Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King is a ramen restaurant at Paya Lebar Square. It is situated on the ground floor facing outwards, which means that there is no internal access from the mall. You have to  exit the air-conditioned comfort of Paya Lebar Square, walk along the pavement till you see the ramen shop.

There is no doubt that Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square is a popular restaurant. It is not uncommon to see queues forming outside during lunchtime and other peak periods. Considering that the outside pavement is sheltered but not air-conditioned, one must admire the tenacity of the people queuing up in the Singapore afternoon heat.  Even more so when there are lots of other dining options in the mall.

At Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square, you get to customise your ramen by selecting the type of soup, the desired texture of the ramen, the toppings and the amount of seasoning.  A multiple-choice order form made the task of ordering easy, even eliminating the need for verbal communication. Which was a good thing in this case.

The danger of dining at successful eateries is that the law of inverse courtesy (LIC) may sometimes strike.  In case you are not aware, the law of inverse courtesy states as follows:  the level of service (S) at an eatery is quite often inversely proportional to the popularity (P) of the eatery multiplied by the average number (N) of people who are in the queue at peak hours.

S = 1/(P * N) 

It is hard to explain why the LIC exists.  It could be that staff at popular restaurants are overworked and so they tend to have less time for you. Or the idea that there are so many people waiting, so you should consider yourself fortunate to be let in so don’t ask so many questions. Anyway, enough of science, let’s get back to the eating.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square is very small. What it lacks in space is made up for by the interesting decor. The walls are plastered with posters, photos and other decorations. Free hard-boiled eggs and boiled bean sprouts are provided on each table.  You can grind the sesame seeds while waiting for the food to arrive.

Collectively we tried quite a few types of ramen and you can see that they are attractively presented. The ramen are priced from $10.90 to $13.90. The taste of the ramen were generally good. Other than the cold reception from the staff, our experience at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square was not bad.

I can’t remember which is which so I would not give you detailed descriptions of the various ramen.  Anyway it will also depend on your options and preferences.  But here are our collective recommendations to ourselves should we decide to dine here again.

1.  Black Spicy is the best soup. The plain tonkotsu soup is too plain.  This becomes evident when you throw in the free eggs – the plain soup does not impart any real flavour to the egg.

2. “Taste of soup” on the order form means the level of saltiness. Select light. It is salty enough.

3. “Chicken oil” option – select “less oil”. Normal is quite oily.

4. Just because they are free does not mean you should dump three eggs and a lump of bean sprouts into your ramen. The soup gets too diluted and cooled down by your greed. One, or at the most two, eggs and a tablespoon full of bean sprouts will be ideal.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 1
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square
60 Paya Lebar Road
Singapore 409051

Tel: + 65 6341 6123

Opening Hours :
Mon – Fri: 11:30 – 15:00; 17:30 – 22:00
Sat, Sun and Public Holiday: 11:30 – 22:00

Nearby Station : Paya Lebar

keisuke.sg

The Ordinary Patrons
a Singapore food blog by ordinary people looking for places to eat