Of late
there have been numerous Ramen restaurant sprouting out in the Klang Valley in
droves. So, we have this opportunity to savour one of the pioneering Ramen
joint which is Santouka located at 6th Floor, Pavilion Shopping Mall
(Tokyo Street) which serves the authentic Hokkaido style Ramen.
The
restaurant is decorated with wood based setting which inspired the village
setting. Even the tables and chairs and accessories are also mostly wood based
in line with the main theme.
Using the family
recipe the SANTOUKA RAMEN was conceived with the modest salt flavoured Shio
Ramen. The version of the Hokkaido Ramen serves here are the thin-noodle and are imported from Japan.
The next
most important to a perfect bowl of Ramen is the soup, which Santouka brewed up
for all its Ramen, is the Tonkotsu (Pork Bones). The other ingredients added to
brewed up this soup based include vegetables, dried fish, kelp and some secret
ingredient. The soup had to be
maintained at the right temperature (not boiling) and continuous at this right
temperature to ensure the taste is consistent.
We started
with the signature Creamy Shio Ramen serves with Pork Belly. The flavour is not
too overwhelming and was just the right taste to start with.
In
Malaysia, there is also a need for some spicy Ramen, and Santouka have
introduce the Spicy Shio Ramen which have the same Shio based soup but with an added
spices. This was serves with Premium Pork Cheek. This Specialty Ramen is only
available in limited quantity per day. The meat of the Pork Cheek is not tough
and it is very chewy. So, If you are game for Pork Cheek, you have to come
early for this specialty.
Next, we had
the Shoyu Ramen (Soya Sauce) serves with Pork Belly (Char Siu). With the soya sauce based,
it is a little saltier than the Shio but was very flavourful though.
Watch our
second part review on YouTube below.