Hakata Ippudo (博多一風堂) Pavilion Review

Hakata Ippudo (博多一風堂) Pavilion Review

Well, it is no longer a fresh news but it is still worth a mention here. The Hakata Ippudo or Ippudo in short finally opened in Malaysia. It’s flagship restaurant is located at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Connection Level 4, conveniently below the GSC cinemas.

Originated from Fukuoka, Ippudo has outlets in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, China and lately Malaysia. It is highly regarded for its ramen and its pork based broth. I was invited to review their ramen before their opening last month together with a group of bloggers.

Let’s start with Goma Q. Fresh Japanese cucumber with sesame. It is like a cucumber salad topped with sesame.

Crispy corn, corn deep fried tempura style, my first time having this, this could be addictive.

Pork bun, steamed bun with braised pork with Ippudo sauce. Steamed bun is similar to “man tou” and the braised pork is juicy.

There were a few more side dishes served that evening but I will prefer to go straight to the main event, the ramen.

Karaka-men, this is not related to neither Karate nor any men. It is the Ippudo’s original tonkotsu broth with special spicy miso and ground pork. Instead of the usual Ippudo’s ramen broth, this is for the adventurous ones who love hot and spicy in their soup. Remember, you get to choose one of three types of ramen noodles.

Akamaru Shinaji. This is Ippudo’s original tonkotsu broth (pork broth) enhanced with special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil. It is served with thin noodles, belly chasu (pork belly), kikurage and spring onions. It is considered as a modern-style ramen. They said nothing beats the original and I will stick to that. I preferred this version of ramen than the spicy karaka-men.

The ramen lived up to its reputation and I believe the tonkatsu broth plays a key role to that. A bowl of their signature ramen starts from RM 28 and arguably reasonable given the quality delivered. On top of its good ramen, the services are commendable. One of the key staffs from Ippudo New York is stationed in this Kuala Lumpur outlet to make sure the operation runs smoothly like the rest of the franchise. Hence, there were notably a group of Japanese working in the kitchen and the servicing staffs are well trained. Given the high reputation, good food and great services, you can see long queue outside of the restaurant everyday. I believe it will not take long for Ippudo to consider a second outlet in Kuala Lumpur but before that, you should pay them a visit before the queue gets longer.

Hakata Ippudo (博多一風堂) Pavilion Address, Phone and Contact:

Lot C4.07.00,

Connection Level 4,

Pavilion KL.

Tel: 03 2110 6233

11am – 11pm (daily)

Wilson Ng