I bet you have heard of the new section in Pavilion; Tokyo Street. With its section filled with Japanese goodies, restaurants and what’s not, it is hard to miss this part of the lavish shopping mall. Besides, I bet that the blogosphere is filled with writings about this place and the restaurants in it. And I bet that you must have heard, read or even tried the much-raved ramen restaurant named Santouka Hokkaido Ramen.
Well… as always, each to their own thoughts and here are my thoughts about it… and I’ll put it short and simple.
The queue is known to be unusually long during peak hours with customers are willing to wait for their turn at the entrance of the shop. And this somehow plays against me (or my patience) as I, for one, never bother to join any queue of sorts. But the good thing is that the turnover is high and you might just need to wait for a short while before your turn is up.
The ramen dishes come in various sizes (small, regular and large). The cheapest of the lot, which is the small size, is approximately RM20 or so depending on the type of broth you choose/like. The service was commendable but it took awhile for the dishes to arrive.
Shoyu Ramen (RM22.50)
Despite the ramen was being springy and nicely cooked, and not forgetting the decent portion for the small size, my only complaint about it is the ingredients that came along with the noodles. For RM22.50, I would expect something more than just a measly thin slice of pork cutlet and a negligible slice of naruto (fishcake – more like a decoration purpose than contributing to the taste). I reckon that if they are going to charge at premium rate, the least they could do is to give another slice or so… although the main stars of the dish are the ramen and broth.
Miso Ramen (RM22.50)
Taste wise, despite being a pork broth, it was alright although it didn’t really knock my socks off. I had better one like this one, which wins by a mile! Oh… if you are not a big fan of bamboo shoots, make sure you tell them ahead as mine came with it.
Chicken Gyoza (RM10)
Since there’s only one slice of meat in the noodles, ordering a side dish became a compulsory option… for meat lover like me. The Chicken Gyoza (RM10) was a-okay but there were more vegetables than minced chicken meats in it. A disappointment? Not really since the skin with decently thin and fried to perfection but I’d like my gyoza to be packed with more meat.
All in all, does it worth the wait for all the hype of it? It is a ‘No’ from me at least. The taste was just alright but the price is definitely not justifiable for the given ingredients. Will I ever go back again? I will… that’s if I have to. But then again, as I mentioned early, different people have different preference. What works for you might not work for me. It might though… if there are more proteins in the noodles. Yes, I love my dishes to be filled with meat.
Address:
Lot 6.24.03, Level 6,
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur,
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Telephone Number : +603 2143 8878
