gumshara @ harbour plaza, dixon st., haymarket

I'm sure most Ramen fans would've discovered and tried Gumshara already and if not, what are you waiting for?! It'd been on my agenda to go check this place out, it took awhile but finally J&I got round to trying it on Thursday. I'd first read about this place on Suze's blog where she most contentedly guzzled through a few bowls of these and later on, it seemed that most of the foodie world had caught on and now if you google 'Gumshara', half a dozen food blogs com up with reviews of the unique ramen that this place serves up. I can see why, this place is one worth blogging about!

Located in Harbour Plaza on Dixon Street (Chinatown), Gumshara serves up a ramen that's one of it's kind. You'd hardly think that this one shop, amongst the many that form the food court that's Harbour Plaza would be any different than its counterparts. And perhaps, the sign you see as you walk about to the counter serves to remind you of its point of difference. 'Our soup is made by traditional Japanese way to cook which only uses fresh pork bone and water. No MSG is used. The richness of the soup comes from the marrow of the bone and the soft bone. It contains a lot of collagen, which is essential to maintain smooth skin.'

My Tonkotsu Ramen. The soup was richly thick and for a moment I thought my throat would glue together from the thickness of the soup but alas it didn't and neither was I thirsty afterwards (which came as a bit of a surprise as I was convinced I'd be drinking gallons of water afterwards from how thick the soup was). I can definitely attest to the fact that NO MSG has been added as like my dad, my throat dries up with just a touch of MSG and I was perfectly fine after guzzling down my bowl of ramen.

J's Hakata Ramen with a serve of soft-boiled egg. The soup in this one wasn't quite as thick as mine and with J's generous dusting of chilli powder into the soup, this one actually came with a bit of a bite.

We also had a serve of dumplings to share (apologies no photos as the only one I took came out blurry) and that was just as lovely as the bowls of ramen. Dinner came in at about $25 for the two of us which I thought was pretty good. Admittedly, the setting of the foodcourt isn't exactly restaurant quality but Gumshara is most definitely restaurant quality food. And well, if you want to jazz it up a little, feel free to bring along your bottle of wine and make dinner a little classy (this was what the table next to us did).

Do be prepared for the wait in the queue. It's a two man show at Gumshara - there's one chef out the back and the one girl at the counter taking the orders and calling out numbers so don't get too annoyed when the girl is at the counter but is busy trying to get bowls out to those that have ordered and not taking your order. She'll get to you as soon as she can and well, after tasting the ramen, it's most definitely worth the wait!