In ramen-popular Singapore, it is about time that SOBA gets some attention.
Nadai Fujisoba Ni-Hachi, Japan’s number one soba restaurant, has quietly opened in Singapore at 100AM Mall Tanjong Pagar.
(Click PLAY for video highlights of Nadai Fujisoba Ni-Hachi.)
Located at the corner unit of Level 3, it may not be obvious at first sight, but you should make your way there. I first spotted it when I wanted to dine at one of the Japanese restaurants under the cluster Itadakimasu Singapore.
The soba specialist 蕎麦屋 was first established in 1966 at Shibuya Tokyo, and currently has 125 outlets around Asia. This is its 1st branch in Singapore.
Its name “Nadai Fujisoba Ni-Hachi” can be a mouthful. I just call it “Fujisoba” for easier recall.
For those of you who know some basic Japanese, you should know that Ni and Hachi mean 2 and 8 respectively. That represents the 2:8 ration which is the golden combination of wheat flour (20%) and buckwheat flour (80%) needed to make the perfect soba. Sodesu.
The buckwheat flour used for the freshly made soba is said to be specially imported from a well-established milling factory in Japan, then kept in a warehouse with temperature control to maintain the quality.
Fujisoba’s menu offers an extensive variety of soba, soba, soba, including Dry Maze Soba ($14 – $16), Curry Nanban Soba ($16 – $24), Hot Tempura Soba ($18 – $20), Hot Tanuki Soba ($11), Cold Soba ($11 – $20), donburis and ala carte dishes.
Here are some of the recommended dishes at Fujisoba:
Deep-Fried Soba with Sizzling Seafood Spicy Sauce ($18.50++)
My recommended must-order, and the highlight of the meat. A plate of fried soba would be presented to your table, with a separate piping-hot pan of prawn, squid, kamaboko fish cake, pork, shitake mushrooms, beansprout, cabbage in gooey savoury sauce.
The entire combination would be poured on the crispy noodles, attracting some eyes from neighbouring tables to peek over due to the combination of sizzling sound and seafood aroma.
This looked almost like the local zhi char fare of ‘sheng mian’. Wait till you try it.
There was some taste of familiarity. Oh wait, could that be chopped up chilli padi? Yes, it was, and that gave the noodles an additional element of spicy-satisfaction.
And the portion. I reckon 3 or perhaps even 4 can share this, even though it was supposed meant for an individual. I never had deep fried soba before, and I know this won’t be the last.
Crispy Sakura Ebi Tempura & Soba Drizzled with Truffle Oil ($19.50++)
In this case, I liked the broth more than the tempura. The shrimp soup base was clear, but had a deep, exquisite flavour.
Interestingly, the two large prawn tempura were coated in a orangey-crimson coloured batter, the result from addition of mentaiko (spicy cod roe) in the mix. The prawns were tasty, though the crisp wasn’t at the level of most other tempura restaurants.
Hot Sukiyaki Soba
If you are on a search for something warm and comforting. The dashi created by a special blend of dried bonito, kaeshi (Japanese noodle concentrated soup base) and well-aged mirin (sweet rice wine), had an alluring umami flavour.
Thankfully, the soup wasn’t too salty as what you typically would have expected from a sukiyaki base.
I would generally recommend the hot soup versions, if you want to have a better appreciation of the chewy, slight-grainy texture of the soba noodles.
Hot Mentai Cream Soba ($17)
Remember the sensation when having Japanese style Italian pasta such as carbonara? This feels almost like its cousin.
The thin soba noodles is covered in a creamy pink sauce made from mentaiko (seasoned cod roe), fresh cream, dashi, spring onion, and nori seafood sauce.
On the rich side, would recommend some form of sharing.
Special Truffles Dashi Maki Tamago with Club Japanese Sauce ($15)
The other dish that I would highly recommend. Soft, fluffy omelette in blocks, cooked with bits of truffle imported from France, then poured over by a thick dashi sauce cooked with crab meat and soy sauce.
Please eat this while the tamago is still hot.
A bite would be a combination of taste of the luscious seafood-y sauce, matched with softness of the eggs, and subtle aroma of the truffle.
Nadai Fujisoba offer value for money soba set lunches ($18++) which includes Hot/Cold soba, Japanese Pickles, Crispy Sakura Ebi & Fresh Cut Fruits.
The portions are generally quite big here.
Nadai Fujisoba Ni-Hachi
100AM Mall #03-14, 100 Tras Street Singapore 079027
Opening Hours: 11:00am – 3:00pm, 5:30pm – 10:00pm (Mon – Sun)
Tel: +65 6443 8827
https://www.facebook.com/FujiSoba
* This entry is brought to you in partnership with Nadai Fujisoba Ni-Hachi.
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