I’m never guilty of being a follower of fads, even when it comes to food. Well, I got hooked on the froyo craze but I stayed clear of the macarons, donuts, cupcakes, bubble teas, etc. craze back then.
However, the recent ramen mania got me all noodled up inside as well.
Just a week before Europe, I had Gantetsu Ramen for lunch followed by Menya Mushasi for dinner on the very same day. Blame the proximity of 1 Utama to my house or it could be that both were just superb ramen outlets.
The very next day, KC (ulric) dragged me to Pavilion for Ramen Santouka, saying it’s one of the best in KL at the moment and my ramen ramen experience is not complete without it.
I took his word for it; and ended up slurping the thin eggy strands cheerfully. Now I have him to thank, for indeed this post wouldn’t have come about as Santouka; being the furthest from home, wouldn’t have been possible without his insistence.
Last is Yamagoya Ramen in Solaris Dutamas. I sampled it as my last lunch prior to my flight to Europe and now that I’m back, I compiled all of these into ONE table of short notes, as I realized there are plenty of other detailed blogposts and thus my post may sound repetitively already.
Here’s my short summary. Perhaps a longer review will follow; after I’m done blogging about my France (Paris) – Netherlands (Amsterdam) – Belgium (Antwerp) trip!
The number 1 -4 denotes my personal ranking of preference for each component of a bowl of ramen between the 4 outlets.
|
Menya Musashi |
Gantetsu Ramen |
Ramen Santouka |
Yamagoya |
| Broth |
1. Best murky soup with incredible depth of flavour. Unfortunately, it’s the most oily one too. |
2. Though the depth of flavour wasn’t as great as Menya’s, it close to being my favourite as it is less oily and the flavour was distinctive enough. |
3. Overall the broth here is the saltiest. I couldn’t eat the Kara Miso; it was that bad for me. Funnily enough, my Shio (salt) ramen was tolerable. |
4. The broth somehow lacked character, though tasty enough.
In conclusion, Yamagoya’s soups are less complex. |
| Noodles |
1. Chewy, thick and very fresh tasting noodles |
3. Thin, a bit stringy and springy noodles almost alike our local wantan noodles |
2. Springy with a firm bite.Less of the “stringy” texture; but softer instead. |
4. Thin springy noodles. Almost similar to Gantetsu. My preference goes to Gantetsu. |
| Pork |
2. 2 big slices of tender |
1. The pork slices are tastier, owing perhaps to the marination. |
3. I find the pork slices too salty; the ones in the ramen as well as the pork cheeks. |
4. Thinner slices, more streaks of fat. Taste was pretty forgettable. |
| Egg |
2. Lovely, though on the 2nd visit we got overcooked eggs, which was replaced quickly after I spoke to the Chef. |
I need to revisit for the eggs!
However, it looked really good, rivaling Santouka’s from what we peeked from the other tables. |
1. The most well made soft-boiled eggs from this list.
The egg white is fully cooked, but the yolk retains a molten consistency. Areas surrounding the yolk remained wobbly too. |
3. Decent effort, but still incomparable to the other 2. |
| Portion |
1. I love the portion here the best. The noodles are thicker and chewier thus giving the most volume. To top it off, 2 large slices of pork are given per bowl! |
2. A good satisfying portion, both noodles and meat. |
3. Smallest and cost is considerably expensive per portion compared to the rest. |
4. Satisfying portion and comparable to Gantetshu’s. |
| Price |
1. Best value for both taste and portion! |
2. I do not mind the price for the quality and taste, especially for the pork! |
3. Seriously, why are the portions so small?? |
4. With so many choices, Yamagoya would be last on my list to re-visit. |
| CONCLUSION: |
Love the ramen, like the broth but will omit the oil next time as the slick of oil over my noodles gets a little sickening at the end for me. |
I dislike stringy noodles in general, but I love the pork slices here. Service was good as well. |
No re-visit for me. The price is a factor, another is the sodium levels which is too much for me. |
I applaud them for their efforts; but with Menya and Gantetsu there isn’t really a big drawing factor to come back, especially since prices are similar. |
(more…)
