Ex-Takagi Chef Says Takagi’s Ramen ‘Not Umami Enough’; Opens Hawker Stall Serving His Version With ‘Better Ingredients’ At Same Price
“No offence to Takagi — there are people who like their ramen and people who don’t think it suits their taste, I fall into the second category,” says the chef-turned-hawker who now sells “rich, creamy” ramen. Both his and Takagi’s signature noodles are priced at $6.90.
Casual Japanese chain Takagi Ramen is well-known for its wallet-friendly noodles, which start from just $6.90 for a classic tonkotsu ramen. Ex-Takagi Ramen chef, Gary Chua, 33, claims to whip up his own version with “higher-end” ingredients, at the same price at his new hawker stall Tsuki Ramen.
Does Gary really think his ramen is better than Takagi’s? “I wouldn’t say it’s better, I just feel that it’s more suitable for me,” he replies humbly.
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Gary worked as a cook and manager at Takagi Ramen for a year before opening his stall Tsuki Ramen at a coffee shop in Bedok. He has six years of culinary experience, having spent the rest of his time split between working at a Chinese restaurant, cocktail bar and French-Japanese eatery.
His ramen recipe not inspired by Takagi’s
The new hawker tells 8days.sg that he left to set up his own stall as “Takagi isn’t my own business, so I felt like I couldn’t improvise my own menu there”. He notes that his current ramen recipe is entirely self-concocted, and not at all inspired by the ramen chain’s.
Only ate Takagi’s ramen “a couple times”
In fact, he confesses that Takagi’s ramen is, simply put, “not really to my taste buds”. He adds: “No offence to Takagi or anything. There are people who like it and people who don’t think it suits their taste - I fall into the second category”.
In his year-long stint there, he admits that he only ate the chain’s ramen a couple times, as he felt that their broth was “not strong and umami enough”.
Still, Gary explains that he chose to stay at Takagi for a year as it wouldn’t be professional to only work there for a few months.
After he left Takagi, the millennial set out to create a bowl of ramen that would live up to his standards. In particular, the soup: “The soup is most important. It must be very strong - thick, creamy, and very umami,” he shares.
While he declines to reveal too many details about his recipe, Gary says he simmers ingredients like pork bone and chicken feet for several hours, which helps to “extract the essence of the pork, resulting in a rich, creamy white broth”.
8days.sg hasn’t tried his ramen yet, so until we do, we’ll just have to take his word for it.
“Higher-end” ingredients used here
Currently, Gary sells four types of ramen: Signature Tonkotsu Ramen ($6.90), Shoyu Ramen ($6.90), Miso Tonkotsu Ramen ($7.90), and Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen ($7.90).
Both his and Takagi Ramen’s signature offerings cost $6.90. Some may argue that Takagi offers better value as their outlets boast a comfier air-conditioned setting. However, Gary says he “prioritises better ingredients”, including using more “premium” char siew - he selects pork cuts with “higher fat content and tenderness”.
Compared to Takagi’s, he says his ramen also contains slightly more ingredients for the same price - Takagi’s bowl comes with two slices of char siew, bean sprouts, and spring onions, while his features the same items (minus the bean sprouts), but also seaweed, fish cake, and half an ajitama egg.
He explains that he “doesn’t want people to have to add on things [and pay extra]. When customers want to add an egg, I’ll tell them there’s half an egg in there already”.
That being said, the hawker does offer add-ons if you insist on some, like eggs for $1.50 each, bamboo shoots for $0.80 and abalone slices for $2. Sides like pork gyoza ($2.90) and chicken karaage ($3.90) are also available.
Plans to open standalone branches in future, not competing with Takagi
Gary’s goal is to expand Tsuki Ramen into standalone eateries. He decided to start out in a coffee shop since this is his first business and he “didn’t want to invest so much into a restaurant first”. He firmly denies trying to compete with his ex-employer Takagi. “It’s not to compete lah, they have their own life and I have mine,” he says, adding that “I don’t really care about what Takagi does”.
The towkay invested around $40K into his business, which is pretty steep for a hawker stall. He explains it’s ’cos he chose to purchase all of his equipment brand new instead of second-hand. While biz is still unstable as he just opened shop two months ago, Gary says: “If I don’t take a salary, [Tsuki Ramen] isn’t making a loss”.
He tells us that he is giving himself a year to see how the business goes, and hopes to expand soon after.
Tsuki Ramen is at #01-191 Blk 87 Bedok North St 4, S460087. Open Mon - Fri; Sun 10am - 8pm. Closed Sat. Tel: 8111 9369. More info via their Instagram.
Photos: Tsuki Ramen
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