West Coast is not quite the most popular location with newly-opened eateries; and so it is quite surprising to hear how the new Ramen Shiba had recently opened its doors at West Coast Plaza. Taking over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of Jalan Kayu The Prata Cafe there, Ramen Shiba is neighbours with Sunny Korean Cuisine within the mall. Massively revamping free space that has been vacated by its former tenants, Ramen Shiba does boast of quite a spacious dine-in area; despite the interior decorations of the space being rather basic with the use of simple booth seating and cushioned chairs alongside wooden tables, the space does seem rather well-decorated overall. With its focus on ramen, Shiba Ramen’s menu features quite a good variety of different styles of ramen; their signature would be the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen, though they do offer other ones such as the Original Tonkotsu, Spicy Tonkotsu, and Black Garlic Tonkotsu ramen as well. Apart from ramen, they do also offer a small variety of Donburi (think Mentaiko Salmon Grilled Don and Chicken Teriyaki Don) for those whom might prefer rice over noodles. Sides which are available to share across the table includes the usual suspects, such as Takoyaki, Pork Gyoza, Karaage and more.

For those looking to try the full works here, the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen with All Toppings is the one to go for — this variant not only comes with the Pork Shogayaki that is pretty much standard with all items classified under the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen section of the menu, but also comes with all the goodies; think seaweed, flavoured egg, and Chashu. Otherwise, patrons can also opt for the basic Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen, Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen with Seaweed or the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen with Flavoured Egg. The ramen at Shiba Ramen also comes highly customisable as well; patrons would be asked if they would like for less, normal or more amounts of oil, a lighter, normal or heavier broth, softer, normal or harder noodles, and also to opt between thin or thick noodles — something which we really appreciated. Opting for all things at the normal level whilst gong for the thin noodles, we also note that the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen also features a Tonkotsu broth that is made on-site; taking a sip into the broth, we note how the broth is fairly light when one opts for it at the normal level. Not that this matters though; we actually quite liked how they have seemingly managed the flavours really well especially considering how the Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen with All Toppings does come with Pork Shogayaki and Chashu anyway — there is quite enough savoury flavours and meatiness such that a lighter broth is necessary to prevent the entire bowl from becoming especially jelak. The Pork Shogayaki was decent; a stir-fry that also comprises of onions for a good, savoury crunch — the pork being being sliced to a decent size that isn’t too thick, yet provides a good meaty bite. Thought they were really generous with the Chashu here; rather big slabs of meat that came with a good chew — the Chashu carried a light note of soy sauce for yet another dimension of savouriness that also takes away any most of the meatiness here. Going for the thin noodles done at the normal level of doneness, we note that the noodles were done just right; not too soft, yet maintaining a good springiness without requiring much bite. The flavoured egg was pretty much on point; savoury with a molten yolk that is a crowd pleaser on its own, while the seaweed provided is sufficiently crisp — a great attention to detail considering how some establishments would serve pretty limp pieces of seaweed that seemed to be left out there for too long before being served to the table with the bowl of ramen. Overall, a pretty competent product with elements that kind of strikes some sort of balance, and seem to be rather decently executed — though we would still think that the All Toppings options is probably something meant for those with a bigger appetite.

Having tried some of the items which Ramen Shiba has to offer, we felt that they do serve up a good bowl of Japanese Ramen that seems to be able to satisfy an itching ramen craving — there isn’t much qualm on how the execution of the different elements in our Shiba Signature Butabara Ramen with All Toppings were done; the elements were executed fairly well, and while it does feel a little heavy considering the amount of elements going on in there, we did feel that there were attempts being made to make the entire bowl feel rather balanced. The Ebimayo was also fairly decent; basically deep-fried prawns that have been drenched in some form of Mayo for a savoury touch against the prawn’s natural sweetness. With pretty much decent offerings at hand, Ramen Shiba does seem like a good spot to hit for Japanese Ramen in the area — no doubt they aren’t the place with the cheapest ramen around the island; the basic variant of their ramens ranges from $11.90 to $15.90 before service charge, while the full works (i.e. All Toppings variant) typically costs higher from $15.90 to $19.90 before service charge, but Ramen Shiba is likely be a spot that West Coast residents would be appreciative for considering the lack of such options in this corner of the island.