Ume San 100

After discovering Wa Wa La La Bee Hoon at the fortune centre, I made another wonderful discovery by walking past Ume San 100. My attention was caught by the interesting design and decoration of the shop front when I was casually strolling by after lunch

The entrance of the bar is hidden behind a door which looks like a vending machine. The entire front of the space is decorated like a row of Japanese vending machines so when the bar is not open, you will likely pass by and not notice that there is a door hidden here

I love the concept of the hidden door and we were the first to enter the bar for lunch. Once inside, you will see that the bar has a basic yet cosy concept with wooden benches and high chairs at the bar counter. The atmosphere reminds me of a hidden bar tucked away in some Tokyo alley. I would have never imagined it was in Singapore and within Fortune Center mall

They have affordable lunch sets, including ramen and some rice bento sets, which cost less than SGD 12. There are more options during dinner like speciality ramen, rice, pizzas and grilled and fried items which go well with their cocktails. Ume San 100 has a very extensive umeshu menu and I am very excited to come back to try their cocktails in the evening. In terms of flavours, the ramen we ordered; 1 spicy and 1 non-spicy were punching a deep and thick savoury note. I like that the noodles were chewy and bouncy and the servings were perfect for lunch and not too heavy. I was surprised the noodles actually reminded me of those in small ramen shops in Japan

We were also served seasoned clams which were on the house. The sauce used was mala and was quite addictive as I ate it together with the noodles. It would be quite nice as an alcoholic snack too

I saw 2 items on the snack menu which caught my eye, the first one was the fried oyster skewer at around SGD 18 to 20 ( I cannot remember the price). The fried items took a while to be served as they were freshly made when ordered. The fried oysters were served on top of their shell and are plump and fat. I like that the crust was crispy but the oyster was still soft and juicy. Oyster lovers would love this with a glass of alcohol

The 2nd item was the uni bomb which was SGD 18 for 4 pieces and served with something similar to a tartar mayonnaise dip. I was expecting to bite into a floury ball with uni flavour but I was so wrong. I took my first bite and it was like love at first sight. The centre of the bomb was a creamy and flowy uni filling. The bomb was simply bursting with the strong flavours of uni and nothing else. There was no other additional flavour except an explosion of uni goodness on its own. I ate 1 without the sauce and 1 with the sauce and I loved it without the sauce better. The sauce tapered down the uni flavour slightly with a tinge of buttery, tangy and creamy flavour

Overall, I loved that the lunch sets were extremely affordable and the quality of the ramen was fabulous. The gem is definitely the uni bomb which I will definitely return for more

Address: 190 Middle Rd, #02-07 Fortune Centre, Singapore 188979

Opening hours: 12 pm to 2.30 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm ( Sat 11 am to 2.30 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm)