Japanese – Page 3 – sixthseal.com

Yuzu Ramen @ Yamagoya Ramen, Publika Solaris Dutamas

September 23, 2014 by HB

yamagoya ramen kl

We’ve been hankering for some good ramen so my better half and I decided to drive down to Publika over the weekend so we can do some grocery shopping and satisfy our ramen craving at the same time. I actually don’t think about ramen much, it’s my dear who loves to eat it, so I try to accommodate her. <3 yamagoya ramen

Yamagoya Ramen has been open for a few years and it’s claim for fame is Hakata style ramen with their tonkotsu (pork bone broth) made with pork bones flown all the way here from Japan! Their black garlic ramen is pretty well known too and I wanted to order the flagship Mukashi Special Ramen (RM 24) before I was tempted by a Japanese flyer advertising some ramen made with citrus.

I asked one of the waiters and he explained that it was their new yuzu ramen, made with that citrus fruit which is a hybrid of sour mandarin and Ichang papeda oranges. It has a pork broth that looks appealingly lime green in the picture and I was quite intrigued by it. They also have a lemon ramen if you’re so inclined.

Yuzu Ramen (RM 26)

yuzu ramen

I was expecting an intensely overpowering yuzu flavored broth. I was wrong. It was perfectly balanced. The tonkotsu was seasoned with a reasonable amount of yuzu citrus fruits and it actually tasted really good!

I ordered it as a lark but it turned out better than I expected. The char siu (pork belly slices) I got with my ramen had a nice and distinguished layer of fat together with the lean meat and it was a wonderful bowl of ramen that I’ll go back for.

Roasted Char Siu Ramen (RM 24)

roasted char siu ramen

My better half got this and the broth was a lot more hearty and robust compared to mine. The thickness of the roasted char siu is commendable too – one slice is easily more than ½ inch which makes one piece of her char siu equivalent to 3-4 of mine.

It has a nice char () on it too – the roasted flavors comes through forcefully and considering there are 3 slices of the roasted char siu inside this bowl of ramen, it has a rather generous amount of protein for a ramen dish. It’s worth the RM 62.65 bill for two.

yamagoya ramen us

There was a Japanese family next to us who used the sesame seed dispenser *liberally* and I tried that too. It turns out that it works very well with the flavors of ramen. You can also order a bowl of rice to eat with your leftover broth if you want. The correct way to eat it is to take a small scoop of rice from the bowl before submersing it into your leftover broth and finally putting it into your mouth.

sesame seed ramen

I read that while researching for our Japan trip. Haha. It’s actually a good way to finish up the leftover broth instead of ordering the usual additional portion of ramen noodles.

Yamagoya Ramen
A2-G2-8, Solaris Dutamas
1, Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Santouka Hokkaido Ramen @ Tokyo Street Pavilion

November 29, 2011 by HB

santouka ramen pavilion

I headed down to Santouka Hokkaido Ramen in Tokyo Street at Pavilion a couple of days ago to check out their acclaimed premium pork cheek and ramen goodness.

santouka ramen

Santouka Ramen is an actual franchise from Hokkaido in Japan and I heard a lot of interesting anecdotes about it from Julian and Inggrid.

roasted premium pork cheek

Roasted Premium Pork Cheek (RM 17)
This came heated in a ceramic mesh. Santouka Ramen also has the same treatment for char siu but I found the pork cheek to be slightly better. It still maintains its juiciness despite the thin slices and the tender pork cheek comes encrusted in charcoal goodness.

santouka roasted pork cheek

Next up came the parade of the different ramen they have:

shio ramen

Shio Ramen
This is translated as “salt” although it is best described as the original taste of the pork infused ramen base. It’s my favorite, hands down. It comes with a small ume (plum) on top.

santouka gyoza
An side order of gyoza to go with your ramen.

Shoyu Ramen
This is the soy sauce version, which tastes pretty good if you like a bit of saltiness to your ramen. I still prefer the shio though.

Miso Ramen
Yup, you know what this is…it’s just like what you’ll expect – ramen in miso (fermented soybean) soup.

kara miso ramen

Kara-Miso Ramen
This adds a twist by adding a bit of spice into the miso soup. It’s quite interesting but can be overwhelming to the palate if you’re looking for more subdued ramen bases.

Each of the ramen bowls comes with char siew and a sprinkling of sesame seeds – the number of slices and amount of noodles differ according to the size you’re ordering. The prices are RM 22.50 (Small), RM 25 (Regular) and RM 29 (Large) except for Kara-Miso Ramen which runs slightly higher (add RM 2).

premium pork cheek ramen

I highly recommend you order Santouka Ramen’s specialty – Tokusen Toriniku Ramen. That’s Premium Pork Cheek Ramen and they only have a limited quantity per day since you can only harvest about 200 to 300 grams of pork cheek per pig.

premium pork cheek

The Premium Pork Cheek Ramen (RM 36 for Regular) comes with a side of tender and decadently fatty pork cheeks slices. It’s different from the roasted premium pork cheeks and I found that I enjoyed this one more. The pork cheek slices goes well with the ramen and absorbs the flavors of the ramen base perfectly.

komi tamago

Don’t forget an order of their famous Komi Tamago (Flavored Boiled Egg – RM 2). This decadent slice of heaven is a boiled egg that has a semi-runny yolk. The flavor and texture is orgasmic and you have to order at least one or two to go with your ramen. Guaranteed satisfaction for all egg fans.

santouka us

Thanks for the lunch! I will definitely be going back for the melt-in-your-mouth pork cheek, shio ramen and komi tamago (the breakfast of champions).

Interesting facts:

The broth gets tested every single day coz the amount of fat per pig is different
The ramen at Santouka Ramen is “al dente” coz that’s the way it’s supposed to be in Japan
The komi tamago had more than 50% wastage when they first started making it
Santouka Ramen actually had the owner and chef from Japan come over to ensure quality control
The chopsticks are even tested to make sure it doesn’t have a smell and grips the ramen properly
Each bowl of ramen is prepared individually
The char siew meat must face you when they serve the ramen
It started 23 years ago and Santouka Ramen has the same bowls and pretty much tastes the same all over the world

Tori Karaage – some good ol’ fried chicken as the appetizer.

Santouka Ramen
Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL
Lot 6.24.03, Level 6, Pavilion,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2143 8878

santouka food

——————————————————————————–
Want dessert? Head over to Suchan for some awesome cakes. I actually bought the previous offer from MilkADeal and the cakes are superb!

suchan
RM25 instead of RM48 for Award-winning 5″ x 5″ Cake at Suchan Bakery Specialty Cakes, Jalan Universiti. Choice of Tiramisu, Moist Chocolate Cake or Eggless Chocolate Cake [48% OFF]

Grab the offer while you can! 🙂
——————————————————————————–

Japanese Pizza!

March 3, 2004 by HB

ichiban teppanyaki

There is this wonderful Japanese Pizza available at either I-Chi-Ban
Teppanyaki or Economy Tepanyaki (depending on which sign you look at)
at Tabuan Jaya. I had this last night as well, and this eating
establishment scene preceded the teh c peng post chronologically.

chef jap pizza

This is the proprietor preparing my Japanese Pizza. Watch him shape the pizza into, er…a pizza.

japanese pizza

Now this, my friends, is the Japanese Pizza. It looks and tastes
wonderful. Those brown flaky things on top are cuttlefish! There is a
layer of pork floss between the topping and the pancake. Lovely! The
sauce is a mayonnaise – Thousand Island fusion topping, which goes
really well with the ingredients. There are some brown onion skins
which adds to the taste too.

japanese pizza closeup

Here’s a closer look at the pancake. This is the interior, which
shows raw onions, meat and some other stuff. It’s not authentic
Japanese cruisine, obviously, but this goes for RM 4, and the portion
is generous, which is a great bargain!

boon taiwan sausage

Ah Boon had a plate of chicken chop and this Taiwan sausage (shown
above) which I had as well. Ah Ann had some rice with beef and onions
and Miriam had the Japanese Pizza as well.

I will rewind the events of last night to the last post (which is
chronologically the second post after the initial post) in this series
which lead to me throwing up in the middle of the night in a dirty
longkang in Tabuan Jaya.

Original Okonomiyaki Hiroshima Style @ Plaza Low Yat

August 22, 2003 by HB

I’ve eaten here the last time I was in KL and figured I would go
back and take photos of the okonomiyaki making process. The seating
arrangement allows you to sit in front of the grill and watch them make
your okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki has been described as a “Japanese pizza”.
I had the nikutama ika ebi (pork and seafood) okonomiyaki with soba
noodles (you can choose to have udon) and the spring onion topping.
That came up to RM 18. Here’s the photos of the making of my order:

Pouring out the base