IPPON Fusion Bowl – Cheapest Mazesoba You Can Try In Singapore

Note: Before we begin, check this post for anyone who doesn’t know what mazesoba is.

Is it possible to order a bowl of mazesoba in Singapore for less than $10? Sure or not?

With the average price of mazesoba in Singapore costing at least $20 (give or take), let’s find out whether the mazesoba at IPPON Fusion Bowl located at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre is worth your buck, or a dish to duck.

Brief History & Mission

First opened in 2022 at Our Tampines Hub, one of Ippon Fusion Bowl’s mission is to provide high quality and affordable Japanese cuisine to the average Singaporean in the neighborhoods. They are proud of using Masshigura rice for their donburi (Japanese rice bowls), directly imported from Japan alongside the ramen noodles for their noodle dishes. They’re best known for their donburi (Japanese rice bowls), but they offer dry ramen dishes as well to add some variety into their menu.

Experience

It’s always crowded at Hawker Centre @ Our Tampines Hub during lunch hours. Wasn’t too difficult to find the stall after settling down. And it sure didn’t take too long to inform the stall owner my order for the day. While they mainly served donburi, this is a noodle-specific site so I ordered their Ippon Dry Ramen (M). Given the amount of ingredients used, the meal took a while to arrive and I’m ready to chow down.

Sadly, the Meatless Noodle Bowl has been discontinued as of October 2024 due to low sales and time-consuming preparation process of certain ingredients. Sad news for vegetarians or vegans, but the two budget rice bowls are still available for people with a tight budget for the week.

Taste Test (Ippon Dry Ramen, $7.50, medium/regular size + braised pork belly, $3)

This is probably the best mazesoba Singapore has to offer at this price point; it’s a complete steal to be honest.

Let’s get this out of the way: the miso soup is…okay. Nothing too special, and it tastes rather basic, being merely hot water and so-so quality miso. It’s free when you order any of their main course though, but doesn’t impact the dish even as a side one way or another.

Discounting the extra braised pork belly, my bowl of IPPON dry ramen contains loads of minced meat and grilled pork slices; so much that meat-lovers would weep with pride. The meat had a rather sweet profile to it, and the blowtorch sliced meat and pork belly gave it a slight char that reminds me of chashu in some regular ramen stores. The noodles were pretty satisfying to eat, being slightly thicker than the thin yellow noodles offered at some noodle restaurants.

Even though it’s not called mazesoba (I bet many people aren’t familiar with that term, so IPPON opted for ‘dry ramen’ instead to get the message across clearer), it’s everything you could ask for in a mazesoba. Minced meat, onsen egg that coagulates into a creamy sauce, spring onions and seaweed (more like black fungus), pickled vegetables, and medium-thick noodles…it’s a mazesoba but name. All in all, it was a very satisfying meal that left me a happy person by the time I left the hawker center.

Final Thoughts

I was immediately skeptical when my eyes were scanning Ippon Fusion Bowl’s menu, with prices in hawker centres and food courts soaring drastically (rose by 6.1% in 2023) over the last few years. Better yet, you can use the CDC vouchers to offset your balance and give their bowls a shot. Great for anyone whose wallets are tight from increased expenditures.

For anyone living around Tampines, consider yourselves lucky that you’ll have affordable Japanese cuisine right next door. And for ramen aficionados dying to try a bowl of mazesoba without burning a hole in your wallet, I recommend coming down to Our Tampines Hub and have a taste for yourself.

Address & Opening Hours

Address:
Our Tampines Hub Hawker Center
1 Tampines Walk, #01-72, Singapore 528523

Opening Hours:
Thu to Tue – 11.30am to 2.30pm, 5pm to 8pm
Closed on Wed

Nearest MRT: Tampines (EW2 | DT32)