Hey guys! It’s Kayden here back with another review! Today, YSK will be reviewing Torasho ramen and charcoal bar.
Apparently, this bar is highly raved about on google reviews, earning them a whopping 4.7 stars with 45 reviews as of the date written. It is located near Tanjong Pagar and they specialize in dry ramen that comes with a dipping sauce. Will this be a new hidden gem? Read on to find out 😉
Ambience
Torasho offers both outdoor and indoor seatings. We chose the latter during our visit as it was a hot day. Inside the bar, there are some bar counter seats and typical 2/4 person tables.
The interior of the bar looks if I dare say, unappealing except for the area above the bar counters with splashes of art featuring their logo. It looks like not much furnishing has been done and some may choose to call it the “industrial style”. In my opinion, industrial and minimalist themes are the hardest to execute and not many places have done it right. Too little would simply make it look as if a restaurant/bar is trying to save cost and too much would spoil the essence of the theme.
Food at Torasho Ramen & Charcoal Bar
Buta Gyoza $8
The gyoza is crispy and the amount of filling inside is just right as well. It comes with vinegar and 3 other condiments to complement the gyoza! Overall, it is decent gyoza but nothing mind-blowing. Rather, $8 is slightly pricey when you can get equally good gyoza at lower prices @ gyoza-ya
Uni & Chashu dipping ramen $18
Tsukemen “Singapore Best” dipping ramen $14
I’ll be reviewing these 2 dipping ramen together as they are basically the same thing except for their dipping sauce.
First of all, the seaweed is stale. It is not crunchy and we found it hard to take a bite out of it. Next, the cha shu was very hard. It seems like the cha shu is made up entirely of lean meat without any traces of fats…
Moving on, the soup of Tsukemen “Singapore Best” is described as a “Rich Seafood & Tonkotsu Dipping Soup”. However, all we can taste is bonito flakes. That’s it. We simply can’t believe this is the restaurant’s signature dish. Lastly, the soup of Uni & Chashu dipping ramen did slightly better but still, the seafood flavor was barely detected. It simply tasted slightly sweet and salty.
Oh right, both dipping sauces were served at room temperature which is super weird? I can understand if it is hot like typical soup ramen or cold like soba dipping sauce. Room temperature is just a no go. This is especially so when the sauce is of the soupy kind and not the sticky/gooey type e.g. salted egg yolk sauce.
Service:
Nothing much really stands out to us. Feels like a typical restaurant service, not too good or too bad.
Conclusion:
Torasho Ramen & Charcoal Bar is not worthy of the high ratings. Location is convenient and gyoza is decent, that is about it in our opinion. Hence, this is not a hidden gem by any means.
Price: $$
Address: 32 Tras St, Singapore 078972
Opening hours: 11.30am – 12am
Closed on Sundays
