ronnycakes reviews: Ippudo Ramen, Pavilion KL

Being a ramen fan faced with a highly anticipated new ramen chain, I wouldn’t miss being standing in line within the first few weeks for all the world. For me, the best ramen I’ve tried so far still remains as Santouka, but I think I’ve finally met another bowl of ramen that could definitely give Santouka a run for it’s money.

Ippudo originated in 1985 from Fukuoka Japan, and claims that they were the first to refer to broth by colour which soon became a standard industry practice (as seen in Menya Musashi as well). The Shiromaru and Akamaru style of broth are still considered as Ippudo’s signature ramen. Ippudo has since expanded all over the world to Sydney, New York, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Sydney and Singapore. The founder of Ippudo, Shigemia Kawahara is no small fry either as he is considered Japan’s “Ramen King”, winning the title in a competition in 2005. As for Ippudo, it has won Tokyo’s Ramen of the Year Award for 2010-2011 and even Santouka Ramen was opened by one of his disciples.

With all that, how can I not be excited to try it out myself?

We went early to skip the queue, but even at 11.30am, the shop was already almost packed to the brim, and as we left the place, we saw a queue slowly starting to form.

The interior design is of spotlights and wooden fixtures, with white-black-red being their main colour scheme. Bowls and spoons used in serving the ramen are also utilized as modern and trendy decor.

For starters we had the Curry Cheese Harumaki (RM10). Deep-fried spring rolls with a crispy exterior and soft curry-cheesy interior. One thing definitely worth mentioning about Ippudo is that unlike the other ramen chains that make ramen the sole offering of the menu (with the exception of rice or other generic Japanese dishes), Ippudo actually has a very extended side dish menu varying from fried corn to miso tofu in a stone pot. Definitely will have to check those out some time.

I went for the Shiromaru Tamago (RM28); Ippudo’s original tonkotsu broth served with ultra thin noodles, belly chashu, bean sprouts, kikurage and spring onions. I found the soup to be lovely and flavourful and somewhat lighter than the one at Santouka. Another plus point at Ippudo is that they let the diner decide how cooked they want the ramen to be. That’s definitely something my mum would appreciate because she always complains that Santouka’s ramen is too undercooked.

Wils had the Karaka Tamago (RM30); which is tonkotsu broth flavoured with special spicy miso and ground pork with a flavoured egg. This one was definitely something I felt blew everything I’ve tried out of the water. What made this unique and different was the addition of ground pork. Absolutely yummy!

 
The chashu you get at Ippudo is slightly fattier but has a melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

Enjoying our bowl of ramen and can’t wait to go back for more!

Price-wise, Ippudo is slightly steeper than the other ramen chains we’ve reviewed but I think that the slight price increase is definitely justifiable by the taste of the broth. Don’t miss this one if you’re as big of a ramen fan as I am!

Address:
Level 4, Pavilion Shopping Mall,
Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

Map *here*

ronnycakes and Wils reviews: Okomen Japanese Restaurant, Desa Sri Hartamas

I’m sure that all Japanese restaurant-goers have come across okonomiyaki before: a Japanese savoury pancake that has a filling of a variety of different ingredients, and distinguished by a nice pattern of sweet sauce and mayonnaise on the surface. Okomen at Desa Sri Hartamas is a Japanese eatery that specialises in okonomiyaki and according to the owner Alan (who also prepared all the food for us), Okomen was the first restaurant in Malaysia to bring okonomiyaki into the country.

Located in a fairly secluded nook of Desa Sri Hartamas (the row of shops behind the Desa Sri Hartamas Maybank), business was good on a Sunday night that was otherwise very quiet in the area.

This is Okomen’s signature dish, the Tori Oko (RM15.80). The last time I had okonomiyaki was more than 5 years ago, and the one that I had had a forgettable taste, but this one from Okomen was really good. Pieces of sliced pork with egg, onions and the delicious mix of sweet sauce and mayonnaise, it was a wonderful start to the meal.

 
You should sprinkle some bonito flakes on top of your okonomiyaki before eating it as the dried fish flakes add more flavour.

Okomen provides a nice pictorial guide on how to eat your okonomiyaki on every table.

 
Next was the Omu Tori Yaki Soba (RM13.80), with a filling of fried Soba Noodles. I’ve definitely never had noodles wrapped in egg before, but again it tasted delicious.

Next up we had the Mixed Modanyaki (RM28.80) which was also a fried soba okonimiyaki but instead of being egg-wrapped, it was in the same style as the first one we had; pancake style. Filling included prawn, squid and fried noodles.

 

Gyoza ((RM10.80) was served to us as well as a light snack.


Tontoro Itame (RM28.80), lightly marinated and crispy pork cheek.

 
Pork Kimuchi Ramen (RM19.80), Tonkotsu soup base with sliced pork belly and kimchi spicy and sour soup.

Kumamoto Ramen (RM22.80): a tonkotsu (pork bone) soup base with simmered pork soft ribs and pork belly.

Volcano ramen, looks innocent but the punch is in the chili, a blend of chili paste and pork cubes.

I liked that the chili paste came with bits of pork, but found it slightly lacking in oomph.

The soup base of the ramen was rich and full of pork bone flavour, but still not the same standard as our favourite Santouka.

The not-to-be-missed candy egg of ramens.

Another unique dish, Kimchi Pork. It was sufficiently savoury and spicy, but lacked a bit of the kimchi’s sour kick.

Scallop teppanyaki (RM25.80). Fresh whole scallops pan-fried with onions.

Unagi Maki (RM23.80)

 

Seafood Combo Set (RM38.80) consisting of teppanyaki prawn, salmon, and beef.

 
Finished off a delicious meal with a dollop of ice-cream each. Sesame on the left and green tea on the right.

Okomen is a great neighbourhood Japanese restaurant, and serves some really food okonomiyaki and pork dishes. For ramen on the other hand, it’s better to stick to ramen specialists like Santouka, Marutama or Menya Musashi. If you’re an okonomiyaki lover, Okomen is not to be missed.

Address:
7G, Jalan 22/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map *here*

 

ronnycakes reviews: Le Deux Garçons Pâtisserie; Jalan Telawi Bangsar

After months of salivating after the cakes at that French Pâtisserie Le Deux Garçons and countless “let’s just go another day…” laziness, I finally discovered for myself why everyone loves the desserts there so much.
To be absolutely honest I was quite shocked by the prices of cakes and macarons at Le Deux Garçons but one of my friends who sampled the desserts told me that the price was justified by the taste and uniqueness of what was offered.

A wide variety of dainty, colourful and uniquely flavoured macarons sit inside the chiller. I really am a sucker for macarons; so sweet looking in their pastel colours.

You can expect cakes at Le Deux Garçons to be well above RM10.

The famous Le Palladio (crispy almond tart, layered joconde, vanilla ganache, white truffle mascarpone) which costs RM22 apiece. :O

 

I went for Passion (Joconde base, silky passion fruit mousse, mango coulis) RM13 which was deliciously tangy, light and fluffy with a hint of sweetness from the Joconde cake base.

I packed a piece of Le Favori (pistachio biscuits pate a choux, raspberry brulee, and pistachio mouselline - RM16) home because Wils was too full to have his own piece at the shop.

The layers of nutty pistachio mouselline coupled with the tangy raspberry brulee made this piece utterly unique, something you wouldn’t find so easily in other dessert shops. A light dusting of pistachio powder on the surface of the cake intensified the nuttiness. Loved it!

 
I couldn’t resist bringing home some macarons (RM5 per piece).

Top: Vodka and Lime, Bottom: Passionfruit Chocolate
What I loved about the macarons from Le Deux Garçons were that sweetness was controlled very well, and all the flavours weren’t the run of the mill ones I usually see. Vodka and Lime had a great tanginess to it whilst Passionfruit and Chocolate no doubt go wonderfully together.

My only gripe (similar to many other patrons) would be that the shop itself is tiny and only has a grand total of one table indoors under air-conditioning. On hot, humid, and stuffy days such as the weather we’re having lately, it would be a total killer to sit outside and sweat buckets while having your cakes. I’ll definitely be packing home next time.
But other than that, I absolutely loved everything that I tried from Le Deux Garçons and am especially looking forward to sampling more of their macarons!

Address:
Les Deux Garçons Pâtisserie,
No. 36, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru,
59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map *here*