For a change, try a lighter ‘tonkotsu’ ramen cooked by a Japanese chef at PJ’s Restoran SS2 Chow Yang Kopitiam.

PETALING JAYA, April 8 — Within the confines of a local coffee shop, you  can sometimes find something different from the usual wantan mee, char kway teow or chicken rice but Japanese ramen?

With a cheaper cost model, these ramen bowls are priced lower than those at a stand-alone restaurant, appealing to budget-conscious diners.

Opened in March this year inside Restoran SS2 Chow Yang Kopitiam, Ramen Ichinisan is run by Japanese chef Masahiro Saito and his Malaysian wife.

Previously he operated a stall inside Jalan Ipoh’s Keng Nam Hai and was featured by several social media platforms.

Choices are aplenty at this vast coffee shop that spans four shoplots. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

This move to SS2 makes more sense as it’s nearer to the couple’s home base.

Using a tonkotsu pork bone base, there are three variations: shoyu, black garlic and spicy.

Their tonkotsu soup leans towards a lighter style and is definitely less salty, so you won’t immediately need water or coffee to banish that lingering aftertaste.

It may not appeal to those who prefer a thicker fattier broth with a heavier taste and a stronger salt profile.

While those types of ramen bowls offer a full punch of savoriness from the first sip, I often suffer later because my tongue cannot adjust to the saltiness and richness from the fats used.

Burn your tongue with this Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen mixed with the potent chilli paste and minced raw garlic. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen (RM19) includes a burnt garlic oil for a smokiness while their Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen is rich with the soy sauce used.

Fiery chilli fiends can relish the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen (RM20), as once you mix in the potent red paste and minced raw garlic, you may be wiping away tears as you drink the broth.

The bowls are dressed with homemade chashu, a marinated egg, ito togarashi (red chili threads), narutomaki (fishcake) and vegetables.

Made in-house, the chashu is cut into meaty slices and grilled to achieve a smoky flavour.

Dry Noodles with Wasabi has smoky flavours from the grilled ‘chashu’ pieces. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

The noodles are sourced from a distributor but ask for it to be cooked to your preferred texture. .

There’s also the unusual Dry Noodles with Wasabi (RM18), which I decided to pack home to sample.

The flavour comes from the chashu, which is chopped into small pieces and grilled to give it an enticing smoky flavour.

Mix the chashu with the ramen, egg, vegetables and the packet of wasabi.

It gets a little dry on its own without a sauce but you can rectify this by adding some of their tonkotsu broth from your bowl of Shoyu Tonkotsu.

You also don’t get much of the pungent wasabi paste with just one packet so ask for extra to ramp up the flavours.

With a lighter taste for the ramen, this leaves room to add a plate of popiah or in my case, some pieces of yong tau foo from the Ipoh Mali stall.

The stall is located at the furthest lot from the corner. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Take note the ramen stall is at the furthest lot from the corner.

Ramen Ichinisan Stall

Restoran SS2 Chow Yang Kopitiam,

44, 46, 48 and 50, Jalan SS2/10,

Petaling Jaya.

Open: 8.30am to 2.30pm. Closed on Mondays.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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