Hototogisu Paragon Michelin Star ramen restaurant from Tokyo – crab ramen

Konjiki Hototogisu 金色不如帰 is a one Michelin Star ramen restaurant from Tokyo. It was awarded the star in the 2019 Tokyo Michelin Guide and was listed as a Tokyo Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in 2015 to 2018. It is said to be the original creator of shellfish broth. Introduced to Singapore by Japan Foods Group, Hototogisu Paragon is their third outlet in Singapore, after earlier outlets at Great World City and Chijmes. Each outlet has its own unique specialty ramen dishes. At Paragon, the highlights of the menu are the shoyu Asari clam broth and the crab broth ramen.

Hototogisu Paragon is simply decorated like a typical ramen shop. Most of the seats are at the small tables. A long counter accommodates the solo diners (like myself). Generally, I am not fond of dining alone. But there are some days when it is unavoidable. I have concluded that a ramen place is probably the least painful place to eat alone. Better still, if it is a Michelin Star ramen restaurant in Singapore. So the Ha Oh Hototogisu Paragon ramen shop was an easy choice.

Hototogisu Paragon Menu

Here are pictures of some of the main pages of the Hototogisu Paragon menu. The big signboard at the entrance announces the One Michelin Star status and the two highlighted types of ramen at this Orchard Road outlet. The first features a broth made with Asari clams in a shoyu based broth. The second is ramen prepared with a crab broth. The second one looked more interesting and different and so that was what I ordered.

Hototogisu Paragon Crab Ramen

It was almost a full house when I was there at lunchtime on a weekday. The Hototogisu crab ramen arrived after 20 minutes. The crab broth is apparently made by simmering Japanese blue crabs. The resulting crab broth reminded me of a mild lobster bisque. The seafood flavour is there but it is light but not “in your face” strong like a robust prawn noodle soup. A slice of lemon and a dab of sour cream was also added to the soup. These two ingredients did not really add any individually detectable flavour, although they might have helped in creating a background complexity. I could smell the fragrance of the lemon. A ball of crab & tomato paste added a bit more flavour to the whole thing.

The combination of everything was successfully blended such that no particular flavour stood out. Like instruments in an orchestra. They were a harmonious bunch. The crab broth is different from the usual tonkotsu or shoyu based ramen broth that we are used to. It is less salty than usual, but still quite salty. The slice of pork cha shu was very good. The ramen was prepared to a medium level of softness but still had a chewy texture. The ramen portion was average in size i.e. enough to remove the sense of hunger but there is no danger of over-eating.

The Hototogisu Paragon crab ramen costs $15.90++, which works out to be $18.70 out of pocket. It is an expensive bowl of noodles but it was expertly made. I was happy to discover a new style of ramen. And every extra bit of happiness matters when you have to eat alone.

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

Ha-Oh Hototogisu Ramen
Paragon Shopping Centre
B1-47, 290 Orchard Road
Singapore 238859

Tel +65 62621304

Opening: Hours 10 am to 11 pm

Nearby MRT Stations: Somerset, Orchard

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog

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