Mazesoba has been the hot alternative to ramen and æ—¥å¸¸éºµèˆ– Daily Noodles at Amoy Food Street Centre is riding on that wave. For the uninitiated, mazesoba is basically the dry version of ramen or as some people have put it, Japanese bak chor mee. An apt description indeed.

There have been plenty mazesoba eateries mushrooming of late, but so far, Daily Noodles is the first to offer mazesoba and at an affordable price too. Daily Noodles offers three variations of mazesoba with various toppings as well as a bowl of laksa for a local twist.

A typical bowl of mazesoba (Nagoya style) would consist of a generous serving of spring onions and nori, accompanied by a portion of tender mincemeat, then topped with a runny onsen egg. I would usually have my noodles doused with lots of vinegar before giving them a good mix. After all, the word maze means ‘to mix’.

Naturally, I went for Daily Noodles’ Nagoya Dry Ramen (S$5) first. Besides a perfectly-cooked onsenegg, you have your usual suspects of mincemeat and spring onions.

There is nothing better than breaking into a jammy egg and letting all that runny goodness coat the noodles.

These noodles were vinegary and savoury, definitely slurp-worthy for sure. Daily Noodles uses a custom blend of Japanese flour and udon flour to ensure the noodles have a good bite. Each mouthful had a good portion of well-seasoned minced pork, blanketed with the creamy yolk. This made for a pretty satisfactory lunch. 

If you’re a fan of Japanese chashu, you have to try the Chashu Dry Ramen (S$6). This bowl comes with three tender slices of chashu which are torched to-order.

Each delicious piece of chashu had a delectable char to it and had a good fat-to-meat ratio without feeling too indulgent. The fat was luscious and melted in my mouth — a mark of good piece chashu. My only gripe (albeit a tiny one) is that there were only three pieces.

This bowl was definitely for those partial to chashu, coupled with those chewy noodles, this was a bowl of porky goodness. If you love your chashu, you have got to try this mazesoba.

The Chashu Dry Ramen also comes with a few seasoned bamboo shoots for that extra crunch.

If there is one bowl you can’t miss, it is Daily Noodles’ signature Daily Dry Ramen (S$7). This is truly the best of both worlds where you can get glorious slices of charred pork belly and a heaping spoonful of tasty minced pork.

This way, you get to try all that Daily Noodles has to offer in one fell swoop. A great option if you are feeling particularly ravenous.

As a homage to our local hawker fare, Daily Noodles also offers Laksa (S$4). As we set the bowl down, it seemed very promising, with those spicy coconutty notes tickling our noses.

When it comes to laksa, it all boils down to its broth. Unfortunately, their broth was a little bland for me. Their broth was not as punchy as I would have liked. However, I was rather impressed by the freshness of their hum (blood cockles).

There were the usual components, one finds in a bowl of laksa but they were also nothing to should about.

At only a fraction of the cost of some of the more reputable mazesoba restaurants, Daily Noodles certainly does impress. If you do intend to head down, it would be best to avoid peak hours as the crowds at Amoy Food Street Centre are pretty insane.

Daily Noodles, being one of the first hawker stalls to offer mazesoba, speaks to our ever-evolving hawker scene. Amoy Food Street Centre is but a mecca for foodies, where you can truly find anything and everything at a hawker centre.

Expected damage: S$4 – S$7 per pax