Review: 2014 Parent's Day Menu @ Hakata Ippudo Ramen

**Non-Halal**


Seems to be happening now to celebrate Parent's Day rather than separately on Mother's or Father's Day which is a good thing to consumer as we now get to enjoy many promotions for over a month rather than just 2 days :D

So went on to Hakata Ippudo Ramen to check out their Parent's Day menu. The outlets at Pavilion KL and The Gardens have this special menu that goes for RM99++ that is good for 3 person. For this menu, you'll get to enjoy 2 appetisers which you can select from 6 choices; 3 bowls of ramen which you can choose from 3 options plus 3 glasses of soft drinks or juices. Value for money definitely I would say ;-)

There's no secret that we love our ramen and virtually tried quite a number of them around town. Capt'n Hook loves the strong broth taste, hence if by any chance there's a ramen place around, we will definitely be heading there for dinner. So by now, we have a few favourites and are so happy that we can find Ippudo at The Gardens and the latest outlet at Bangsar Shopping Complex. Don't need to weave through the traffic jam to Pavilion KL.

To start off, BoiBoi picked Curry Cheese Harumaki and the Buta Karaage as our appetisers. All of us love the Curry Cheese Harumaki. To me, it reminds me of curry puff but this comes as deep fried spring rolls with a filling of mild curried potatoes, mince pork with cheese.



The Buta Karaage turned out to be deep fried pork loin which is juicy on the inside but yet crispy on the outside. Best when dipped in the special sauce.



There were 3 types of ramens to pick from but the waitress recommended us to order all the three so that we can share and taste all of them. How sweet of her and pretty wise choice I would say.

Let's get the low down of ramen here in Ippudo. One can pick the texture of the ramen ranging from soft, normal, hard to very hard. Apparently, normal and hard are KLites' favourites. They even have straight or crinkled noodles. As for the broth, all of them have the basic cloudy white tonkotsu (pork bone) broth. The variations would have different ingredients added changing the basic flavour completely such as the addition of miso paste, spicy miso paste or fragrant garlic oil. The toppings have the standard pork loin slices, kikurage (black fungus strips) and spring onions. You may add soft boiled egg or chashu separately.



As for the condiments, there will be a bowl of fresh garlic that comes with a garlic press, sesame seeds that came in a grinder and Togarashi. Try the broth on its own first before deciding if you need to add any of these.

They started us off with the mildest flavour, Shiromaru Motoaji with the basic tonkotsu broth paired with normal thin noodles. The broth is not overpowering at Ippudo, just nice for me but for someone like Capt'n Hook, he pressed in one pip of fresh garlic. I took a sip and gee the fresh garlic took the broth to another level. We were given the soft straight noodles here, nice.



The next bowl of ramen, Akamaru Shinaji. This bowl has a special miso paste and fragrant garlic oil added to the tonkotsu broth. This miso paste is mildly spicy and we loved it that the garlic oil is so fragrant that Capt'n Hook does not need to press in any fresh garlic. I quite like the normal noodles texture.



I have some comments written by BoiBoi on his phone while we were in the midst of eating and he emailed to me so that I could put up here, so those in block quotes and in blue were written by him ;-) atta boy!

Akamaru Shinaji ramen is a bit spicy here. Well, it consists of pork belly (of course it's obvious), thin noodles, some kikurage, spring onions and special blended miso. This tastes better when sesame seeds were grounded over. Mmmmm.........spiciness during the cold weather is best.

Our last bowl is Kataka-men which has spicy miso, minced pork & some chopped cashew nuts over tonkotsu broth, paired with hard wavy noodles. Personally, I quite like this combi but would opt for normal noodles as I find the hard noodles a bit high on the al dente side. I would say adding extra grounded sesame seeds lend a nuttier taste to the broth.

This is "The Spicy" ramen among the three. It seems to be Ippudo's original tonkatsu broth with spicy miso, cashew nuts and ground pork. It too also has pork belly and some garlic. Good for keeping away Dracula. Actually, it's not that spicy though. My spiciness level is divide the nasi lemak sambal by 2 and add some garlic anddd voila! You got that spiciness.

When we first tasted Ippudo's soft boiled eggs not long after their opening, we got disappointed with the over cooked yolk. When we gave Eddie, the Outlet Manager, the feedback, he quickly got us one egg to try. Needless to say, the egg fans in the family were mighty glad to report that this time round the egg was made perfectly. It has soft white with runny yolk... BoiBoi called it lava overflowing heh!  Photo was taken by him.

I have got an additional review here! Yayyy. This is a lava egg (lava egg = runny yolk) that has been broken into 2. Bad news for Humpty Dumpty.

My BoiBoi has the comical side of him of commenting on Ippudo's on a whole as I did asked him how did he liked it this time round. Other than the food was yummy...

The service was a whopping 9 out of 10 (GR8). They provide music, air conditioning of course otherwise I would have sweaty armpits. Hehe...

*rolling eyes*

Please note that this special Parent's Day menu is only available at Pavilion KL and The Gardens outlets going at RM99++ until 15 June 2014. We'll be sure to head back for another round before promo ends. As for Bangsar Shopping Centre outlet, as the menu and concept are totally different, the sets available are different as well. We can't wait to give this outlet a try soon, very soon ;-)

We have heard someone commenting The Gardens outlet is very hot but happy to announce that the issue has been addressed. So please give it another go :D

Thank you to Eddie for being the perfect host and Sharyn of Ippudo Malaysia for the invite.


Hakata Ippudo Ramen

Pavilion KL

Lot C4.07.00

Connection Level 4 

Tel: +603 2110 6233

Opening hours: 11.00am - 11.00pm

The Gardens Mall

Lot T-218 Level 3 

Tel: +603 2201 6238

Opening hours: 10.30am - 10.00pm

Review: Menya Musashi @ Eat Paradise, Isetan 1Utama

**Non-Halal**


Early May, whilst I was waiting for my gift to be wrapped at Isetan 1Utama, a flyer announcing the opening of Isetan Eat Paradise on 11 May caught my eyes. I took one and oh myyy... I'm very excited over the possibilities of so many delicious food places right inside Isetan 2nd floor. Looking at the floor plan, the eating places seems to be spacious but in actual fact, they're just postage stamp size. I can imagine the crowd during peak hours.

The non-halal outlets consisted of Menya Musashi (Tokyo Ramen) debuting in Malaysia; Gantetsu (Hokkaido Ramen) also making its debut in Malaysia and Won Korean (not visible up front, just walk right to the end).

Meanwhile the pork-free outlets are Senya (Udon & Soba); Ichiro Sushi (sushi bar debuting in Malaysia); Puran B (cafe) which is actually Plan B where The BIG Group laid its first baby foot step in 1Utama; Gyu-Kaku (Japanese BBQ) also debuting in Malaysia. Then there's Caffe Gino over on the Ground Floor serving gourmet Japanese coffee.

With Capt'n Hook being a big fan of porky ramen, I guess we don't have to look any further than checking out Menya Musashi which has already gained wide publicity by the bloggers.



Apparently Menya Musashi with its flagship store in Shinjuku is one of the legendary ramen in Japan. It's owner, Yamada Takeshi is amongst the 3 ramen industry icons apart from Kawahara Shigemi (Ippudo) and Furuya Ichiro (Nanttsutei). Unlike Goku Raku Ramen's porky broths, Menya Musashi has a subtle broth based due to it's usage of dried saury (a type of fish that is usually in season during autumn) other than pork and chicken bones. Ramen used is thicker than Goku Raku Ramen, about medium thick I would say.

One of the characteristics of Menya Musashi is the interior decor which is samurai based with quite a number of art pieces of some kinda of samurai heros, samurai and sword themed lampshades, black pillars, tables and chairs. I'm no expert in this but while waiting for our ramen to arrive, Capt'n Hook peppered me with info about Miyamoto Musashi. Gee, I've no idea Musashi is actually a legendary swordsman!

There's no table service here. One has to place order and pay at the cashier upfront at the entrance. Then take a seat and soak in the art pieces. I've asked for a glass of cold green tea (RM2) and it really came ice cold, very very refreshing. It's also great to note that they serve drinking water FOC without even asking!



Menu is small and there are 3 steps in ordering a bowl of ramen, very simple as stated in the part pictorial menu. Just take a pick of your choices.

Step 1 - Oil

• Shiro (white) - Onion Flavored Oil/Original
• Kuro (black) - Special Oil of Fried Shallot & Garlic
• Aka (red) - Homemade Musashi Chili Oil

Step 2 - Ramen and Ingredients

• Musashi Ramen - 2 pieces of Chashu, Menma (fermented bamboo shoots), Ajitama (flavoured egg) and Negi (spring onion)
• Ramen - 1 piece Chashu, Menma and Negi
• Ajitama Ramen - 1 piece Chashu, Ajitama, Menma and Negi
• Chashu Men - 3 pieces Chashu, Menma and Negi

Step 3 - Served in Broth or Tsukemen (Broth on separate bowl)

Options to "kar liu" (Cantonese to add on extra) Chasu, Ajitama, Menima or Negi at extra charge. There are also a few of side orders such as gyoza.

I've opted for the signature (according to the cashier) Musashi Ramen (RM26) with a Shiro base of original flavour. I liked the texture of the thicker bouncy ramen. The broth is simpler in flavour. Chashu piece is humongous in size so far as compared with the rest of the ramen places I've been to. However, the texture of the pork slices is kinda coarse. The yolk is not runny at all for my Ajitama :(



Capt'n Hook as usual went for a full body broth of Kuro Chashu Men (RM30). He seems to enjoy his broth till the last drop. I did have some of the broth and find the fried shallot and garlic oil way too overpowering as I prefer to enjoy and taste the natural flavours.



Other than the ramen as the draw, at the moment Master Chef Yamaguchi is around. You can't miss him as his photo appeared on the menu and his imposing fiercesome aura (kekeke) is hanging around the restaurant klik klaking on his wooden clogs. He was looking at us at the corner of his eyes while I snapped pics using my tiny mobile phone. So fiercesome that I did not dare to approach him :p

Not sure how long he's going to be here but there were a couple of Japanese chefs in the kitchen. I guess if one really would like to have a genuine taste of Menya Musashi ramen, it's really a good time to taste it now. Once the chefs left... let's just hope things will maintain but as far as my own experience thing's won't be the same. So do go now.

On a note, we went for a show after our dinner here and we both felt thirsty in the midst of the show... the only day I left my water bottle at home duh! We scrambled to the supermarket to grab some cold drinks before heading home.

Oh ya, there's 10% service charge and 6% Government tax because it's opened under Isetan Malaysia.

Menya Musashi
2nd Floor Isetan 1Utama
Bandar Utama
Tel: +603 7713 7777
Dining Hours:
Sun - Thu 11.00am - 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)
Fri, Sat & Public Holiday 11.00am - 10.30pm (last order 10.00pm)

Review: Goku Raku Ramen @ Midvalley Megamall

**Non-Halal**


A while ago, I've received this invite from Goku Raku Ramen to attend their opening but alas I can't make it due to work. Recently I received another invite and planned it as such so that I can attend. They have asked me to bring along a few bloggers but little that I know that the date clashed with the launch of MIGF which of course I wasn't invited to. However, only FatBoyBakes could make it and when we met him, he told us that he did get an invite to MIGF but only because he said yes to me first and he kept it. We're so honoured indeed to dine with him :D



As we walked into the restaurant, we were lead to the far back and noticed that the restaurant is really big. We met Tomoko Nakano, Wong Chwee Hann, Yvonne Tan and Chef Shinichi Kanai (pictured above). We were briefed that Donburi House (the operator of Goku Raku Ramen) is the non-halal arm of Texchem group. Still does not ring a bell? Texchem owns Sushi King :D



Yvonne took us to a tour of the kitchen and showed us where the tedious and labourious broths were made (no pics allowed here), followed by how ramen which is made here on a daily basis.

I have to say the broths made here are from a mix of fish, chicken and pork are certainly made with lots of love which you can certainly taste it! The tonkatsu broth is simmered for 17 hours where else the Gokuraku signature broth is boiled for 30 hours! They're boiled in 100 litres tanks and stirred every 3-4 minutes. During the tour, we witness the chef mashing up the boiled meat and bones on the strainer to "juice" out all the goodie bits from the bones and all into the broth. So now you know why the broth is so flavourful. We did asked Kanai San if they keep the soup boiling over night which he replied no due to safety reason. They'll turn off the fire and continue the next day. They even have imported water filter just for the broth and ramen.

Next, we were showed how ramen is made here using flour imported from Thailand. The machines were all brought in from Japan and are rather expensive, hence this outlet in Midvalley Megamall will make all the noodles and supply to their future openings at The Paradigm Mall (Kelana Jaya) and Gurney Paragon (Penang).

The ramen making process is no easy task even with the help of machineries. First the ingredients are mixed in a mixer before pouring into the rolling and cutting machine. The rolled out sheet is attached to a wooden rolling pin like handle. A second press is done by pressing two sheets of noodles into one to create a springy and bouncy noodles texture. These rolled up sheet will be left to rest for a couple of hours before shredding into ramen. I've processed a video here for you to watch the entire process. You can hear Yvonne's explanation on top of the questions fielded by us.



Next, the chef attached a shredding contraption to the machine. The noodle sheets go through this shredder and not only came out as shreds but in the correct portion size. The chef will weigh the portions at random to ensure the weight remained consistent. In Goku Raku, the ramen came in two sizes of thickness where the thick one is made from 3 types of flours whilst the thin one is made from 2 types. If you've watched the video, you would have heard that they do not sell their freshly made ramen AND no take aways for their ramen! I supposed it's for one to enjoy the ramen at it's best possible texture and temperature.



It is interesting to note that even cooking of the ramen is done to perfection with the help of machinery. The baskets are timed to lift up from the hot water to ensure each batch of noodles are cooked in the same temperature and timing.



We started off our dinner with an appetiser of Pirikara Negi Char Siew (RM7.90). Chef Kanai showed us that we need to lift of each slice of pork shoulder together with the lettuce and homemade chilli sauce and place everything inside our mouth to be eaten together. The char siew is extremely tender and the sauce made this a refreshing start.



We were showed earlier how Gyoza (RM7.90 - 6 pieces) is made here also using a special machine. The pre-made gyozas are placed on a hot plate and then after a certain time the chef put on the lid. The machine then steams up the gyozas making the based very crispy and the gyoza skin on top maintained a nice and soft texture. If they have done it nicely like the day we were at the review, as you bite into the gyoza, be prepared for a burst of broth ala xiao long bao. The gyoza here is amply filled indeed. Another must order for BoiBoi.



Next up, we got to try Tomato Maki (RM6.90 for 2 sticks) and Buta Bara Kushi (RM5.90 for 2 sticks). Tomato Maki has grilled thin pork belly slice wrapped around a cherry tomato whilst Buta Bara Kushi is deep fried breaded pork belly. Our BoiBoi loved the Tomato Maki when we brought him here for 2 occasions (yes it was that good that we have returned twice already!!) even though he dislikes tomato in general. I supposed he love the burst of juicy tomato when he bites into one together with the crispy pork belly. The Buta Bara Kushi has thicker slice of pork belly and they're very tender and juicy even though deep fried.



We shared a bowl of Ishiyaki Garlic Rice (RM16.90). Ishiyaki is the stone bowl the garlic rice is served in. The stone bowl is heated before the garlic rice is placed inside drizzled with a stamina sauce before topping with a raw egg. So before eating, you're supposed to mix everything up. We loved how the stone bowl actually creates a crispy rice crust at the bottom just like how we liked the crust from claypot chicken rice. Highly recommended for garlic rice lover!



As for the ramen, we started off from a weaker broth to the strongest just like how we do wine tasting *chuckle*. For the first ramen, we tried their best seller Tonkotsu Ramen. The one showed here is the basic of black fungus, spring onion, leek, bamboo shoot, and seaweed but for RM20.90, do ask for a bowl of Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen which includes char siew and flavoured egg. For our return trips, we all have this and sapu (cleaned) the bowl clean including the broth! I have to say for that price, it's really worth it as for once we felt there are ample ingredients in the bowl as compared with the usual Japanese restaurants.



Oh yeah, this ramen is served with Mah You which is the blackish garlic oil. It is actually burnt garlic grounded into a paste. There's is a leek oil which is equally as fragrant but less stronger in flavour as compared with the garlic oil. They both gave the broth a totally different taste so experiment them yourself. The oils are not given separately to you, you'll need to request for the oil you would like, otherwise the default oil will be served straight in the bowl.



Gokuraku Ramen (RM19.90) is served next and is topped with char siew, onion, bamboo shoot, leek (from the leek oil and it's fried till blackish in colour) and seaweed. This is the broth that is boiled for 30 hours and the strongest of all. It's darker in colour due to the addition of shoyu. The broth is thick and is so flavourful. No porky smell is detected at all. If you prefer a strong flavoured broth, this is the ramen for you.



The last bowl of ramen we tried is the Gokuraku Miso Ramen (RM20.90). This has miso added to the Tonkotsu broth and is topped with cabbage, minced pork, flavoured egg and the default garlic oil. Surprisingly the miso gave the Tonkotsu broth a totally different identity at all. It wasn't salty nor the miso over powered the broth, in fact it's equally as flavourful.



What I liked is the additional toppings that you would like to add on is totally inexpensive. For example, extra char siew is only RM2.00 and nita mago (flavoured egg) is RM1.00 for one. FBB and I kept browsing the menu in disbelieve that the prices are so so reasonable here. Our return trips we ordered the Grilled Skewers set (arrghh I can't seems to find the photo) where all the 7 different skewers costed us only RM13.90!!! BoiBoi totally loves them. When he had his first bite of the chicken thigh skewer... he uttered "mmmm this is good meat" which made my jaw dropped as he hardly ever said such thing. A little foodie in the making?

By now, sake and soju would be have been made available. We tried the soju mix - Tenson Kourin Sour (RM24.90 for 2). The soju served here is actually potato wine with about 40% - 50% alcohol. You'll have a choice of either tonic water or 7 Up and between lemon or orange (the fun part is you get to juice them yourself!). We tried a combination of tonic water + lemon juice which turns out to be rather refreshing for me as it's on a tart side but Capt'n Hook preferred the sweeter 7 Up with orange juice.



By now, we were filled to the brim but we managed to try the Assorted Dessert (RM8.90) which has sampling size of annin tofu, rare cheese cake and banana fritter with vanilla ice cream. Annin tofu turned out to be everyone's favourite. It's almond jelly made with yoghurt, fresh milk, fresh cream, gelatine and almond (apricot kernels) powder. I usually stay away from almond jelly as it smells like ermm cockroach :p but over here, there's barely a hint of almond. The texture is soft and smooth.



At the end of the our dinner, FBB declared that he was glad to have skipped MIGF launch for this tasting session and it got to be great as he brought his family here for dinner just a few days after this session. Needless to say, for us too as we have returned twice. On our second trip, we bumped into KY & Haze!



We would like to thank Mabel for initiating the invite. Tomoko, Miss Wong, Yvonne and Chef Kanai San for hosting our delicious dinner. We're so going to be back often!

One last thing... do visit Goku Raku Ramen website to watch out for monthly promotions. Last month, ramens were given 50% discount on every Mondays. As for this month, there's a special set for 2 pax going at RM49.90 and so forth.


Goku Raku Ramen
Lot S25 & S26, Level 2

Mid Valley Megamall

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 2282 3924

Opening hours: 10.00am - 10.00pm

Review: Ramen Santouka @ Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL

**Non-Halal**


When we were invited for this review of ramen chain Ramen Santouka, little did I know it was actually a preview prior to the opening day of Tokyo Street on Level 6 of Pavilion KL. When Capt'n Hook and I arrived at 6.15pm, there was an entourage of people leaving the stage area on Level 6. Not knowing what's happening, both of us just followed the crowd in while I call FatBoyBakes who forwarded us the invite. The next thing I know, the security guards closed up the temporary gates to Toyko Street. Hmmm... but we wandered in further :p letting the crowd in front of us leading the way.





I looked around and saw the Pavilion's management staffs whom I recognised from the print medias. The next thing I know, apparently the Japan's Ambassador to Malaysia was there to officiate Tokyo Street! Whoa but not all the shops were ready and opened though. Anyway, we took a look round the area and was impressed with the number of Japanese restaurants and a few stalls selling snacks. Some of the smaller lots are selling Japanese crockery. Then there's a Daiso towards the back but it wasn't open yet, so was the Japanese mart.



It was only after the look-see, we both went to scout out David at Ramen Santouka. We were then introduced to Julian and Inggrid. Next we were led into the restaurant. Inggrid informed us that we will be served based on a selected menu of ramen and side dishes. The other dishes will only be available after the official opening. Sounds promising already when I scan through the menu card. While we were waiting for the rest to turn up, we browsed the actual menu that have some pictorial guide on top of some mock dishes shown up front of the restaurant.





Our server suggested that we order our choice of ramen and all the rest of the side dishes showcased will be served to us. Sounds great already. As our noodles arrived, the rest of the food bloggers arrived and started ordering their ramen.



For pork based ramen, the soups are made by simmering pork bones for 20 hours before adding vegetables, dried fish, kelp and etc. The colour of the soups are milky which indicates long hours of simmering of bones. If you're not into pork, don't fret as they have chicken versions and they do not contain pork at all. The soup served here are not boiling hot and is maintained at a certain temperature so that one can enjoy the noodles without scalding themselves.

For pork based ramen, there are 4 flavours of soup available ie. Shio (salt flavour), Shoyu (soy sauce flavour), Miso (soy bean paste flavour) and Kara Miso (hot soy bean paste flavour). The ramen comes in 3 different sizes - small, regular and large.

Marion Eu, Capt'n Hook and I tried each other's soup base. All of us decided the Shio and Shoyu came out tops. The soups were a tad too salty but we gave our feedback on this and hopefully it has been rectified. The ramen have a bouncy texture but do eat up quickly before they turn soft in the hot soup.

Everyone loved the signature Shio Ramen (S RM22.50, R RM25, L RM29). The small bowl came with a thick slice of char-shu, sliced bamboo shoots, seaweed, a slice of naruto (fish cake) and shredded spring onions plus a pickled plum. I can clearly taste the robust flavour of the soup base.



The Shoyu Ramen (S RM22.50, R RM25, L RM29) is another clear winner. This was Capt'n Hook's fave. The soup is made from a mixture of pork and soy sauce. The accompanying condiments were similar to Shio Ramen with the exception of the dried seaweed is used instead and there is no pickled plum.



Miso Ramen (S RM22.50, R RM25, L RM29) soup is made with the addition of miso paste. This was the saltiest of the lot but as we dig in, the saltiness just went melded in. The condiments are exactly the same as Shio Ramen except that there's no pickled plum.



Kara Miso Ramen is the only hot flavoured soup amongst all. The price is RM2 more. I did not get to taste this so no comments at the moment. Perhaps can check out Cumi Dan Ciki since they shared one.



The sliced cha-shu in all pork based ramen is simmered in soy sauce which is so tender and delicious. It was really a pity that we only get one slice in the small portion. It was that good that FatBoyBakes kept lamenting why there is only ONE slice served when it was sooo good. Inggrid mentioned that for small portion, one sliced is served, 2 slices for regular and 3 slices for large!

As for the sides, it's slightly unusual to have Caesar Salad in a Japanese restaurant. Santouka's version has a coddled egg on a bed of lettuces, crispy croutons, parmesan cheese with creamy dressing drizzled over.

We loved the Komi Tamago (soy boiled egg)!!! It came whole like hard boiled egg but the yolk is still a bit runny. Can taste the soy sauce coating the egg beautifully.

Tori Karaage (deep fried chicken) came looking a bit dark to me. Looks kinda over fried but the 3 pieces of chicken are still juicy and the skin... oh so crispy.

Then we have Tori Gyoza (chicken dumplings or pot stickers). The sizes are rather largish as compared to other Japanese places and they served the pan-fried side up instead. The minced chicken is loosely packed and as compared to Chinese dumplings, can taste the garlic flavour in the fillings here.

Okie, I'm saving the best for last... the Tokusen Toroniku which is pork cheek simmered in soy sauce. As each pig has only 2 cheeks, hence this meat is rather rare. So each day, there's only a certain amount available! David explained that the raw cheeks are perfectly marbled hence these cheek slices are really very tender, almost melt in the mouth texture. To me, this is a must order definitely! 

Other than as a side dish, one could actually have them in ramen but the cheeks will be served separately and not inside the noodles. Tokusen Toroniku Ramen is priced at S RM33.50, R RM36 and L RM40. I can just tell, it's really worth it.

These were the items served to us and from the menu, they do have chicken soup based ramen, rice dishes and some sets which some have great combination of rice and ramen ;-) I can see the menu is very friendly for our BoiBoi. Will definitely bring him here soon.

Hopefully by now, a week after our tasting session, things would be running smoothy and most importantly the soup has been fine tuned.

Thanks so much to David, Julian and Inggrid, and of course FatBoysBake for the invite.

I know, I still haven't posted up the theme for this year's Merdeka Open House as I was still deciding which to go for. So give me a day or two to finalise the theme and we'll be good to go. I will try to publise on The Star to get in more participants :D


Ramen Santouka
Tokyo Street, Level 6 Pavilion KL 

168 Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia

Tel: 03-21438878

Opening hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm

Review: Marutama Ramen

**Non-Halal**


We must have been the last in town to pay a visit to Fahrenheit 88 (formerly known as KL Plaza), the not-so-new mall by now. That too because we have to kill time waiting for MIL to finish up her hair do in a salon nearby. Anyway, it was late morning when we were there and just took a quick walk around to check things out. Not sure what kinda crowd this mall would attract though after going thru the mish mash of shops.

Food outlets are scattered at different corners and floors instead of concentration within the same floor. It was kinda confusing at first but luckily they have signages all over the pillars. For lunch, we can't wait to dine at Marutama Ramen after all the raves reviews from the blogsphere.

Marutama Ramen is an established chain of ramen shops based in Saitama and Tokyo. It has now landed in different parts of the world, fast expanding in South East Asia. The first outlet in Malaysia is located at Fahrenheit 88.

The ramen are handmade fresh on a daily basis and served in a savoury chicken soup. One can choose to have it normal or spicy. Next, you're asked to pick what items you want in your ramen. As the menu is very simple, there are just a few options available such as stewed pork belly, char siu, egg etc. The noodles are served with some seasoned seaweed. On each table, there would be condiments of fried garlic and sesame seeds.



Both "tham jiaks" (greedy eaters) opted for stewed pork belly, char siu and egg in their ramen (RM27 per bowl)! Sounds pricy but seriously, it's worth all it! The soup is tasty knowing that it has been boiled long hours to extract such flavour from chicken. The char siu and egg were cooked to a perfection, do note that the egg is actually 3/4 boiled where the yolk is still a bit runny on the inside... ahhhh my kinda egg! The ramen texture is thin but bouncy and served with some yummy seasoned seaweed. The pork belly is stewed till super tender and literally melt in my mouth. I did tried adding some fried garlic in my ramen but in my opinion, over powered the delicious soup. I think I'll keep mine clean with some extra sesame seeds. On the other hand, Capt'n Hook preferred loads of fried garlic for a more robust flavour.



BoiBoi's favourite is gyoza which one can opt to order as a side dish but they do have set lunch on a separate set of menu. He opted for the set lunch (RM17) which has the gyoza and garlic fried rice (another of his fave) which came with a bowl of tummy warming vegetable soup.



I did not try any of his dishes but I'm pretty sure they were good as he polished them all off. His set came with a drink of green tea, otherwise we paid RM1 each for the green tea.





The set up here is very simple and food is served rather quickly. Now I understand what's the fuss is all about Marutama Ramen. If you're in the vicinity, do make it a must-go!


Marutama Ramen
Lot No. 1-27(01)

1st Floor,  Fahrenheit 88
Tel: 603-21411573

Review: Marufuku Udon

**Pork Free**

There was certainly a hype over the opening of Marufuku Udon at Jaya One and they are barely 2 months old. We have been hearing rave reviews of this outlet from the main draw Sanuki Udon (Taman Desa & Wisma Cosway). So when we were in Jaya One recently on a gloomy day, we just can't go pass without a bowl of hot udon. So off we went in search of Marufuku Udon and it was tucked behind Frontera. 

Since it was weekday, it has gather quite a lunch crowd from the offices around here. We were given menu and told to order and pay up at the cashier. We placed our order with Capt'n Hook and he came back with a plate of deep fried snacks plus a couple of ocha (green tea, RM1) which is refillable. On our other trip which falls on a Saturday, it was table service instead. 

Anyway, back to the food, here's the plate of deep fried snacks of karaage, prawn wontons, tempura ebi and roundee (erm not sure what but that's as stated in receipt) (RM1 each). BoiBoi devoured most of these but I took a bite off the wonton. Sad to say these deep fried goods would only be great if they're served immediately. I can feel the oily bits since they were left at the counter for patrons to pick from. On our way out, we met someone (sorry forgot to ask for his name) who were doing paperworks and we gave him our feedback on this. We were told that they have ordered the hot lamp to keep them warm and waiting for it to arrive. Bravo for this and hopefully it will prevent the fried goods from going limp.



Both the boys have Hot Nabeyaki (RM10) that came in a claypot. I had a taste of the broth and it's really tasty. It looked quite a large portion of udon topped with tempura ebi, fish cake, slices of tofu puffs, shiitake mushrooms and an egg. My BoiBoi downed the entire bowl of noodles after chowing down the fried stuff! He ordered this again on our next visit, guess I don't need to say more how delish this bowl of noodles is huh?

Since it was kinda cold, nothing beat a hot bowl of Niku Udon (RM10) to warm things up. Loved the springy texture of the udon, something that you can't find with store bought udon. The beef were perfectly sliced ever so thinly that they practically melt in the mouth. The broth used here is different, equally as tasty and I did not left a single drop of it in my bowl :p

We loved the no frills concept here, just a quick service restaurant to fill up the tummy to be on the go. Yakitori and Nabe Steamboat are also available for dinners. Oh yeah I also liked the idea of using environmentally friendly bowls, plates and cutleries ;-) 2 thumbs up for that for sure.


Marufuku Udon
Blk L, Unit 18, Level G, 

Phase 1, Jaya One

No 72-A, Jalan Universiti,
46000 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 603- 7957 6368

Review: pla dib @ The Heritage Village

**Pork Free**


When I first read of pla dib in the papers the previous weekend, the thought of Thai fusion kinda disinterest me as Capt'n Hook is rather a errrm traditional person who doesn't like his food to be messed up. When I received an invite from Nigel via Anna Chew of Venus Buzz for food tasting at pla dib, I was in dilemma. To go or not to go??? Not to go when a place that is finally so near home is kinda hard to resist, so in the end I accepted the invite. On that day, Capt'n Hook picked me and I left on the dot at 5.30pm from the heart of Kuala Lumpur... braving the jam which is surprisingly quite smooth except the turn off from Seremban Highway towards the Selangor Turf Club/Palace of the Golden Horse. Guess what... we reached The Heritage Village around 6.15pm!!! Ample time for us to scoot over to The Mines Shopping to pick up a card reader from the IT center which is like huge (my first time here), yeah lots of stuff here, don't need to go to Low Yat Plaza!



The rest who came later complained it took them like an hour from various destination like Shah Alam, Bangsar etc well that's also because the sky decided to take a heavy dump. So in actual fact, only the mind is telling us that Serdang is very far! On weekends, if you decided to do a Cuti-cuti Malaysia with your family, you can actually take a KTM Komuter ride to Serdang station via Seremban route. Cross the pedestrian bridge and walk towards the white blocks of buildings with Chinese influence roofs and you'll be at The Heritage Village. Take a short walk through the tunnel and you'll reach The Mines Shopping. If you have kids, take them on the boat ride. We took one last year and it was surprisingly quite fun to ride such a huge water elevator!

Opps, back to pla dib... just drive into the compound and the security guard will issue you a parking chit, bring the chit to your dining destinations in The Heritage Village to be stamped and parking will be free, otherwise it'll be RM3 per entry. pla dib is located at the far corner of the building towards the lake which seems to be a great destination for an outdoor party or function. Reminded me very much of our wedding reception next to the lake at Palace of the Golden Horses, minus the water fountain.

I finally met up with Anna after being in touch over the years. She introduced us to our hostess, Sherlene, of BluWater Estate. Sherlene explained to us that everything in pla dib are fashioned and designed after the Bangkok restaurant. The bulk of the furnitures and furnishing are imported from Thailand! The stools we sat at the outdoor area are extremely heavy and sturdy. Quite comfy actually.

Whilst waiting for the rest to arrive, we were offered imported Phuket beer which is surprisingly quite light for a 5% alcohol beer. It's served with a lemon wedge but Anna claimed it's nice without it as well. Kinda unique too to drink from such a slim glass.

As explained to us pla dib means raw fish but putting them together it also means freedom of food which explains the fusion cuisine here. I checked through the menu, there seems to be quite a number of raw seafood dishes here as appetizers. The menu rage confusion as one can find Japanese kinda appetizers, pasta, pizza... I see French influence in a duck confit! Prices were very decent with the ingredients and portion served with nothing above RM30 except for the large pizza. Please note that pla dib has separate lunch and dinner menu where dinner menu has more items available and that's with where the raw items are.

Once everyone - PureGlutton and hubby, Nigel and Allan and FBB arrived we were ushered inside. Aly joined us later. The air-conditioned interior exude a very clean and modern environment. The chairs were again very chic and heavy to boot!



They started us off with some appetizers. This is Salmon Labb (RM10) which is slices of salmon drizzled with shoyu, chili flakes, roasted rice and lime juice. The zing on the first bite is kinda strong but I really loved the roasted rice on them.



Next came the Raw Shrimp in Fish Sauce (RM15). I've eaten this before in a Thai restaurant but never with such an interesting marinade. The explosion of chili, lime zest and juice is simply amazing coupled with extra fresh and crunchy shrimp. Whilst Capt'n Hook squirms when he sees this but I loved this appetizer the most. However, he being a great sport, he took one but that went shivered down his spine!



Mixed Four Raw Seafood (something new) came in a long platter with mounds of raw chopped shrimps, tuna, octopus and salmon topped with a mysterious sauce that tasted like fermented soybeans (tau cheo) was served. Perhaps this is made from miso?



Everyone who was drinking beer seems to like this Single Sun Beef (RM15). Slices of beef are marinaded with salt and pepper before they're sunned until dry. The beef slices are then deep fried with garlic, chili flakes and Thai basil. Fantastic finger food this one.



One can't go really wrong with deep fried soft shell crabs. What more when it's served with healthy greens in mayobi (mayonnaise and wasabi) dressing (RM15)!

We were served a series of 3 pastas. This is Creamy Capellini Angel Hair Pasta with Ebiko (RM18). A tad too creamy but loved the burst of ebiko upon each bite!!!



Black Spaghetti with Seafood (RM18) is my favourite pasta for the night. The spaghetti is blacken with squid ink tossed lightly in olive oil and topped with squid, prawns and fish slices.



After a black pasta, we were served a green spinach fettucini with mentaiko. Mentaiko being cod's egg are served along with a dollop of cream under the nest of toasted seaweeds strips. This is my least favourite pasta for the evening as the above 2 worked more for me. However, Capt'n Hook liked this one... funny eh when it comes to food... everyone just have their own personal preference and more on this later.



We were then served the 2 special drinks (RM9.50 each) available here. A green coloured Mint Soursop Blast which is made from soursop puree, mint leaves, pineapple juice, fresh lime and syrup. Everyone seems to love this sweet minty drinks. I preferred this over Pladib Art. Pladib Art is concocted with peach, pineapple juice, grenadine, yoghurt, fresh lime and syrup. To Capt'n Hook and Nigel, this tasted like cough syrup but when it comes to food and drink... one man's meat is another man's poison as FBB liked this more than the green drink. Puzzling isn't it?

We were showered with 3 main dishes. First up was Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Roasted Rice (RM20). Loved how the lemongrass marinade worked extremely well with chicken. The creative part here is the rice which is mixed with eggs, shaped and roasted. The rice cake is soft on the inside with a layer of crisp on the outside. The rice has springy texture which we thought is made from Japanese rice but we were all wrong. They were Thai fragrant rice!



This interesting plate of rice came and we went wahhhh all cos of the egg placed on top of the rice. This is Black Fried Rice (RM20), rice blackened with squid ink and fried with pieces of seafood and chillies bits served with a ring of deep fried basil leaves. One has to mix in the raw egg into the hot rice before eating. Gosh the raw egg really worked the rice into a slight creamy texture and this by far one of the best item we have eaten at pla dib. Eggcellent!!!

At this juncture, a side dish of Mashed potatoes and Wasabi (RM8) were served. FBB and Aly were eggcited cos they both loved mash potatoes. All round murmurs of "hmmm I love this mash" can be heard. If you're worried that wasabi might give you a heart attack, don't worry here. The mash has just a light hint of wasabi.

Opps the fish here looked bellied up hehe but what the heck! Rainbow Trout in Lime Leaf and Steam Rice (RM28) has fresh trout that came from New Zealand which has a natural sweet flavour. The fish is stuffed with ginger and lime leaves, topped with cherry tomatoes and assorted mushrooms and wrapped in parchment paper and baked. Funny, my serving has lots of ginger and lime leaves strips where else the rest just have fish. I chewed on the leaves and find it's a very fragrant kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut in Malay).



By now, I'm really stuffed but just can't resist the Smoked Salmon Pizza (regular RM30, large RM36). We really wondered how on earth they manage to roll the dough so thin!!! The outcome was splendid as the crust is crispy. We smeared the egg all over the smoked salmon slices before digging in. The tomato based sauce, rosemary and mozzarella cheese gave the extra flavourings here. A rare combo but they do really melded well.



By now everyone is yearning for the dessert but when I see Thab Thim Krob... I scrunched up my face. Everyone except me were waiting for the jackfruit in the Thab Thim Krob (RM8) until the dish was brought out and introduced. Eeeekkk no smell and I was really really very happy when told pla dib version does not have jackfruit :p It was victory indeed but you should have seen the other scowling faces.

Pla dib's version is very special indeed. The finely shaved ice came from a block of frozen coconut milk so you won't get a watered down version as the ice melts. The crunchy chestnut chunks here are on the larger side and has strips of young coconut on top of the ice. Very refreshing and good till the last drop, yes last drop cause I did a very unladylike thingy here... I excused myself to the rest and had a "maggi mee" moment :p I tipped the bowl to my mouth and emptied the bowl!!!



We were served a very rich and moist Marbled Spice Cake, brought by Nigel. He mentioned it's a test cake but we're not complaining. We begged him not to tell us how much butter and egg yolks were used but he let on that each of us would have one egg yolk in our piece of cake *fainted*. This loaf cake will be made available by middle of July at Just Heavenly and their outlets.



The next item Homemade Durian Gelato is silky smooth! Now, durian... I like and it's not smelly heh. FBB and Nigel find this so weird of me hahaha. The durian used was generous in portion but this is not in the menu, so just asked for it as they do not make it in a large batch to keep freshness at bay.

To sum up the entire evening... the company no need to mention as always is great. The food seriously if pla dib is consistent with the quality, then we'll be happy campers since coming here will be a breeze for us and it has food that BoiBoi will like. I now take back my initial reservation about Thai fusion as the confusion here really rocks!

There's another thing I would like to mention here... Sherlene, the Chef (we didn't get his name but he's local and trained in pla dib Bangkok, Prakash and staff did a fantastic job. I've never attended a review that worked like clockwork where everything run in perfect precise movements. If you're a PR agent or restaurateur reading this, do take note.

This was how the review was done... Prakash brings out the actual dish for us to take photos, then he proceed to explain what's the dish and opportunity is given to us to ask questions. Then the dish is taken back to the kitchen to proportionate it into individual portions as shown in the pic below. This way, we got to take the photos in peace without having to scramble for the food from the main plate. Absolutely fabulous!

pla dib is located in 1/1 soi Areesampan 7, Pharam 6 Road, Bangkok where else in Singapore they're known as Raw Kitchen Bar which is interestingly located in an old firestation at 276 Upper Bukit Timah Road.

Thank you so much to Sherlene, management, chef and staff of pla dib, Nigel, Anna and everyone else for such a wonderful evening. We'll be back, promised ;-)


pla dib
G-13 & 14 The Heritage Village
Jalan SB Dagang
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor
(opposite Mines Shopping Fair)
Tel: 03-89381936
Business Hours: 12.00pm to 3.00pm; 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Closed on Tuesdays

Click here for directional map or here for pictorial map