Ippudo Ramen cames to Kuala Lumpur.. Sink or Swim?
Japanese food is always such a joy to eat. I love the presentation of it which is usually neat, clean and precise.
Ramen on the other hand, is the opposite.
Each bowl of ramen is different – it is unruly, rebellious.. a mess. It is murky, oily and holds a lustful promise of things impure and decadent.
Don’t even think about eating healthy if you are about to dig into a bowl of ramen.
So, here I am at Ippudo, the fabled ramen chain from Fukuoka, that has finally found its way to our shore in Kuala Lumpur. I’d say we are a good 2 years behind Singapore our friendly neighbor and why it has taken this long, I have no idea. I am just glad that the time is here.
In Japan, Ippudo ramen shops are renowned for their tonkotsu broth, which are made from a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency. The Hakata style noodles are thin, delicate and springy. They make a nice change from the thicker ramen noodles that are popular around town as well.
shiromaru ramen motoaji
This time however, the noodles fell short of expectations. Something was just missing in the broth. It was salty but lacked that aroma that I was expecting from a superior Tonkotsu broth.
foreground : akamaru shinaji
I had the akamaru which should have been thick, creamy and altogether sublime but again, this one was missing that wow factor. We both ordered our noodles “hard” or al dente, but mine arrived soft, which was a bit of a let down as well.
karaka-men
One of our dining companions had the Karaka-men which had a spicy miso paste added to the original broth. Apparently she found the taste of the spicy miso overbearing and not really appetizing.
At least the chashu was a winner. They were meaty, fatty and gloriously melt in your mouth tender. I ate all the pork bits in my ramen without complaint.
gyoza in a broth
Then came a slew of rather lackluster side dishes such as the gyoza. Hate to nitpick but I actually bit into a bit of cartilage bone in my dumpling. Even the chinese coffee shops can do this one better. A garlic-laced corn, deep-fried with seaweed seasoning had a nice taste, but it came oddly sliced with part of the cob still intact, making it difficult to eat. I really rather prefer my sweet young corn, just as it is, not covered in seasoning. There was a Pork belly cha-shu braised in a steamed bun which was rather tasty but priced at RM7 for just a tiny morsel of a bun, I think I’d spend my money elsewhere. Then came a strange deep fried curry cheese spring roll that tasted as weird as it sounds. Finally, a rather appalling spicy prawn mayo priced at RM15, that was supposed to be battered like tempura, but ended up soggy. The mayonnaise sauce was forgettable, and not my cup of tea.
garlic-laced young corn, deep-fried with seaweed seasoning
Pork belly cha-shu braised in a steamed bun
deep fried curry cheese spring rolls
spicy shrimp mayo
The service however was good. The wait staff where attentive, fast with our orders and asked for our feedback once the meal was over (or maybe they noticed the noodles and soup still left in bowl). They were also well informed on the noodles and managed to answer most of the questions we had to ask. I would say that with the foreseeable turnover and bustle at Ippudo, consistency will clearly be a challenge. Overall, each bowl of ramen averages at least RM30 and above. Be prepared to fork out good money for a meal for two here.
Add: Hakata Ippudo Ramen,Level 4, Pavilion Shopping Mall, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2110-6233
I agree – pretty much sucks, by good ramen standards.
Also, the char siew is SO LITTLE. My money shall be spent at the other better ramen places in town.
True that.
Ooh our experience is almost the complete opposite! I liked the broth and noodles (was nice and firm) but not the charshu and the service when we went was not great at all. Those corns do look a bit ‘overseasoned’.
LOL, sounds like two very different places. Yeah well, I think with the huge number of ramen joints out there, we can pick our favourites, so that’s fine;)
Yeah! I think I will stick to Marutama for the fabulous egg and flavourful charshu, and service there is spot on too.
Hmmm…will wait for the crowds to subside before venturing in to try. Hopefully by then, they will sort out their teething issues.
Hope so!
…but I love the pork bun.. well I dont mind spending that 7 bucks for that! ;P
the attentive staff had actually offered to change all four bowls of ramen for our table , maybe he saw us taking picture for too long and he’s worried that the ramen will turn out soggy.. hence we get to taste the right texture of the ramen! ;D
Lastly, great to see you there woman! *hugs hugs* ;P
yeah well the broth still not up to par.. did they change the broth? 😛 (kidding) yes nice to see you too !
Looks like consistency seems to be a problem for Ippudo. Perhaps to hold off my second visit till they sort themselves out. My first was one that tasted like salt water soup and noodles for toothless grandmas:P
aiks!
Wah! Salt water soup is the worst I’ve heard so far. Yeap definitely consistency issue!
OK lah, I wait for a bit before visiting. But die die still wanna try… haha!
OK.. die die try lor;) LOL
Here goes…I find that their chashu is not as tender as Gantetsu in 1U whom also give huge slices compared to here. The flavoured egg is tapao’ed by Marutama’s in terms of flavour and runnyness…and their broth is not as slurpworthy as Menya KL’s where I drank until the last drop. The only saving grace was the noodles which were done al-dente…hehe =)
Btw service was all over the place when I visited (table not wiped properly etc) and I find it ridiculous that their green tea is not refillable…Come on! How much can it cost compared one bowl of their ramen! 😛
aye
Aiseh what a disappointment! The one I had in NYC was the best ever I had in my life but then again ippudo NYC been open for yonks
Consistency should be key in all outlets .. and I think where they source the noodles from is important as well..
Not healthy.. bum. I always thought soup was a good alternative. 😉 Kidding myself I know. Looks delicious!
I’ve only tried the one in Singapore and I liked it =) here it’s about SGD17++ if I remember correctly so after conversion, KL still cheaper…..one way to console ypurelf when eating =)
Still too much to pay if you ask me.
I love the chashu but it was too thin, not enough lah!
Agree.. portions were too small..
Agree..my wife and i ordered a set but sadly fell below expectations. For Rm120++ we got some buns and two bowls of ramen that was soggy and tasteless. Unlikely will go back again as the price do not relfct the quality at all
right!