Ex-Kilo Kitchen Head Chef, 27, Sells Tasty Handmade Duck Ramen From HDB Flat

Despite building an impressive resume as head chef at buzzy, casual restaurants like Lola’s Cafe, Kilo Kitchen and most recently, Raw Kitchen Bar, Hubert Arnold, 27, had no qualms leaving his culinary career behind to start his home-based artisanal noodle kit biz, Soba25.

“I was working about 12 hours a day with quite a number of responsibilities, including running operations, creating recipes, hiring and training staff and it was a heavy toll,” says the Eurasian chef. He has since returned to a different, less demanding full-time role and runs his HBB on weekends, but more on that later. 

Launched in February, Soba25 offers handmade noodles in soup and dry options with interesting ingredients like sous vide duck chashu. Note that the noodles are not your typical soba, which is made from buckwheat flour. Instead, Hubert’s version is a fusion take on whole wheat ramen.

All kits come with pre-packaged ingredients and detailed cooking instructions, and can last for up to three days. Everything is made from scratch from Hubert’s five-room flat in Jurong East  — located on the 25th storey, hence Soba25's name.

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Became head chef at 23

After graduating from SHATEC, Hubert worked at Lola’s Cafe, a casual Western eatery at Kovan. He started as a junior cook in 2016 and worked his way up to the head chef position in just four years – impressive feat as a 23-year-old back then. 

Next, he helmed the kitchen as head chef of hip Latin Asian restaurants, Kilo Kitchen in Duxton and Raw Kitchen Bar along Kallang Riverside, respectively for two years. Burned out by the long working hours and overwhelming responsibilities, Hubert left the restaurant last December with the goal of starting his own business. “I saw that the restaurant industry was declining due to [safety measure] dining restrictions and thought it was a good time to strike out on my own. During that period, a lot of home-based businesses were starting too, so I wanted to give it a try,” he says.

Passion for noodles

“I love noodles. It’s something I can eat every day,” he shares. The chef even enrolled in a week-long Japanese noodle-making course at Yamato Dream Studio, a local cooking school that’s affiliated to the famous Yamato Noodle School in Japan that has outlets in Tokyo and Kagawa and boasts students like American celebrity ramen chef Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen restaurant.

After completing the workshop, Hubert was determined to take his newfound passion to the next level. “My dream is to open a noodle bar someday. Soba25 is my way of taking baby steps towards that goal,” he shares.

Not your typical soba

Despite its name, Soba25’s noodles are not made of buckwheat – Hubert tinkered with various recipes before landing on whole wheat flour, tapioca starch and eggs to make his noodles. He explains that in Japan, soba can refer to ‘noodles’ in general and not just the buckwheat noodles that we associate with the name ‘soba’. For example, yakisoba (Japanese fried noodles) uses Chinese wheat noodles instead of those made from buckwheat.

“Some customers may be confused [by the brand name],” he admits. “But we’ll try to explain it to them. I want to try to educate them [that soba is not limited to buckwheat noodles].” The chef is also quick to state that his creation is not traditionally Japanese. “It’s like a ramen infused with whole wheat flour – kind of my take on freestyle noodles. The foundation is based on the traditional ramen-making techniques I learned [at the school], but I’ve tweaked the recipe to make it different.” Hubert first makes the dough by hand, then uses a $600 “basic noodle machine” that he bought online to shape the noodles at home.

On his signature duck soba

Soba25’s signature item is the Pot Duck Soba featuring handmade noodles served in a duck broth. “Tonkotsu (Japanese pork broth) is common here so I wanted to offer something more unique. There’s also no pork or lard in my dish so more customers can try it,” he says.

Compared to tonkotsu or chicken ramen, duck-based broths are harder to find in Singapore. In 2018, popular ramen chain Keisuke introduced a dedicated duck ramen joint – Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke – at Holland Village, but the shop has since been rebranded to Tonkotsu King, which serves ramen with pork-based broth.

“I’ve not tried any Japanese duck ramen. I just created this recipe on my own based on the fundamentals of making tonkotsu and paitan (the latter a thick, cloudy Japanese "white soup" made from pork or chicken),” says Hubert. In Japan, duck broth is typically clear and made from dashi (Japanese soup stock with kelp and bonito), soy sauce, and served with buckwheat soba noodles. Hubert’s version is rich, milky and made from duck bones, chicken feet, bonito dashi and smoked duck fat.

Returned to full-time job after lacklustre sales

Hubert ran his home-based noodle delivery biz on a full-time basis from February to August this year, but it never really took off. “We average about 10 to 20 orders a week. The peak was around 50,” he shares. He believes part of the reason for the lacklustre sales was due to timing. “I felt like I launched the business at the wrong time. People just didn’t seem interested in meal kits anymore. The peak period for meal kits seemed to be during the Circuit Breaker period.”

He reckons his unique creations may not have enough mass appeal either (“Chicken or pork ramen are definitely more popular in Singapore,” he says). In order to attract more customers, he recently introduced a new pork-based mazesoba (dry mixed noodle) dish, which he hopes will fare better than the original duck version.

Two months ago, Hubert returned to work at Raw Kitchen Bar – this time, as a Group R&D Chef. “My boss supports me in my venture. The new role does not involve operations and fits my interest [of creating new dishes] more. The schedule is also better as I work regular hours now and can balance my time for running Soba25.”

Weekend orders only 

Even though he has a day job now, Hubert plans to keep running Soba25 for “as long as possible”. Currently, he only makes deliveries on Sundays. “My long-term goal is still to open a noodle bar,” he asserts. “I’m looking out for a partner who wants to invest [in my business]. In the meantime, I’ll focus on saving up and gaining more experience.”

He has also taken part in several pop-ups at other restaurants to boost brand awareness for Soba25. These include partnerships with Amy’s Wine Bar, sister restaurant of Two Men Bagel House (he’s good friends with the owners), and Japanese fusion restaurant Kream and Kensho. “I’ve been getting good feedback at the pop-ups. Most of the customers tell me they’ve never tasted duck broth ramen before and they like the flavour,” he shares.

Pot Duck Soba, $14.50 (8 DAYS Pick!)

A foolproof dish to assemble thanks to easy-to-follow instructions – the only ‘cooking’ required is to boil the broth and noodles. There’s even different recommended cooking times based on your preferred noodle hardness. The fresh noodles were well-packed and there were no clumps when we removed it from the vacuum-sealed bag.

Made from duck bones, chicken feet, bonito dashi and smoked duck fat, the paitan soup, which takes 10 hours to prepare, is full-bodied, complex and fortifying. The duck fat and dashi, in particular, infuse an appealingly smoky, umami depth to otherwise standard broth. 

Firm and chewy, the noodles are thicker and heartier than, say, Hakata-style ramen (popularised by Ippudo), and the savoury broth clings to them with ease. The duck chashu is a delight as well – the duck breast is cooked via sous vide before being torched briefly, and the meat is tender and moist with a lovely smoky aroma. Finally, the bowl is minimally garnished with pickled beetroot-coloured radish, gooey yolked soy-marinated egg and scallion, so you can focus on the springy bounce of the noodles and deeply comforting poultry broth. We think fans of tonkotsu ramen will also enjoy this dish.

Chashu Mazesoba, $13.50 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Bottom line

The details

Place orders via Soba25’s website. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Soba25 & Chin Chih Lin

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