Ramen @ Ramen Kanbe, 163 Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

 

Well, we all know that this will come eventually. Being living in Hakata for most of my life in Japan, there will come a time that someone from home ask me if I have tried Kanbe before. Well, I have not since, it is obvious I cant just rock up there as I live in Japan. And when I am home I always try to avoid Japanese food for also, obvious reasons. But after years of pestering and egging, I finally found myself lining up for ramen outside Japan after so long. 

Almost no line!

For those not in the know, Kanbe is a small ramen chain that has been taking the Malaysian food scene by storm. Many people say that it is like the real deal, which was why many friends and relatives ask me to see if that was the case. And that chance came during a work trip back home. I was in the 163 Mont Kiara building with my cousin on a Wednesday and found that the place had no line. Might as well right?

Oh looks pretty decent. 

I was given an order chit on what I would like to have my ramen made. I just said "give me the boss recommendation". This then lead me to pick everything at the "medium" scale and my seasoning oil the chilli one. And not too long my bowl of noodles arrived. So how was it? Personally, it definitely looked correct and tasted correct. The soup was rich but not too thick. It is like a creamy layer of seduction but it does not cling on your tongue for too long. Imagine a clean but still somewhat punchy pork bone broth. Well, that is how proper tonkotsu is made. So having that down gave them many brownie points on my book. The chilli paste that came with that gave it a great kick which was amazing.

Let the slurping begin. 

The noodles were pretty good too. Springly with some nutty aftertones, I like that. it goes well with the ramen broth, and it sort of cling to it without being too soggy. If the soft noodles or hard noodles were at play here, which you can certainly choose when it comes to their texture, it will not work. For the uninitiated, especially Malaysians, I know we all like customising stuff. But if you have no idea what you are looking for, especially when it comes to Japanese food, let the staff or owner give you the recommendation. they have perfected their wares before they set up shop. So do have a go what they have perfected once, then only decide if some extra touch from your end is needed. 

With all that chilli paste on it, the porky treat is real fire. 

The charshu was great as well. The pork was flaky and has a lot of fat on them. I like the fact that despite being so tender, it was able to hold up its shape, which making eating this monster relatively easy. My doctor would not approve that is for sure. But in any event, the gym is still open once I return to Japan so no worries there. But if somehow you still itch for some customisation after the bowl arrived, there are some additional condiments on the table. I do recommend adding some pickled greens, into the broth midway. It provide some saltiness and tartness which makes it slightly zesty and elevated. 

The verdict

Overall, how is the verdict? Well an empty bowl is the ultimate proof. Standing at RM 30, this is somewhat decent, since ramen in Japan now hovers around the 1000 yen mark for the standard bowl. Not too bad price wise when it comes to the current exchange rate. 

Another look at the front of the house. 

Will I come over again? Probably not, but at least I can tell people that I been to Kanbe before and I can tell them that tit is legit. Then again, some of the staff are Japanese so if they do not know what they are doing, they should have picked a different profession. But I digress. So if you fancy a go, then the address is as follows:

GF-08, 163 Retail Park, No.8 Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 50480