This place created lots of attention, one for its raging fire and the other for its amazing queue. Since I had some time-off, I decided to have lunch on one of the weekdays and was there about 11.35am (they opened at 12pm sharp) Standing in line were 2 other parties infront of me and within 5 minutes, more people joined the queue behind. There was some commotion/disagreement about us queuing first before they opened at 12pm and the manager actually told us to disperse and come back again at 12pm (for social distancing reasons). Overheard from someone that was there over the weekend she queued for 1 hour before realizing the wait was gonna be 7-hour long and thus they were adamant about not leaving the queue (this was before Mothership published the post) Long story short, they need to come up with a better queue management system

So we finally got our queue number and were just patiently waiting in line to enter the restaurant. The 5th floor could only accommodate 14 boxes (14 groups of people) while the rest of line continues at level 1

I stared at the menu for very long cos I wasn’t sure if their main attractions include toppings or like I’m supposed to add on to make it a full-looking bowl of ramen. In any case, I decided to just go with my gut feel and add on egg and corn

So you will be first seated at the normal tables before the staff come around to bring you to the counter seats and when your turn is over, you go back to the table to eat

Every time the music comes on, it’s very exciting cos that’s when the show is starting. All the setups are in place so that your phone can capture THE moment. Also, staffs are trained to take photos of you and for you so don’t worry, your photos/videos can definitely be use for the gram

Yeps the chef took a moment to look at the camera too 😀

Gyoza (Pork) $6.90

The gyoza was pretty normal, like really normal

In-house Charcoal Karaage $8.90

Gave the charcoal karaage a try cos it sounded so funky. I think let’s just stick to normal karaage. The outer crust of the karaage was tough even though the meat inside was slightly more tender. The same dipping sauce used for the gyoza and karaage was really boring too

Shoyu Fire Ramen $17.90 (Menbaka Original)

*Pls note price only includes noodles, 2 slices of charsiew and a bowl of chopped spring onion*

Ajitama Egg + Charred Corn $5

I’m glad I added the egg and the corn else it would just be a sad looking bowl of ramen with just noodles, 2 piece of thin charsiew and lots of spring onion

I thought the ramen broth was good. It might be a little oily initially but I actually did enjoy the broth after awhile. Noodles were well-cooked, charsiew was forgettable and I liked the charred corn

Personally I thought this was an expensive bowl of ramen after adding this and that. And I wouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes wait for this. The price you are paying here ain’t just for the ramen but also for the experience you are getting. So honestly, it’s up to you if you are still willing to wait that long. This is afterall, ramen for the gram

Menbaka Fire Ramen

8 Grange Road #05-03

Cathay Cineleisure Orchard

Singapore 239695