I believe that when it comes to Japanese food, everyone has their favourite joint to head to. One of mine is Ippudo, for their amazing ramen, of course!

So when Ippudo announced that they were introducing a new and exciting menu -- only at the Mohamed Sultan outlet and for a limited time only -- I just had to check it out.

From now till 30 September 2017, make your way down to Ippudo at Mohamed Sultan road to check these three new tsukeman dishes out. From what I heard, even the Japanese are flocking over to Ippudo just for a taste of home.

What is tsukeman? You'd hardly find this dish in Japanese restaurants here. In essence, it's a sort of dipping noodle (similar to soba, but with thicker noodles and richer broth) and is usually eaten during the summer in Japan.

According to the Japanese, this is how you enjoy your tsukeman -- but of course, you're free to eat it however you like:

1. Dip the noodles halfway or all the way into the broth, depending on your taste preference.

2. Slurp loudly -- this is known as zuzutto in Japanese and it's a way of showing how much you're enjoying your noodles.

3. Request for some wari soup after you're done with your noodles to mix it with the last bits of the broth, so you can savour every last drop of it.

First, we tried an authentic Japanese-style tsukeman with a clear soup broth. The Aburi Kamo Negi Zaru ($17) comprises thin noodles, grilled leek and very appetising smoked duck (apparently imported from the US). This was by far my favourite, because it had a nice flavour and I felt was the most "Japanese" dish among the lot.

Next we had a more Italian-Japanese fusion dish. The Italian-style Tsukeman Italiano ($18) comes with thicker noodles to accompany a thick tomato tonkotsu broth sprinkled with mozzarella cheese.

I personally did not like this dish as it just felt like dipping pasta noodles into pasta sauce. I did however enjoy the cheese sticks that came with the noodles. But if you do like something tangy, this may be up your alley.

Lastly, we tried the Natsu Yasai & Curry Tsukeman ($19). The noodles were accompanied with a sweet and very mildly spicy chicken thigh curry, as well as some colourful vegetables. I heard that this dish was the most popular one among the Japanese patrons.

I did like the curry broth, but if you asked me, I prefer curry with rice rather than with noodles.

To have a more authentic Japanese summer meal experience, we recommend ordering the Swan Cider ($5), which is also only served for this limited period. It's a fizzy drink that kind of tasted like a mix of ice-cream soda and sprite.

To top everything off, we had an Earl Grey Tea Pudding ($6). Maybe it's because dessert has always been my favourite course, but this was by far my favourite dish for the night. I especially loved the earl grey jelly that topped the pudding. I'm not a fan of earl grey, but this did make me sway.

Ippudo Mohamed Sultan

207 River Valley Rd,

#01-55/56 UE Square,

Entrance on Mohamed Sultan Road,

238275 Singapore

Opening hours:

Mondays to Thursdays: 11.30am - 3pm; 5.30pm till 12am

Fridays: 11.30am - 3pm; 5.30pm - 2am

Saturdays: 11.30am - 12am

Sundays / PH: 11.30am - 11pm

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