Menya Kokoro @ 100 AM Mall - Seasonal Tsukesoba Specials Featuring QQ Noodles Made In-House

Menya Kokoro is one of the largest mazesoba chains in Japan, and they have been serving a whole range of mazesoba, ramen and dons in Singapore for the past couple of years. This time, they have launched seasonal Tsukesoba specials - Kokoro Tsukesoba and Mentai Tsukesoba, available till 31 July 2022. Their noodles are now freshly made in-house using 100% whole grain wheat flour imported from Japan. Each portion of noodles comes at 200g, slightly bigger than what they used to serve.

If you are dining at their 100AM outlet, you can peek in to look at the whole noodle-making process. These fresh noodles are also being supplied to their other two outlets at Plaza Singapura and Eat At Seven Suntec City.

Tsukesoba, like tsukemen, has its noodles served separately from the sauce. It's enjoyed by dipping the noodles into the sauce and slurping them up. The Kokoro Tsukesoba ($14.80) has toppings of cha shu, bamboo shoots, ajitama, seaweed, naruto fish cake and freshly grated yuzu peels. You get to choose either the Original or Spicy for your dipping sauce. The original is made with mackerel fish powder, a thick tonkotsu broth base and spring onions, while the spicy version has additional homemade spicy oil that leaves a numbing mouthfeel.

If you have had Menya Kokoro's mazesoba before, we found the new noodles thicker with a much more distinct chew. Fans of chewy noodles, you will enjoy this! In addition, we all appreciated how the yuzu peels and squeeze of lime give the whole dish a needed zest and brightness to help cut through the more decadent sauce. When you are done with the noodles, you can also request for "oimeshi", a small amount of complimentary rice to mix into the remaining dipping sauce.

Mentai Tsukesoba 3.8/5

The second seasonal bowl is the Mentai Tsukesoba ($14.80). It has the same noodles topped with cha shu, bamboo shoots, tobiko, mentai, naruto fishcake and seaweed. The dipping sauce for this has the same base ingredients as Kokoro Tsukesoba's, with the addition of sesame seeds, a slab of butter, spring onions and more mentai. We enjoyed the crunch from the tobiko and how the generous amount of mentai provides more of an umami touch. However, I found it a bit too heavy to finish on my own with the buttery sauce and thick noodles. I would recommend sharing this bowl with a friend.

Handmade Gyoza 3/5

Apart from the mains, a couple of sides are also available on the menu. The Handmade Gyoza ($4.80) has minced meat wrapped in slightly chewy skin. These were pretty decent, but we would have liked them a little less oily.

Tori Karaage 4.5/5

Their Tori Karaage ($4.80) was a favourite for us. A portion comes with four big karaage chunks that are nicely battered and crunchy on the outside yet still very juicy and tender within.

Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Menya Kokoro
100 AM Mall
100 Tras Street
#02-10
Singapore 079027
Tel: +65 64431727
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 9pm
Fri: 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat: 11am - 930pm
Sun: 11am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk towards Gopeng Street and turn into Tras Street. Walk to Amara Hotel. Journey time about 5 minutes.[Map]

Menya Kokoro @ Eat At Seven (Suntec City Mall) - Largest Maze-Soba Restaurant Chain from Japan, Opens In Singapore

Menya Kokoro, one of Tokyo's most popular Maze-soba (Japanese dry ramen) restaurant chains established in 2013, has recently opened its first flagship outlet at Suntec City. Founder Chef Takuma Ishikawa has 13 years culinary experience under his belt and is trained under the original masters and creators of Maze-soba – Menya Hanabi – the restaurant known for introducing Maze-Soba to the world. In 2014, Chef Takuma even won the highly acclaimed Best Maze-Soba Award in Japan. It's no wonder that within a short period of 4 years since its opening, there are already 27 outlets worldwide in Japan, Indonesia, Spain, Thailand and Vancouver. The special minced meat sauce is imported from Japan and its extra chewy noodles is done locally with its in-house recipe.

Maze-soba 3.5/5

While the Chinese have their Zha Jiang Mian, the Japanese have their Maze-Soba ($10.80). There are other variations available, alongside with Singapore-exclusive creations. Accompanying the minced meat sauce are ground saba fish, poached egg, nori, green onions, leek, bamboo shoots and chopped garlic. To a certain extend the mixture does become too salty after a while and I find no relief from the raw greens. But thanks to the kombu vinegar at the side - a few drops of it opens and brightens the flavours of the dish, like that of our Bak Chor Mee. Interestingly, the richness of the sauce brings out the best of its springy noodles, both its taste and texture. The noodles are cooked for exactly eight minutes and forty seconds using the chef’s fine-spun techniques to achieve the perfect texture. All noodles is made with multi-grain flour, consisting of over 35 percent whole wheat. Japanese water-softening technology is used to remove the minerals in the water it uses as well.

Spicy Maze Soba 3.5/5

Personally I do like the Spicy Maze Soba ($11.80), though more voted against it. Not only there is an added dimension of aromatics from the spices, there is a slight sweetness in the sauce that balances its saltiness slightly. The vinegar gives it an even more rounded taste. The sauce sticking to the bottom of the bowl may be too good to be wasted, hence simply mix in the complimentary scoop of rice to sop in all the goodness. I love the free mushroom kombu soup, a much needed remedy to clear my palette at the end of the meal. The chopped greens do get quite overpowering after a while.

Curry Maze Soba 3/5

With noodles of that thickness and texture, Curry Maze Soba ($13.80) may be mistaken as a curry udon. The original is still preferred, as the curry tends to overwhelm the flavour of the minced meat sauce and doesn't gel well with the soba.

Curry Maze Don 3.5/5

The rice version Curry Maze-Don ($13.80) is created exclusively for Singapore, using 100% Japanese Michelin-acclaimed Tawaraya rice from Hokkaido and Niigata, specially selected by Singapore’s only Japanese rice sommelier. This Tawaraya rice is flown in straight from Japan in its raw state, and is polished only upon order to preserve its aroma. Although both soba and don come with extra grilled chicken cubes atop, the latter fares better as it was almost like enjoying a bowl of Japanese curry don, with extra heat and flavour from the minced meat sauce.

Takoyaki 2.8/5

Chicken Kaarage 3/5

Sides are available as well. The Takoyaki ($4.80) doesn't taste authentic, so what are worth your calories are probably the Chicken Kaarage ($4.80) and the Chicken Wings ($4.80), a Nagoya-style which most were vying for it.

Chicken Wings 3.8/5

Edamame 3.8/5

It unusual but we find the Edamame here, which comes with the stalk attached, a lot tastier than what we have tried before.

If you love chewy noodles, Menya Kokoro will serve your needs. There are other versions too, such as a a more indulgent one with Cheese or you can also go meatless with their Vegan Maze Soba. Each has its own selling point but there are reasons why the original Maze-Soba is still the best selling, and among which I feel is that the rich minced meat sauce alone works best with the chewy noodles.

Words and photos by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Menya Kokoro
Suntec City Mall
Eat At Seven
3 Temasek Boulevard
#03-313
Singapore 038983
Tel: +65 62353386
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Nearest MRT: Promenade (CC Line, DT Line), Esplanade (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1100am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Promenade MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]