Tsuru-Koshi Udon

Eh. No good. The udon noodles are too soft. It’s missing that pop. Service is meh. Forgot part of our order. Meh eh meh eh eh

It’s a quiet location, and the service was quick and friendly! They quickly took my order and within 5 minutes, I has gotten my food! The food was presented well and the salmon sashimi looked and tastes fresh. The tempura didn’t come with any tempura sauce which was a little upsetting and the udon was pretty tasty though I suspect it was mainly MSG as I felt quite thirsty after that.

I’m going to go ahead and say that this is the best udon I have had in Singapore, and approaches the quality of those I have had in Japan. I had the ebi tempura with pork broth udon and it seriously reminded me of the same meal at a fast food restaurant in the train station in Hakata/​Fukuoka. That is a huge compliment. Definitely worth a try.

Tsuru-​Koshi, I will admit, was one of those secret places I try not to tell people about because the food is really good and seats are always in short supply when I’m hungry. Selfish, I know. My love for this joint however, has started to waver a little and in my own twisted way of thinking, I’m hoping if more people patronize the shop because they know about it, they’ll tighten up the quality standards and everyone benefits.
So why do i like Tsuru-​Koshi? It’s the only udon specialist restaurant that I know of my side of town (it’s sad but true, but that’s the crabby restaurant landscape in Singapore). It seems like a classic Japanese restaurant transplant that I imagine had some amount of quality control done by the OCD Japanese owner or his Singaporean equivalent. The noodles have always been cooked on the cusp of al dente and the tempura items fried crisp. Lastly, the prices are decent given where the restaurant is located and the portions for quality.
What’s wrong now? The restaurant is still by far the only means for me to get remotely Japan-​standard udon in Singapore, short of going to one the high end places worthy of a business lunch. This place wouldn’t stand out in Japan by any means, but for Singapore, it’s great. However, on a visit yesterday, I noticed the cooks have become sloppy. The Asu Asu Tan Tan udon I normally order came in a little mess of a bowl — with the minced meat chucked to one side, the noodles un-​artfully dunked in and the soft egg broken. The tempura sides we ordered — pumpkin, ebi and the fish cake tubes — left oily kisses on the tenshi. The latter is a cardinal tempura sin in my book. If I wanted a sloppy fry-​up, I’d head to Smith’s.
So yes, this review is strange in that I am none too pleased about what’s happening in the kitchen. But, the udon still beats the competition by far. So do me a favor, stop by and grab a bowl or two regularly and tell them to step it up, please? Or tell me if you know of any worthy alternatives.

I don’t usually like udon, but this one is SOO good. Chewy udon with a dry, minced meat base, topped with a soft onsen egg: heaven! I like the egg so much that I usually order an extra serving.
The tempura is good too, as the batter is light and crispy and not laden with oil. Must-​eat when I am around the area!

The best udon I have tasted in singapore! I absolutely love the niku udon. The noodle is thick and chewy. The broth is tasty and not too heavy and they do give quite a decent amount of pork slices.
As the other reviewers have pointed out, the portions here are small. So it is more of a mid afternoon snack or a light meal. And a much healthier option compared to the other fried snacks that are sold in the takashimaya food hall!

Fast, tasty, and fair value for Orchard.
Bukkake udon, onsen tamago, one piece of lotus root tempura, one piece of pumpkin tempura, and a cup of hot green tea came to just over $ 10.
The tempura was tolerable but is unlikely to satisfy any cravings. I’ve stuck to noodle bowl + onsen tamago ever since. Forget authenticity; this is not the place for it. But I can’t stand soft noodles, and I don’t need to worry about that here. Now can we have more fixins, please?

The best udon in town, I think. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is the al dente chewy kind of udon. I really hate the soggy soft ones, so this is really delicious for me. I love cold udon in a simple soy sauce with lemon, but this time I opted for the «hot spicy cold sauce with minced pork» which was very delicious. My only complaint is that for 9 bucks, I was expecting more noodles. It’s a good size for most girls in Singapore I think. And the egg was pretty good. Would definitely stop by again if I’m around in Orchard, and craving some good udon.

Good chewy texture udon. This is not the mushy soggy udon. This is the udon like those you get in Japan. Yumz.
The only gripe is though the price is below $ 10, you don’t really get much for the price, and especially since there is hardly any ingredients.
But I love it anyway. The cold one is especially great for a hot afternoon. Simple pleasures.

Tucked inside the food hall of Takashimaya basement is Tsuru-​Koshi, an udon specialty store. The udon soup variety here is great with the normal soup base, dried fish soup base and something known as the chinese hot sauce which is a little like zha jiang mian. The last time I got the kitsune udon which was not bad, though the tan-​tan men which is the one with the chinese hot sauce, is better. My friend had the cream soup base and enjoyed it, although I did not like the creaminess of it.
The service by the auntie at the counter is very friendly and warm, and we received our noodles quickly. The price is inexpensive, at about $ 6.50 to $ 9 for a bowl, hence being incredibly affordable compared to other foods around the area. It is a simple, no-​frills place to eat at expensive Orchard Road and a delicious option too.