The Place While there are no lack of Japanese ramen joints in Singapore, it is my first time coming across a duck ramen specialty restaurant from the newly opened Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke. Located at Holland Village, this new restaurant is the 13^th concept by Chef Keisuke, who is already relatively well-known by his other popular concepts such as Tendon Ginza Itsuki and Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei. Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke has a similar concept in Ginza, Japan and this is the first time it is being brought to Singapore.

The restaurant is located at level 2 of a shophouse along Lorong Mambong right opposite Holland Village Hawker Centre. The space is not big and can accommodate 32 diners, with a bar counter table where you can watch the chefs in action, and a main dining area made up of tatami-like straw mat seats. The overall ambience feels like a dining scene from Japan.

The Food All the ramen options are duck related and the main highlight here is the use of hybrid Irish duck in all the ramen options. The Irish duck is first grilled, before it is marinated in chef’s special shoyu-based sauce, then steamed at 65 degrees Celsius.

We started with the Hybrid Duck Broth Ramen (Clear Soup – S$14.90 / Special S$19.90), where the broth is quite light and refreshing after being simmered for 5 hours. The Irish duck has a slightly gamy taste but is very tender.

If you fancy a heavier flavour like me, go for the Hybrid Duck Broth Ramen (Rich Soup – S$14.90 /  Special S$19.90). As opposed to the clear soup, the rich soup is significantly more creamy and thick in texture and I do find it more hearty and enjoyable. The difference with the clear soup is that duck bones and herbs are added to the stock for the rich soup which is simmered for 8 hours.

The other dish I recommend is the Hybrid Duck Maze Soba (S$14.90), or dry noodles, with deep fried egg wrapped in seaweed. Break the seaweed wrapped egg and mix it well with the noodles and the result is a delicious dry noodles. After having it with the original flavour, I also added some maze soba chilli and orange vinegar sauce separately to the noodles and taste profile changes drastically. The orange vinegar balances the heavy flavour of the noodles well, well the soba chilli sauce reminds me of our local noodles. This dish is pretty amazing.

For an alternative to noodles, the Kamo Ju (S$29.90), also known as duck on rice, is served with generous slices of the Irish duck on top of the rice while beneath the rice lies some minced duck mixed with bonito and wasabi. Go for this if you are big on duck meat, though I find the rice slightly too dry for my liking. It will be better if it is drizzled with more sauce.

Rants The relatively small space of the restaurant means that the waiting time will be quite long, and it doesn’t help that the restaurant does not take reservations. We can foresee the queue stretching from level 2 all the way to street level.

Will I Return Again? Every concept of Chef Keisuke makes waves each time it is opened and I have no qualms about Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke being the next hit in Holland Village.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke
16A Lor Mambong, level 2
Singapore 277677
Tel: +65 6463 4344

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 5 to 10pm
Saturday to Sunday: 11.30am to 10pm

Ranted by The Ranter