Sambal Ijo For those whom have been following up on the happenings in the local F&B scene in recent times, one of the places that one might have come across via social media of the late would be that of Ono Ramen. For those whom have yet to hear about Ono Ramen, Ono Ramen is a new establishment that has recently opened their doors along North Bridge Road being relatively near to the Sultan Mosque — they had taken over the former premises of a cafe named The White Label. Ono Ramen is a concept that is affiliated to that of Kulon that is located at Bali Lane just a short distance away; Ono Ramen is described on its social media pages to be a Muslim-owned establishment that specialises in serving up Indonesian-style ramen. Adopting a white and orange colour scheme, one can describe the establishment to be decked simply but with a little bit of style; there are various posters that could be found around the space that helped inject a fun vibe, though the dining furniture mainly comprises of wooden accents with faux rattan accents that helped to give it a slightly Indonesian vibe. Whilst Kulon is best known for its for serving up Indonesian Bakmi, Ono Ramen is a concept that focuses on serving up their form of Japanese ramen with an Indonesian fusion element. The menu at Ono Ramen is split into sections dedicated to Ramen, Sides and Desserts. Drinks available would include that of canned and bottled beverages.
Considering how Ono Ramen is an establishment that is all about their fusion ramen offerings, it is the Sambal Ijo that had caught our attention earlier on whilst skimming through the various Ramen dishes that they have to offer. The Sambal Jjo is being described in the menu to come with elements such as chicken broth, slices of chicken, Ajitama egg, spicy sambal ijo, spring onion, nori, and scallion oil; think of this as something close to Tori Paitan (i.e. Japanese Chicken White Broth) that some Japanese Ramen establishments serve up, but with Ono Ramen’s own twist. For those whom are unfamiliar with Indonesian cuisine, the Sambal Ijo can be described as Indonesian Green Chili Sambal — this is evidently included in the chicken broth of the Sambal Ijo here. Considering how the chicken broth does come with a slightly creamy consistency apart from its savoury notes, the addition of Sambal Ijo does give a lightly bright and mild spicy kick to the chicken broth; the inherent richness of the broth does give it a flavour that is somewhat close to that of Lemak Chili Api, though is one that doesn’t come with as much as depth as their other ramen offerings that we found to be more flavourful. The strips of chicken were tender and juicy, while the Ajitama egg does come with the molten lava egg yolk that one would expect for such eggs at usual Japanese Ramen establishments. The noodles here does come with right amount of bite as well; the entire bowl being fairly easy to have and would suit those whom prefer light flavour profiles in general. In retrospect, the Tauto would be one that would appeal to those who prefer punchier flavours — the Tauto being described in the menu to feature elements such as chicken broth, pulled bacem beef, taugeh, fried shallots, onions and nori. The bacem beef are essentially sweet beef slices that does come with a slightly gamey note; this somewhat does gel well with the nutty-tasting broth that accompanied the Tauto. We did note that there is a dish named Tauto in Indonesian food culture, though we aren’t able to comment on how close the Tauto here is in trying to replicate that dish due to a lack of exposure to Tauto. That being said, this was one dish that we felt that the Indonesian fusion elements were stronger than that of it being a Japanese ramen dish.
The Yakitori at Ono Ramen is described to be a dish featuring grilled chicken skewers and Spicy Sambal Matah; the latter referring to the Balinese-style raw sambal that often comes with shallots and kaffir lime leaf. We felt that the Yakitori sauce used for the grilled chicken skewers seemingly overpowered the notes of the Spicy Sambal Matah here, while the Spicy Sambal Matah is especially weak in terms of the fragrance of the various spices used — it also felt that the level of spiciness is being rather mild and even close to being non-existent as well. For dessert, we opted for the Cremeux that comes with elements such as chocolate mousse, Pailleté Feuilletine, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. We enjoyed the flavour profiles here where the sea salt was able to help provide some contrast to the chocolate, while the extra virgin olive oil helped create depth in the flavours of the chocolate mousse; all that with the Pailleté Feuilletine adding an element of crunch. The only comment on this dish was on the way that it was plated; definitely could have looked better. Overall, Ono Ramen does indeed provide patrons with a rather fresh take on how Ramen can be done — an Indonesian-Japanese fusion that we had never quite seen before in the local F&B scene at least. We do feel that the Ramen that they have to offer is pretty on-theme; there is no lack of an Indonesian element that runs through their Ramen offerings, while the execution of the Ramen dishes also do seem to hit the spot where the concept of it all is of concern. That being said, we do wish that they can perhaps go heavier on the level of spiciness on the various sambal that come with their dishes; whilst Indonesian dishes always has a core emphasis on the element of spice, the dishes that we have had with sambal at Ono Ramen didn’t really feel punchy enough for a dish with an Indonesian influence. With their Ramen offerings priced between $12.90 to $14.90, Ono Ramen has kept prices of its dishes at a rather reasonable level — all this whilst serving up a niche that would especially appeal to the Muslim community given the freshness of the concept.
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