Ramen, a Japanese noodle that is served with meat, soup, seaweed and green onions. Ramen noodles are usually hand-made and it is practice until now; while its soup is generally made of stock based be it chicken or pork! The soup base that can be seen widely at most Ramen restaurants would be Shio – clear based soup that consist of Salt, chicken, fish, seaweed; Tonkotsu – pork bone broth that is thick and savory; Shoyu – Soy sauce type base that is clear brown base of chicken and vegetable; and Miso – combination of Miso paste, with chicken or fish that makes it into a flavourful base. Of all, which one would win a place in your heart? (The restaurants are listed in no particular order. Some of the establishments below are not halal.)

1. Bankara Ramen @ Avenue K

Do you love to have a bowl of thick and creamy pork broth ramen in KL? If yes, this would be a good choice! Being one of the Ramen’s top specialists at Tokyo, they are now serving great Ramen at Avenue K in KL! Luscious broth and noodle, they are available with 4 type of soup based of Signature ramen, Hakata-style Tonkotsu ramen, Sapporo-style Miso ramen and Tsukemen. Looking at the most original bowl of Ramen, thick broth that is not overly salty, with thin cut ramen and that piece of chashu that consist of lip-smacking fats! For a change of taste of the broth, add some crushed garlic to get a unique flavor from it!

2. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka @ Pavilion Tokyo Street

Located at Tokyo Street, they serve fresh Hokkaido style ramen in KL. Most of their ingredients are flown in from Japan. Started and founded by Hatanaka from Japan, it is now available here! To begin, let’s try on a bowl of Shio Ramen. Tastes superbly good with a hint of pork essence, it is boiled up to 20 hours a day before. Rich and creamy, it is one of the stars in this restaurant. Apart from its broth, the ramen noodle was fabulous as it is bouncy and wouldn’t be mushy when it is soaked in the broth. There is a house specialty of Tokusen Toroniku Ramen, served with premium pork cheeks and this is the best part to savor from the pig! Tender, moist and flavorful, it is a must try – but due to limited supply, do be there early for it!

3. Menya Kamikaze @ 1 Mont Kiara

At Menya Kamikaze, it has begun getting attention from food enthusiast in KL lately. Offers selection from soup based ramen to dry ramen – Tsukemen-style; this would be your new place for some good slurpy ramen noodles in KL! Their ramen here is served in a huge bowl with very thick broth, flavorful and superbly rich! Plus points given as their Chashu here is thicker cut than the others too! With the combination of that Japanese soft boiled egg, it makes a bowl of ramen complete! Besides the originals, they do have other flavors of Spicy Pork Soup and Miso Pork Soup based too. Talking about their dry ramen – Tsukemen-style, dip the cold ramen into a bowl of broth that is warm and flavorful!

4. Marutama Ramen @ Avenue K

Many would recommend this place for some good ramen in KL. The answer? Yes. This is surely the place to be! Now, for some of you who love the broth to be slightly less thick, this is it. By this, it doesn’t mean that the broth is not rich in taste; its soup stock is basically made from chicken. It is too, equally good! Clear broth, you’ll be surprise that its noodles are springy, smooth and thin. Not forgetting, their eggs here are very well-prepared and its runny yolk the bomb! Less cloying, their chashu rock your bowl of Ramen too! What’s best is that they do not use any MSG! No more feeling thirsty after eating them!

5. Bari-Uma Ramen @ Jaya Shopping Center

More than 40 outlets in Japan, they are now at Malaysia too! To retain their quality, they did import key ingredients directly from Japan! To begin, a bowl of signature ramen is the answer. Shoyu based soup flanked by crispy seaweed surrounding the bowl; you get to choose your ramen noodle firmness ranging from Firm, original or soft. What delights us is that piece of Chashu, is indeed thick enough and it is marinated to absorb all the goodness of the sauces. The fat melts in your mouth and its smoky flavor too lingers in your mouth! Light and not heavy, it is just perfect for the ladies who are ongoing on diet too! While another great thing is that egg, soft-boiled and runny inside, you’ve just got to try them yourself!

6. Menya Musashi @ 1 Utama, Isetan

Having some queues during major meal times, this got to be yet another fantastic place for your ramen fix. Having 4 types of soup base ranging from White, Black, Red and Yellow. What are they exactly? White soup base refers to Onion flavored oil, Black refers to Special Oil with Fried Shallots and garlic oil, Red refers to Musashi Chili flavor oil and Yellow refers to Curry flavor soup base! For a flavorful and good strong soup base, we recommend trying the black one – great flavors of fried shallot and garlic, it is truly one of the best here! Springy noodle texture, their slices of chashu too is good in portion!

7. Hakata Ippudo Ramen @ Various Shopping Malls

Gained trust from fans around the world, they are here in Malaysia too! What makes their ramen extra well is this secret – pork belly! They serve one of the best ramen in town and no doubt it is widely acclaimed too. While the signature of Hakata Style steals the spot light for years here, they have launched 2 new ramens of Shoyu Ramen and Kakuni Ramen. Kakuni ramen features pork cubes simmered with Ippudo’s special soy sauce. Pork slices were extremely thick and good. Besides the two new variant of Ramens, they are now launching 12 other new main dishes and 7 new desserts to choose from!

8. Yamagoya Ramen @ Publika

A franchised outlet from Japan of Kyushu-styled ramens served here in KL, they are located at Publika shopping mall. Having more than 100 outlets in Japan, they are still striving to serve the best even in Malaysia! Uses pork based soup to get that creamy yet not cloying nor oily! Wide variety of Ramen to order here, including special ramen, spicy ramen or kimchi ramen and more to find from their menu here! For the carnivore, go ahead to get that bowl of Char Siu Ramen fix because it is so promising with slices of Char Siu in it! And if you’re a garlic enthusiast like us, their Black garlic Ramen is a must try too! For ladies who are keeping their diet on track, they have this Lemon ramen that is equally good. Slices of lemon on top on the ramen covering the broth, it tastes refreshingly light and good; not forgetting it doesn’t taste cloying too! What are you waiting for? Get your ramen fix today!