Hi there,
Was pondering where to have dinner the other night, and decided to go to Serangoon Garden as I have not been there for ages. Saw some posters a few weeks back at Serangoon station annoucing the opening of My Village Serangoon, so take this opportunity to explore this new shopping mall and write a post about the review of the eateries there.
But first, we needed to find somewhere to settle our rumbling tummies, hawker center seemed too smoky, coffee shops seemed too warm, especially with a kid in tow, is just asking for trouble, so there we were, roaming through small roads & lanes, and finally found our way to My Village, it is actually quite a small neighbourhood mall as a matter of fact. Something like the Siglap shopping mall, they have a few eateries, like Shinkushiya, Daikokuya,& anchor supermarket is Ntuc Finest.
Since it was quite quiet over at Daikokuya, we decided to have an early dinner before the dinner crowd start to set in.
Daikokuya serves 4 different kinds of ramen which is Sapporo ramen (chicken broth), Tokyo style ramen (lighter version of chicken broth), Kyushu Style ramen (thick creamy pork broth) & Kogashi ramen (thick creamy pork borth seasoned with blackish aromatic garlic oil).
We tried not only their ramen but also their side dishes and rice dishes as well. For starter, my family ordered a curry rice ($6.8++)which only consist of potatoes & carrots, it taste fairly well given that there isn’t any meat in it. Quite tasty for a vegetarian dish.
We also spotted their Drinks Specials which is $7.50 for 2 selected drinks like apricot mango, peach up, etc.. Coke is at $3.5++ each and Ocha which is green tea is at $1++ each.
Next, came the Agedashi Tofu ($4.8++) which is deep fried tofu cubes with crispy coating, drizzle with dashi soya sauce and grated radish & spring onions with seaweed flakes. The dashi soya sauce tasted well seasoned. But the deep fried tofu were rather strange, the coating was extremely crunchy.
Usually agedashi tofu coating is make up of corn starch and when it cools down, it will become chewy, but this version is quite different from other restaurant you come across. You can practically move the block of tofu from one plate to another without worrying it will crumble into pieces, this is how firm the deep fried coating is, even when it cooled down.
We also ordered couple of grilled rice ball ($5.80++), it was quite a let down, as the rice was not sticky nor chewy enough, it crumbles quite easily, totally opposite from the agedashi tofu. It lacked the charcoal smokiness to it, so I was not very impressed by it.
Next comes the gyoza, dumplings with pork & vegetables. For Daikokuya, their gyoza is quite different from other restaurants as well, you can order plain gyoza, but you can also order other flavours which have sauces drizzle all over them.
I went for the Meitaimayo Gyoza ($6.80++ for 6 pcs) which is spicy fish roe with mayo and spring onions. Quite savory, the spicy fish roe gave it extra depth and give some kick to the dish. The freshly cut spring onions balance out any saltiness in this dish too.
Daikokuya My Village is right at the corner of ground floor, so you won’t miss it when you enter from the front entrance.
I opted for Original Shoyu Ramen ($14++) which comes with a few slices of Cha Siew, half of an soft boiled egg, seawed, fish cake. You can choose between thick springy noodles or thin noodles. The broth was not as rich as miso flavor, nevetheless it tasted great, a lighter version, which compliments to the thin noodles that I ordered together with.
The soft boiled egg was nicely done and the Cha Siew is definitely one of the best I have tried in Singapore, the Cha Siew comes in thick slices that was tender and tasty with the right amount of fats in each slices, so you won’t feel so oily after eating it.
The Spicy Karaage ($8.8++) didn’t fare that well thou, it is basically deep fried chicken pieces, but with the spicy added to it, I would think that the chicken was marinated with some spicy sauce before deep frying, however it turned out the dish was just deep fried chicken pieces with some chilli oil & fried bits on top.
It was spicy for sure, but the fried bits just tasted burnt & bitter, and did not goes well with the chicken piece. However I will still order the Karaage chicken next time as the chicken alone was very succulent and juicy, definitely without the spicy flavor.
Next come the ramen of all ramen in Daikokuya which is the Stamina Miso Ramen, just like how the name tells you, with Stamina – it must be packed with tonnes of good stuff in it, yup, you are almost right in that, except, too much good stuff can sometimes spoil the whole thing…
The Stamina Miso Ramen ($13++) offers some solid ingredients that is supposed to pump up your stamina after having it. It comprises of Cha Siew, cabbages, bean sprouts, and a big spoon of garlic on it. My husband ordered the thick springy noodles with it but find difficulties finish it.
The soup was very rich & thick, and mixing in the crushed garlic, make the whole ramen feel very filling, may be a little too much actually. I don’t think it is a good idea to have this for lunch thou, because this is really very filling!
After finishing dinner, you might want to take a leisure walk up at the roof garden. They have some cosy seatings, where you can star gaze and have a nice time chatting with friends.
Open air concept and breezy in the evening, nice little place which is away from the hustle and bustle of the busy serangoon streets.
They are still running promotions from now till 13 November 2011, where you can get some shopping vouchers when you spend at at $100 or $150 will get you both the voucher and T-shirt, while stock lasts.
Service was prompt and the Filipina waitress was very courteous and attentive. Our orders were also being served very quickly too. Overall I like thier ramen and also some of the side dish that they offer, but if you are more old school, you might want to skip those creative menu that they offer. Just stick to the extensive ramen choices and plain gyoza.
One thing that I want to point out is that, I find their ingredients are quite fresh, I usually spot those garnishes or spring onions they they sprinkle on the food. For my visit, all their garnishes was really fresh, even the side salad that comes with the karaage chicken are crunchy and does not taste stale at all. Kudos for them in this.
Reviews : Daikokuya Ramen at Serangoon My Village
Locations : Serangoon Garden, 1 Maju avenue #01-01, myVillage, Serangoon Garden Singapore 556679
Tel: 6509 1690
Operating Hours: 11.30am – 10.30pm daily
Happy Dining!
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Cheers,
Dawn