When the ramen first arrived, I was prematurely disappointed. It was topped with the standard array of wood ear fungus, finely chopped spring onions and strands of pickled ginger, but what caused my disappointment was the broth which appeared bland and diluted. My rash judgement was quickly dispelled when I took in my first spoonful of the broth. It had a creamy flavour that was much heavier than it looked, carrying a strong and promising taste. This was unfortunate because it only took a few slurps before the abundant use of ginger became apparent.
The dense flavour of ginger tries to add a fresh, stimulating spice to each scoop and was particularly effective at masking the strong smell-the uninitiated might call stench-which is common with pork based Ramen stock. However, the feeling of freshness quickly wears off and it became too overwhelming for the broth’s basic flavour to be properly enjoyed. The broth also came with a dessertspoon-sized serving of their ‘special sauce’ which added a nice zing to the broth but was again quickly overwhelmed by the taste of ginger which proved more a distraction than a complementary item. Overall though, the broth was definitely above average and worth a try.
The noodles were nothing to be excited about. Whether they were over-boiled in water or prepared with too little strength is unknown, but it was clear that they lacked the tension and resilience which defined a good serving of Tonkotsu Ramen noodles. They were brittle and weak, giving in to bites easily and doing little to complement the broth. The noodles were nowhere near what can be described as Al-dente and overall not very appetising. These were paired with a considerably overcooked half-boiled egg and unimpressive chashu.
For full review and more photos, please visit http://freshffm.blogspot.sg/2013/08/ramen-bar-suzuki-more-bar-than-ramen_17.html