Hidden within Fahrenheit 88, also known as the re-branded KL Plaza, is a little Japanese ramen restaurant that has it’s origin in Singapore.
The island republic does not usually have the upper hand when it comes to food, but Japanese ramen is one of the rare exceptions. Here in Malaysia we have been stuck with trying to make ramen halal for way too long while our neighbor kept it real and true to the origin – with pork, like how ramen should be.
Marutama Ramen is located on first floor of Fahrenheit 88 (old KL Plaza)
Local eateries have since realize what diners really want and it is good to see that there are a lot of ramen places that serves the dish with the right ingredients.
Marutama was introduced to me by Timothy, who got to know the place from his girlfriend Audrey, who in turn got the recommendation from Ringo. The two of them must be the most “Japanese” lookalike and act alike Malaysian in the country, so if they say it is good, it must be good.
chasiu ramen, I love it with plenty of fried garlic
I always measure a ramen place by its most essential dish – the good old chasiu ramen.
Marutama’s version is unpretentious, four slices of chasiu (not to be confused with BBQ pork, the Japanese version is slices of rolled pork shoulder), 3/4 boiled egg, seaweed, spring onion, and ramen noodle in pork chicken broth.
check out the glorious 3/4 boiled egg
The broth at Marutama is one of the thickest and most flavorful I’ve had from anywhere, very savory and absolutely brilliant. They also have the egg boiled just right, and the chasiu were fatty and tender like they should.
Best of all, there’s free flow deep fried sliced garlic on the side to be added to your ramen.
I went with timothy and david on separate occasions
Other than ramen, they also serve some side dishes like grilled pork belly, fried rice, gyoza and so forth. Their gyoza was just alright, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone to try their fried rice (it was quite lousy). Stick to the ramen and you’ll have a wonderful experience at Marutama.
Prices are around RM 20 including taxes. Another good pork ramen place nearby is Ton Chan at Wisma Cosway.
Address:
Marutama Ramen
Fahrenheit 88
Lot Flr. 27.01, 1st floor
Buking Bintang, KL
GPS: 3.14748, 101.71283
Tel: 03–2141 1573
I must have walked by Yashi-no-mi at least a dozen times without thinking that it was available for lunch.
The outside says Japanese Cafe, but with the darkened glass panels and dodgy looking main entrance, this place looks more like an old school arcade or pubs where married men prefer not to let their wives know if they went there the previous night.
Yashi-no-mi Japanese Cafe at Wisma Cosway
Feeling a little adventurous yesterday, I walked by Yashi-no-mi again yesterday, and just by chance I spotted a piece of laminated A-4 paper that says (among other things), lunch at 12 pm – 2:30 pm. The door wasn’t fully closed, I peeked in and saw a handful of diners in there eating something. I decided to head in too.
buta shougayaki don – pork belly in ginger sauce with rice
The cafe looks like it was lifted from a neighborhood pub in suburban Japan and got transported to this country by mistake. Maroon faux leather bench chair, wooden tables, a brick wall, heavily tinted glasses, and a TV older than most college kids.
The place is quite hideous, but at the same time it was also quite charming, a little old lady prepares your food right behind the bar, the server was friendly, and time slows down by at least a factor of two when you are there.
the set comes with salad, miso soup, and drinks
There were less items on the menu than you have fingers, which makes it easy to order. I chose the buta shougayaki don that comes with a bowl of fried pork belly with onion in light onion sauce on rice, a serving of salad with the lovely wafu dressing, a drink (choice of ice lemon tea or green tea), and a bowl of miso soup too.
All for RM 17, if you order the “S” size. Add 2 bucks for M, 4 for L, and so forth.
The pork belly and rice I had was excellent too (same can’t be said about their miso soup), and I think I’ll be heading there whenever I need to get away a little. There’s still a few dishes to try out, like maybe that pork cutlet with mayo.. ermm.
Address:
Yashi-no-me
Lot G.01, Ground Floor
Wisma Cosway
Jalan Sultan Ismail
50540 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.150875, 101.711812
Tel: 03-2148 4254
Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen is one of the latest entries on the 6th floor of Pavilion KL that has lately been on a bit of a revamp. This restaurant is situated right next to Ben’s, another very good lunch option.
Like the name suggest, Tonkatsu serves.. tonkatsu – breaded, deep fried pork cutlets with shredded cabbage and miso soup + rice. To know more there is the wiki entry.
Tonkatsu at Pavilion KL
Yesterday Suanie happened to drop by KL over lunch time, so I took the opportunity to head there with her since she was in a mood for Japanese food, and I know she isn’t too keen on raw dishes.
The menu is brief enough, there were less than 10 different sets/dishes to choose from. To me this is good, takes away all the extra time spent just to figure out what to eat. (see the paradox of choice)
make your own condiment, very rich miso soup
I chose the first set, Hire Katsu Zen (RM 29), and suanie opted for set number 3, Hire Katsu + Rosu Katsu zen (RM 28).
First, a server made the fresh condiments for us (later we made more ourselves). Put some sesame in the super mini mortar & pestle, grind it till you can smell the aroma. Then add tonkatsu sauce (or Japanese Worcestershire sauce). Slightly gimmicky, but it actually works. 
suanie says hello, baja hitam style, appropriate at a jap restaurant
My set came with 4 pieces of breaded pork tenderloin cutlet (hire katsu), while suanie’s was a mixed of tenderloin and pork loin (hire katsu + rose katsu).
The pork were pretty good, not as good as beef tenderloin of course, but plenty good for a piece of pork that does not involve any big chunk of fat. It was almost healthy too, since they also give free refill of those shredded cabbage.
Besides several types of deep fried pork cutlets, they also serve pork belly soup, deep fried shrimps and oysters. Shall try more next time!
Address:
Tonkatsu
Lot 6.12.00
Level 6,
Pavilion KL,
Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL.
GPS: 3.148872, 101.713368
Tel: 03-2144 2992
I’ve been working at the proximity of Bukit Bintang for over half a year now, and I gotta say that compared to KLCC, this place has so much more lunch options. One of my relatively recent discovery is this little Japanese ramen shop on the first floor at Wisma Cosway – Ton Chan.
Ton Chan at Wisma Cosway
The interior decoration is not unlike other simple Japanese outfit, with plenty of lanterns and empty sake bottles. I spotted a few Japanese dining within, and that was when I decided that this is probably a place worth visiting.
Chasiu ramen with glistering pork & 3/4 boiled egg
On my first visit I ordered the Chasiu Ramen (RM 15), since it’s supposed to be a ramen restaurant, they should serve good chasiu ramen, the original stuff.
And what came was a bowl of ramen with five pieces of chasiu that stared at me so seductively it could make a grown man cry. Half of a perfectly 3/4 boiled egg, plenty of green onion, home made ramen, and their light but tasty soup made up the rest of the dish. It was a bowl of good ramen that ensured my return to this restaurant.
rice with pork, rice with chicken & egg, ramen
On my second visit with a few colleagues, I tried their braised pork with rice. Served with the same half an egg and a side of soup, the braised pork were seriously one of the bests I’ve had. It was fat, succulent, and super savory. I’m gonna have trouble choosing between this and the ramen.
My colleagues tried ramen and liked it, another ordered oyakodon (rice with chicken and egg) and gave good reviews to them too.
A meal at Ton Chan typically costs somewhere around RM 15-25, but you do get real Japanese food that are different from your typical sushi/sashimi shops.
Give it a try if you’re at the area.
Address:
Ramen Ton Chan
Lot 1.18-1.21, 1st Floor
Wisma Cosway
Jalan Sultan Ismail
50540 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.150875, 101.711812
Tel: 03-2148 9389
Non-halal Japanese Ramen used to be a bit of a novelty in this country. For a long time, Wisma Central’s Tenka Daiichi and Ton Chan at Wisma Cosway were two of the few places that serves it.
Mai Ramen at Jaya One
But with the seemingly rapid maturity that Japanese cuisine enjoys in this country over the last decade or so, I’m glad that there are now more ramen shops that don’t feel like they have to make compromises to capture a wider demographic.
Mai Ramen is one of such places, a relatively new comer to the scene that serves ramen as intended – with pork!
chasiu ramen, always my go-to ramen of choice
I ordered basically the measuring stick of any ramen place – chasiu ramen. If you ask for a set, it comes with 3 pretty tasty gyoza, a somewhat forgettable salad, and some interesting salty+spicy vegetable on the side that goes pretty well with the ramen.
As for the bowl of ramen itself, it was certainly not a disappointment. The broth was pretty thick and flavorful, the noodle palatable, and the chasiu were commendable too. It was actually, quite good.
I think we might have over ordered..
Yuki had ramen that comes with unagi. The unagi sauce certainly made the eel tasted as good as any. The 3/4 boil egg in the ramen too were perfectly done. Good stuff.
The yakitori (grilled stuff) at Mai Ramen, on the other hand, were a pretty disappointing affair. They somehow tasted a little old and you don’t get the flavor and punch you’d expect from good yakitori such as those you can get from the excellent Sumi Ka or Hyotan at SS15.
Horng, Yuki, Kerol at Mai Ramen
A dinner at Mai Ramen would come to about RM 20-30 inclusive of drinks. The best ramen I’ve had in the region is still Santouka in Singapore, but Mai Ramen is certainly not a place to be dismissed if you’ve got that pork ramen craving coming. Now I just wish they don’t take nearly as long to serve…
Address:
Mai Ramen
D-13-G, Block D
Jaya One,
No. 72A, Jalan Universiti,
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.117537, 101.635680
Tel: 03-7957-6689
