha from Hakata – Hakata Ajitama Ramen
来自博多的“博多一幸舎”。
Iroha from Toyama – Toyama Black Ramen
来自富山的“麺屋いろは”。
The Toyama Black Shoyu Ramen is Iroha’s signature ramen. The broth is dark, JAF learnt that a secret thick dark sauce prepared from black soybean is used. There is a light aroma of sesame.
黑酱油拉面是麺屋いろは的招牌。听说汤头采用的是独家秘制黑酱油，喝起来有芝麻香。
The other one we ordered was the Bario Ramen. There was a very long queue, so it was just non-stop cooking of noodles for this Japanese chef.
找食趣也点了バリ男的拉面。6家当中这家是最多食客排队了。只见这位日本师傅不断地在煮面，一刻也没停过。
Instead of the signature No.1 Bario Ramen, JAF ordered Maze Soba with Collagen Soup.
虽然这里的第一人气招牌拉面很受欢迎，找食趣还是选择吃这份搭配了含有胶原蛋白的汤的套餐。
Do you see the huge amount of bean sprouts on top?! For those who do not like bean sprouts at all, it’s only natural for them to remove the whole chunk of bean sprouts. Initially JAF was skeptical of the massive amount of bean sprouts, but mixing them up together with the noodles and minced meat proved to be the correct move. The noodles soaked in the sauce were very saltish, but the crunchy bean sprouts actually provides a good balance and moderates the heavy flavour. Not forgetting the lightly flavoured soup which goes well with the bowl of ramen too.
看到这一堆的豆芽吗？不喜欢豆芽的食客肯定会将豆芽都拿起放一边，不过这样做的话就大错特错了。起初找食趣不了解为什么会有这么一大堆豆芽，后来将豆芽、面条和碎肉搅合一起，吃了一口后就明白了。所用的酱料其实相当咸，可是有了豆芽，再加上汤的味道清清的，就把整个咸重口味都淡化了。
Futomen, or thick ramen is used here. A rather fulfilling bowl of chewy noodles.
粗粗的面条，口感有点类似刀削面。
Address:
201 Victoria Street
Bugis Iluma #04-08/09/10
Singapore 188607
Tel: 62381011
Opening Hours:
11.30am – 10.30pm (Daily)
http://www.ramenchampion.com.sg/
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