Ikuzo Ramen @ SS2/61 Petaling Jaya

This week's Monday is indeed a blue and gloomy one for me.

Had to turn the mood around -with an appetizing bowl of noodle!

Wanted to have ramen at Ikuzo PJ, and Barry was driving with the guidance of Waze.

Drove from NKVE, to Federal, to LDP, into the small road, turning round and round,

only to realize that Ikuzo is located just at SS2, a place that is soooooo common to us. 

BIG SWEAT for Waze!!!

Monday blue attire for work.

I asked Barry if I look like those college girls in this.

What you think his answer was???

 

Ikuzo at PJ is located just beside McDonald's opposite Pelita Nasi Kandar @ SS2.

There was a long stretch of night market that Monday -

we had to go three rounds just to find a parking space.

The shop is spacious with table setting of around 15 tables.

Joyce @ Ikuzo to witness their Ramen Revolution!

The whole lots of varieties in the menu that gets me all in nom-nom-nomming mood.

Seriously, I've been to many ramen places, but never a place

that offers this much of choices.

And one thing that makes me excited is the PRICE!

Most of the ramen cost less than RM10.00, and addition of fremented egg is only at RM1.00!

 

Not wanting to waste my chance being there by ordering the traditional Cha Shu ramen,

I was high up in the mood for some marinated beef slices with spicy kim chi ramen!!!

WOOT!!!!

What a long name to swallow, but it's Japanese name is Yakiniku ramen.

I love my ramen for that night. The beef slices is soft and tender.

While kim chi is really nice to compliment the ramen,

I think it is better to just put the kim chi on the side though. 

Being soaked in my ramen, the kim chi taste kind of spoil the soup broth. 

Yakiniku Ramen RM 8.90

  

Alongside with my ramen, I ordered my must-to-have fremented eggs Ajisuke Tamago.

 The egg is a disappointment. Cold and rather tasteless.

A cold egg is a no-no for me.

Ajisuke Tamago RM 1.00

Buddy Barry with his usual preference for spicy noodles ordered.. Spicy ramen. SWT.

With cha shu, sweet corn, beancurd skin and seaweed,

Barry seemed to enjoy his bowl of ramen veeeery muuuuch.

If the broth is not spicy enough, there's always some chilli paste on the table to add on.

Spicy Ramen RM 9.50

The anti-social attitude after eating.

Busy with Facebook, Whatsapp, SMS, e-mail.

With hot ocha for both of us (was hoping that it was refillable), 

and a cup of coffee, the total cost for our dinner that night is 

RM28.60 including service tax.

It was a pretty decent meal - delicious and reasonable priced!

We will DEFINITELY go there again!!!

yummylicious!

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Marutama Ramen @ Fahrenheit 88, KL

Just like how people go gaga over bubble tea,

we may noticed that ramen shops are mushrooming at the Klang Valley now.

As for myself, I've been loving this Japanese noodle for years,

I've tried a few places and still looking for one specific exquisite taste - Dusukoi-alike ramen.

That place holds a special place in my heart,

coz that's when I fell in love with ramen.

Recently, I have heard much about Marutama Ramen.

There are two franchise at Klang Valley itself,

one at Fahrenheit 88 and another at Empire Gallery.

Curious to find out what all the buzz is about.

Went to Kota Damansara to pick up Rachel Lee on Sunday,

then drove all the way to the heart of KL just for a bowl of noodles at Fahrenheit 88.

Looking thru their menu, I observed that the ramen broth is made of chicken soup.

Was doubting if it's gonna taste as good as the usual pork broth ramen.

They offers choice of spicy and non-spicy too.

We ordered spicy Kakuni Negi Tamago Ramen (RM25) 

which came with a slice of roast pork (cha siu),

two pieces of pork belly, seaweed, spring onion, and seasoned egg.


Added with free flow of fried garlic and sesame, the ramen broth taste heavenly!


The noodles is springy, and kinda taste like wantan mee texture... (aiks!),
well in a good way.


Cha siu and pork belly is soft and tender, and with fats as it should be,
but if I get to choose, would prefer leaner meat tho'.
 

Karashi Ramen (RM18) + Kakuni Pork Belly (RM7)

Ramen's seasoned egg is always my must-have-add-ons-item.
Marutama's seasoned egg is done perfectly.

Am missing it while blogging now...

Aji Tamago (RM2)

We also added another bowl of seaweed.

Taste so good being soaked in the broth.

Rachel enjoyed every bit of it.

So do I.. kekeke!

Aosa (RM6)

Another side dish we had that day as the sourish pickle raddish.

Wasn't very impressive this one.

Namuru (RM5)

Facebook eat first, we eat later... :P

My long drive to KL is worth it.

Although many would say that Marutama serves the best ramen,

I may not agree entirely as there are many more ramen outlets to try out before

I could make such judgement.

My ramen hunting so far has been good at Mai Ramen @ Jaya 33.

But I wonder where they moved to as the outlet there is closed.

 Hokkaido Santouka @ Tokyo Street, Pavilion on the other hand was great at first, 

but it disappointed me during my last visit with Alex.C seven months ago.

Wonder if they have improved since?

Another small ramen place is Ton Chan @ Wisma Cosway

This is the BEST... for Vince. 

Am planning to visit Ippudo. Heard that they are popular among the Singaporeans in the island.

 Menya Mushashi is another place I wanted to try out.

Nor forgetting Kayvin's review on Ikuzo ramen - this I must not miss!

Anybody interested in ramen hunting with me?!!

WARNING : You May Not End Up FAT, But You Will Definitely Gain Some Weight!

 yummylicious!

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Hokkaido Santouka @ Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL

I have finally gotten the chance to try the ramen at Hokkaido Santouka!

In my previous two visits there, it was packed and the Q was so long that I have given up! But this time I went on weekdays, right after work.

Ambiance:-

There was no Q at that time, but it was full house though. This shop is actually quite small and with the space constraint, all the seating are put very closely. I feel very uncomfortable because we would have to talk softer otherwise both the tables on our right and left would have overheard our conversation. And in fact I did hear their conversation because they are just too near to us! :(

Shio Char Siu - S Size

Shio Toroniku - M size with pork at the side to retain the pork original taste.

And my favourite 3/4 boiled egg called Komi-Tamago... yummylicious!

Karaage (Fried Chicken with tartar sauce)

Fried chicken gyoza

Food:-

Yummylicious! There are 4 different broth, which are shio (salt flavor), shoyu (soya sauce flavor), miso (soyabean flavor), kara-miso (spicy soybean paste flavor). I asked the waitress which would she recommend and she said shio is the best. It indeed is because I drank it till the last drop! Did not finish the ramen though... cause I was wayyyy tooo full then!

As for the fried chicken, not sure why but I could taste a very strong fragrance of ginger. But the tartar sauce is really nice to go with the chicken. The gyoza on the other hand is not very impressive because the "skin" is a little bit too thick. Just like dimsum, I like the skin to be thin to compliment the fillings. :)

Price:-

Very expensive! For 2 bowl of ramen, one plate of fried chicken, gyoza and 2 hot ocha, it cost almost RM100! Over-priced... :(

Shio Char Siu (S size) RM27.50

Shio Toroniku (M size) RM36.00

Karaage RM10.00

Chicken Gyoza RM10.00

Komi-Tamago (Egg) RM2.00

Green Tea RM4.00

With 10% it all total up to RM98.45

Would like to say THANK YOU to Sunny boy for belanja-ing me this yummylicious meal!!! Next round would be my turn yah!!! ;)

Yummylicious!

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I want bubble tea!!!

I was just craving for bubble tea moment ago... and guess what!!!! KY is kind enough to do a bubble tea round up for me!!! Featuring 3 different places... WOW.. I start to think that he can read my mind!!!

I can still remember those time when I wanted so badly to hunt for ramen, and he was actually in ramen season as well! He has got like 4-5 post about ramen he has tasted! ....this kind of mind thinking actually freaks me out. :P

Hhmmmm... still craving for bubble tea though. And seemed like the best one he had is actually in Tokyo Street called Ochado. I saw the shop during my trip at Pavilion the other day, but did not get to buy it because of the long Q. Since KY review was quite impressive about this bubble tea place, I might just try it some time!

It's 11.33pm and I couldn't sleep unless I get my bubble tea!!
I wan I wan I wannnnn!!!
(lao kai like a small child) --> Is it working??? :P

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Takahashi Cafe (a no-no!!!)

Recently in Pavilion KL, they have just opened Tokyo Street. That street offers all sort of food, desserts, and cute cute stuffs that are very Korean-ish.


Newly opened Tokyo Street @ Pavilion KL

And there seemed to be a big hoo-ha about a ramen shop called Hokkaido Santouka in that Tokyo Street and so I thought of giving it a try during weekend. We went all the way to Pavilion on Sunday to find that there is a long Q at Hokkaido Santouka. Well it was a weekend so it is understandable... While joining the Q, the waitress brought along a menu for us to order in advance. There wasn't much choices to choose from, and a bowl of plain ramen is priced from RM28 - RM 35. I looked closel, flipping the pages from back to forth, forth to back, and did not find anything that attract me to try on that day. So we left... But I really hope that the other choices in the menu would be available soon because I want to at least try it once.


Long Q at Hokkaido Santouka that eventually scares us away..


As I was already starving since we depart from Klang, we simply pick a restaurant at the Tokyo Street for lunch. Came across Takahashi Cafe that seemed to be quite packed and so got the impression that it may be a nice place to eat. But we are proven wrong very quickly... :(

Salad is so-so. Ask Jebsen for more info. Haha!

Unagi spaghetti sucks. The unagi pieces are so thin and has got the not-fresh fish taste. Yucks... In Hokkien we called it "chau cho". Hahaha!

My scallop + prawn pizza on the other hand is acceptable. The thin crust is filled with alot of cheese which is yum yummmm. But the scallop and prawn isn't that fresh and thus spoil the pizza crust.

The meal is expensive too! Total bill of RM80++. Will not go again, and will not recommend any of the food there.

Yummylicious NOT!!! :(

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Ramen Ton Chan, Wisma Cosway

To look for my Fremantle ramen, I went to Ramen Ton Chan at Wisma Cosway for a try-out. You would not believe that there is a good Japanese restaurant in this building because it looked like it is kinda torn down, and only has those old shops in it.

We have difficulties finding this restaurant, and would have to walk thru some dark alley to find it. Upon entering the restaurant, there is this very Japanese feel because the customers is actually smoking inside. And only true Japanese would do that. Hahahaha!

But really... what is more Japanese than a ramen shop that has all sort of Japanese magazine in it, and all the customers are speaking some foreign language which I could not make any sense of? The waitresses can also speak a little bit Japanese due to their frequent Jap customers.

A very nice authentic Japan ambiance. And a photo of the Japanese guys who is polluting the air... :P

The appetizer is actually a macaroni with some olove oil (I guess because it does not have much taste in it). Vince ordered unagi with rice which is nice but uhm... nothing special about it?

The gyoza is nice, but a has a little bit more garlic taste which is not to my liking.

The ramen however... is marvelous!!! The soup is so flavorful and you can taste the pork broth that have been boiled for hours!!! To make my dinner more enjoyable, I would actually hope that they put more ingredients in the ramen, because it only have 2 slices of charsiu (pork) and a half 3/4 boiled egg. Nothing more, nothing less.

The pricing however would be a little bit more on the upper side if compared to Mai Ramen. My bowl of ramen is RM23++. And I forgotten about the rest... haha!

If I am anywhere near Pavilion KL, I will drop by at this place again.

Yummylicious!!! ;)

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Mai Ramen, Jaya One

In my hunt for a good ramen, my first source is to check on KY's review! There are several places which he have tried and gave his review. And one of it is Mai Ramen at Jaya One that had earned quite good comment from him.

Two weeks ago I "forced" Barry to try it out with me. While enjoying my ramen, I told him "I'm getting near to that taste.. the ramen that I'm searching for".

Last weekend I went there again, and here comes my review! ;)

I ordered Ramen and Unagi set that comes with a tuna salad, 3 piees of gyoza, and green tea.

Reason being for ordering the same thing on both my visit is that I enjoyed the plain ramen with thick broth which is a decent meal for me. The soup is best when insert the pickles, which is a little bit on the spicy side. Inside the soup, you may find a 3/4 boiled egg, pieces of chasiu (pork) and vegetables.

Whats more in the set is to have my favourite unagi as a side dish. What I love about the unagi is that the fish is thick and soft. Furthermore, it does not have that small bones poking out when I bite on it. And the sweet gravy compliments the whole thing!

The fried gyoza is not too oily, and the filing is just nice.

I also ordered ULTRAraMen which is a super big bowl of ramen with everything in it! What I mean by EVERYTHING is... charsiu pork, a perfectly done 3/4 boiled egg, 2 pieces of gyoza, prawns, chunks of pork meat, and many more...

It was a very filing lunch. And they gave us complimentary ice-cream too. It is some sort of shaved ice cream with peanut topping. It is claimed to be preservative-free.

The food here is very reasonable. The ramen with unagi set is RM28 while the big bowl of ULTRAraMEN is RM19.00 (promo during anniversary). Do look out for their 50% discount promo in month of August! It is not applicable for unagi dishes though. Click "like" on Mai Ramen Cafe in Facebook and you will get all the updates on the promo they have.

Although I enjoyed ramen here, it still could not beat the one I had in Fremantle. But I will definitely go to Mai Ramen again when my Japanese craving comes...

Yummylicious! ;)

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My love for ramen starts at Dusukoi, Fremantle Market, Western Australia

Ever since I tried an authentic bowl of hot ramen at Dusukoi Japanese Noodle and Bubble Tea in Fremantle WA in 2010, I was so deeply in love with this Japanese noodles. My cousins who have been raised in Perth brought me there before I fly back to Malaysia. It is entirely their fault for creating this crazy ramen craving in me now!!!

Dusukoi Japanese Noodle & Bubble Tea

There are limited seats at this small little kiosk in Fremantle market. When we went there, the Japanese lady boss asked us to leave our number and she will call us once there are seats. So we walked around while waiting for the call, which came after 30 minutes. Believe me, it is worth the wait!

There are so many type of ramen to choose from! Mostly differs by the topping.. such as fried chicken, prawn dumpling, tempura, pork slices and many more!

This is my bowl of ramen with Japanese fried chicken. The ramen soup broth is soooo heavenly. It is thick and so flavorful!!! I can still remember the taste of it...



My cousin Nelson and his girlfriend Stephanie.




Cousin Jason and Thompson.




Thompson had a bowl of ramen with extra noodles, and yet finishes it till the last drop! That's how good it is!!!

When I came back to Malaysia, I kept looking for the same ramen, but is always disappointed to find that it is not even near to the taste.

I have also googled this place and the reviews are very good!

My wish now is to have a private jet to bring me to Fremantle every weekend to savour that bowl of noodles again!

Yummylicious!!! ;)

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