Ramen fans take note: For the next year, six of the best Japanese ramen chefs will set up shop at Iluma @ Bugis as part of the Ultimate Ramen Champion Competition and fight it out for a permanent space.

The contest depends wholly on customer votes. Each bowl, which averages about $13, comes with a voting card; and the customers we encountered spent more time scribbling away on the card instead of consuming their dishes.

We didn't make it through all six options (not yet anyway), but our early favorite is Tokyo chef Tetsu's Paitan Tsukemen (a dry-style ramen with a slightly thick and mildly sweet sauce-like broth).