Ramen @ Maruki Ramen, The Linc, Kuala Lumpur

Mazesoba was a great new introduction to Japanese noodles for me, but in the end, a hot soupy bowl is what I need. And after a stroll around the Linc I found another ramen shop that caught my eye. Do not worry I did not have ramen right after that. I love ramen, but a guy still needs to check his portions. 

Empty before the lunch rush.

Maruki Ramen prides itself to be authentic, while still being accessible to all. Which means, its halal. I know some nood fanatics go crazy when there is no pork in their ramem. But good ramen is good ramen, regardless of ingredients. My favourite ramen soup type is 鳥白汁 (tori paitan aka white chicken soup), similar to the ipoh style chicken soup, and tonkotsu a close second. So there you have it. Also, if done right vegan ramen can be amazing. But that is a topic for another day. And for this day I had a bowl of shio ramen.

Clean

And being shio ramen, it has a clean and bright colour. No strong tare here and being a clear chicken soup, 鳥清汁 (tori chintan), the chicken flavour is quite pronounced. I was a bit disappointed at my first slurp of the soup. But in hindsight, it was actually beautifully done. The chicken taste was clean and have a pure and sweet aftertaste. Imagine a stronger version of the chicken soup you get from your chicken rice shop, minus the daikon or chinese cabbage that usually comes with it. This was very similar. And as such, this also lead to an easier time on the stomach. Ramen soup tends to be quite heavy but I felt really good after this bowl. 

It does look like charshu though. 

One thing I have to give a nod to is that they do no disguise their chicken as "charshu". Charshu needs to be pork.  In its place, a ballotine of chicken, which they called a chicken roll, came by as a good substitute. It does look the part too. And speaking of toppings, the egg was really gorgeous. Like a sunset in a cup sort of gorgeous. 

Golden hues of umami

The noodles were serviceable. I have to admit I prefer a thicker cut noodle. My only exception is for tonkotsu or the aforementioned tori paitan, as a collagen thick broth will be able to make thin cut noodles more full bodied. Having a smooth texture in the soup for this one, I personally prefer something more dense and chewy. But this is a personal preference issue. 

Another angle of the premises. Social distancing much. 

So what is my final verdict? I have to say not bad at all. It is a bit pricey, standing at RM 25.90 for a bowl, with a slice of chicken roll and half an egg. Then again, being located in this part of the city, I guess the price is justified. And if you want to push the price further, the do have wagyu ramen which is almost RM70! Sounds interesting, but I think my wallet will beg to differ.  Is it my number 1? Far from it. Be that as it may, it was a decent bowl and a great place to get a filling lunch.  Still, I will probably visit this place again. If you are to drop by the Linc for a hot steamy bowl, the address is as follows: 

Lot 2-23, Level 2, The Linc KL No, 360, Jalan Tun Razak,50400 Kuala Lumpur

You cannot miss this sign.