Japanese ramen in Malaysia

Recently, I have seen more and more Japanese ramen shops in KL & PJ. It's like a trend, I don't mind it at all, coz I love ramen. 

I love the ramen I had in Singapore, there are so many options there - I have tried Ippudo ramen at Mandarin Gallery, and black pig ramen in Tampopo, Takashimaya, both at Orchard Road, and there are more there, I have yet to try. And I'm definitely missing the authentic ramen I had in Tokyo during my trip to Japan, years ago. 

I have tried a few of the shops in KL, and some of them I revisited various times. I have listed some of the best one here (the list are in no particular order, as it is hard to say which is the best, each has its hits and misses). This is also based on my opinion, please do leave your comments :)

1) Hokkaido Santouka Ramen at Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL

I revisited Hokkaido Santouka various times, most of the times I dropped by for lunch during some random shopping outings at Pavilion KL. Hokkaido Santouka is a decent Japanese shop which originate from Asahikawa, Hokkaido and the one in KL is one of the franchise, Hokkaido Santouka also has shops in Japan, USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Specializes in mild Tonkotsu soup as the base, the ramen there is available in three different type of soups, Shio - the signature soup seasoned with salt, Shoyu- slightly saltier with soysauce and Miso - a mixture of miso (fermented bean curd) paste.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Pavilion KL

soup preparation

I always go for the Shio soup and the recommended one here is the Tokusen Toroniku (Pork Cheek) Ramen. Apparently, these pork cheek are valuable since only about 200-300g can be taken from each pig. OMG,  it sounded so cruel :( . pity the oinks... @.@

Tokusen Toroniku Shio ramen (small) (RM33.50) and a Komi Tamago (RM2.00)

The Shio ramen always come with an 'ume' (plum). If you want to try the original taste of the soup, it is best to order Shio ramen. 

Miso ramen (regular) (RM25.00)

There are three sizes for their basic ramen, small (RM22.50), regular (RM25.00) and large (RM29.00) and three different soup base to choose from, as what I have explained earlier. They also have the Kara-Miso ramen (spicy) at a slightly higher price (additional RM2.00).

The small ramen is just nice for me, the regular one is good for someone with a bigger appetite. The large one has a really huge portion - so only go for it if you're very very hungry (This are all based on my experiences dining with friends, so you may have a bigger appetite as compare to us).

The noodles are good, springy and have the texture I like. The tamago however, are not very consistent, in my few visits, sometimes I get the perfect soft boiled egg, at times I find it overcooked - where the yolk are not soft anymore. 

I like the taste of the broth, the depth of the flavour is just nice, not too intense. And I always go for the Shio as it has the most original taste.

Service wise, I had experienced better service when they were still new, with more and more customers now, especially during the weekends, their service level has drop. 

So overall, 

Taste : *****

Service: ***

Price: on the pricier side

Hokkaido Santouka Ramen

• Lot 6.24.03 Level 6 (Tokyo Street),
• Pavilion KL, 
• 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
• 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Tel: 0321438878
• 
  

2) Marutama Ramen at Fahrenheit 88 & Empire Shopping Gallery

Marutama Ramen specializes in Hakata-style ramen noodle and the difference with other ramen outlets is that they used 100% pure chicken broth with no MSG at all. Marutama has shops not only in Japan, but also in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

You get to choose from the spicy or the non-spicy soup, as I don't really fancy spicy food, I only try the non-spicy version in all my visits there. Their menu is pretty basic, you get to choose how many pieces of char-siu you want, or if you prefer more seaweed, you can go for the ones with two portions of seaweed.  The difference in the ramen is usually the top up of tamago, or additional pieces of char-siu. They have options for pork belly and other ala-carte items such as gyoza, rice and set meals too.

Marutama at Fahrenheit 88

Yaki char siu

fried garlic to add to your noodles

Cha-siu ramen with Tamago (RM16.00 +RM2.00)

Yaki gyoza (RM17.00)

The noodles are springy and thin, and the tamago is really good. It has been pretty consistent on my various visits at both outlets, the yolk is still a bit runny, while the egg white are cooked. The best part is that this comes with aosa seaweed topping.

The milky-white chicken soup is flavourful and compliments the noodles and the condiments well. This chicken broth is different from the pork-soup that most ramen stores used, although it is not as depth in flavour as the pork soup and has a lighter taste, but the sweetness and flavour from the chicken can be well tasted in your bowl of hot piping ramen.

Taste: *****

Service: ****

Price: Reasonable

Marutama Ramen

F1.27.01, First Floor,

Fahrenheit 88, KL.

Tel : 03-21411573

LG26, Lower Floor,

Empire Shopping Gallery,

Jalan SS16/1, Subang Jaya.

Tel: 03-56210073

3) Menya Mushahi Ramen at Eat Paradise, Isetan, 1Utama

Eat Paradise at Isetan, 1 Utama features various Japanese eateries and one of it is the Menya Mushahi ramen which is one of the famous ramen shops in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The outlet here at 1 Utama used almost the same system like the one in Japan, where we order before taking our seats. The ones in Japan are way cooler, coz they used a vending machine instead :).

They sent the Master Chef from Shinjuku to start up the operation here in 1 Utama, lucky us! :) Not sure how long these japanese chefs and the Master Chef himself gonna stay here in the Malaysia outlet, but hopefully the service and the taste will maintain. The store is full of positive energy as the chefs and the waitress are all very energetic. If you happen to look closely at the kitchen, every time the chefs drained the noodles, they do a customary cheer. :P

The menu

Menya Mushashi at Isetan 1U

Master Chef Yamaguchi

Gyoza (RM9.00)

Shiro Ajitama Ramen (RM24.00)

Kuro Ajitama Ramen (RM24.00)

Updated: Tried the dry version as well - Tsukemen

Ajitama Tsukemen - Regular (RM25.00)

How to eat Tsukemen :)

The instructions on how to order your favourite bowl of noodles:

Step 1: Choose the flavoured oil

Shiro - onion flavoured oil

Kuro - special oil combined with fried shallots and garlic

Aka - homa made Musashi chilli oil

Step 2: Choose your ramen

Normal ramen

Ajitama ramen - with egg

Chashu ramen - with extra cha siu

Step 3: Pay, wait for your noodles and enjoy!

The noodles are thicker (as compare to the two previous ones) and springy. The broth are incredibly deep in flavour and since I go for the Kuro ramen, it is slightly oily and the slick of oil was just too much towards the end of my meal. The Shiro ramen was much better, less oily. However, do try out the Kuro one as it is one if their signature one, despite being a little oily, it is very aromatic.

The eggs were a little too cook, but since I have only been there once, can't really judge it yet. The gyoza is good as well, and since I have not tried the dry version of their noodles, I'll be back for more.

Taste: ****

Service: **** (Although you pay and order at the counter, the ushers and waitress are friendly and energetic)

Price: OK for the portion

Menya Musashi

Eat Paradise, Level 2,

Isetan, 1 Utama,

Petaling Jaya.

4) Hokkaido Gentetsu at Eat Paradise, Isetan, 1Utama

Gantetsu ramen originate from Hokkaido and specializes in their broth which is call the signature 'Great White Soup'. This shop is just next to Menya Musashi at Eat Paradise 1 Utama.

the menu

King Chashu Miso (RM28.90)

King Chashu Tonkotsu (RM27.90)

Hokkaido Tonkotsu (RM21.90) and Egg (RM2.80)

Okonomiyaki gyoza (RM11.50)

The ramen noodle here is thin and springy and the char siu is fatty and luscious. The char siu are smooth and tasty however, it's a bit too fatty to my liking. I tear out the fatty part since it's quite thick. The slices of char siu are also huge and has a unique taste - may be due to different kind of marinate. However, the soup lacks of flavour and tasted quite bland, although we went for the Intense soup. There were two types of soup flavour to choose from: Regular and Intense. All of us went for the intense one. If you prefer less saltier versions of Hokkaido tonkotsu soup, you can try the one here. The eggs are good though, mine has a soft yolk, cooked egg white and the egg white near the yolk are a little runny but it's the most expensive since most outlets sold theirs at RM2.00.

The okonomiyaki gyoza is different from the normal yaki gyoza, coz this is similar to the Japanese savoury pancake with mayonnaise and bonito flakes.

Finally,

Taste: *** (I prefer my soup with stronger taste)

Service: **** (very friendly staffs)

Price: Quite expensive

Hokkaido Gantetsu Ramen

Eat Paradise, Level 2,

Isetan, 1 Utama,

Petaling Jaya.

That's the end of my super-long post for some of the best ramen I've tasted in Malaysia. It's really hard to say which is the best, really.. go try out for yourself! 

P/S : I have also tried Goku Raku Ramen in Midvalley, but maybe I should do a separate post (I want to reserve this post for the ramen I like), because I don't really like the taste of the soup as I find it too oily and I don't fancy the after-taste. :/