The ninth outlet features new dishes to try as well as Kuro-Obi, a takeaway dining concept which makes its debut in Asia.

Whatever your Friday lunch plans are, save them for next week and head to Marina Bay Sands for a satisfying lunch at the newly-opened Ippudo. 

The 90-seater restaurant—located beside the skating rink—serves all the ramen dishes that made you fall in love with it in the first place. You’ve got the shoyu ramen, which features thick homemade noodles in a light but flavourful chicken broth. And then there’s the niku soba, which has al dente noodles and chashu slices in pork broth, while the tsukemen gives you springy noodles in rich pork broth and bonito fish flakes.

When you go there in a group, order the side dishes to complement the main courses. Aside from the signatures of gyoza, pork buns and goma kyuri (sliced cucumbers dressed in roasted sesame)—all excellent, by the way—catch new items like the Samurai Rib. This is made for meat lovers; what you get are two meaty pork ribs marinated for hours in chef’s secret recipe, making them melt-in-the-mouth tender and flavourful.

Down to the desserts, there’s something new to try. We’re big fans of the almond noodle jelly. Sure, it looks like your average ramen with milky broth, but it is actually jelly noodles with sweet almond milk.

If your lunch break requires you to be back at the office after an hour, order your ramen to go at Kuro-Obi. Located just beside the restaurant entrance, Ippudo’s quick service ramen bar and takeaway concept was first introduced in its New York branch and has finally made its way to Asia.

There are four varieties to choose from, but if you ask us, we’ll go for the signature Kuro-Obi any day. The soup base is made with tori-paitan, or 100 per cent chicken broth, and accompanied with generous slices of chicken chashu, seaweeds and umami egg. The ramen masters at the takeaway bar allow you to customise your orders too—whether you want soft or hard noodles, more or less onions, or with extra toppings. ippudo.com.sg