Sister had returned to Singapore this evening. Mom and I will be traveling to Miri tomorrow morning for a return day trip as I had a dental appointment at 10:30AM. I had intended to drive to Miri today afternoon after dropping Sister off at the airport.
I was so exhausted yesterday evening after coming home from Kota Kinabalu (KK) and dinner at MeetUAll Korean Restaurant, I hit the sack shortly after I had showered. I even fell asleep on the couch before I went to shower.
San Diann, who was also in KK earlier this week tried Ichizo Ramen but I think he wasn’t impressed of the food as much as I was. Prior to going KK, I did my fair share of homework on food hunting and I focused quite a bit on non-Halal Japanese ramen because Mom loves Tonkotsu ramen.
I had originally planned a dinner at Ebizou Japanese Restaurant & Bar but it was no longer in business. Hence, it explained why I ended up at SAKAGURA Japanese Restaurant instead. I am not complaining because the food at SAKAGURA were good! Halal Japanese ramen had never been my priority as Mom preferred Tonkotsu ramen until Thanis Lim recommended me Ichizo Ramen.
I never had high expectation on Halal ramen as I thought Halal soup base would never be as good as Tonkotsu. However, Ichizo Ramen proved me otherwise. Halal ramen soup base can be as good as non-Halal ones too.
Sister and I went Ichizo Ramen twice, once when we were on our own for dinner and we brought Mom for lunch the next day. Without further ado, let me show you what we had at Ichizo Ramen on both of our visits!
Ichizo Ramen Special | RM25.30
Ichizo’s signature soup, mixed seafood and chicken stock served with noodle, 4 pieces of chicken meat, soft boiled egg, kikurage, spring onion, spinach and seaweed
Sister and I had this to share on our first visit to Ichizo Ramen and it was really good. The soup base was extremely addictive despite being slightly salty for our liking.
The main highlight of Ichizo Ramen Special was the soup base. All of Ichizo’s signature soups were made with chicken collagen and boiled over 10 hours. So, you can imagine how rich and thick the soup base was. Despite the thickness and richness of the soup, it didn’t leave you feeling “jelak” but wanting for more.
The second thing which I loved of Ichizo Ramen Special was the texture of the noodle. It was springy or “Q” by Chinese way of saying. LOL! Our dish came with a perfectly done Onsen egg and good amount of black fungus. However, we weren’t being served spinach but Di Wang Miao. The chicken meat were juicy and tender.
I don’t normally do this kind of shot with noodle dish but I must say it looked good and pleasant to the eyes and tummy! The only downside was that the bowl wasn’t centered in the picture. According to Sister, it was good enough and she complained that I have an OCD syndrome when it comes to food photography.
Chicken Ramen | RM15.85
rich and thick chicken soup stock, served with noodle, 2 pieces of chicken meat, kikurage, spinach, spring onion and seaweed
As I mentioned above, Sister and I brought Mom to Ichizo Ramen for lunch the next day before our return flight to Brunei. We ordered Chicken Ramen for her as she didn’t want Onsen egg and wanted nothing fancy. Chicken Ramen sounded just like the perfect fit at the time.
The soup base for Chicken Ramen was a lot thicker than Ichizo Ramen Special. It tasted exactly like chicken oil drips from steamed chicken. It was rich in collagen but definitely health hazardous to the arteries in my opinion. LOL!
Unlike Ichizo Ramen Special, the soup base did leave us feeling “jelak” towards the end of the meal. Having said so, I still think it was a flavorful soup base. The ramen noodle was as usual “Q” in texture.
This was better but it would have been better if the chopsticks were straighter in position. LOL! I had sent this and the above picture to King and he commented that it looked good.
Curry Rice | RM18.90
Japanese traditional curry sauce with rice, carrots, chicken meats, onion and potato
Sister and I ordered Curry Rice to share as we did not want to load ourselves with more gluten as our gluten intake for the past few days had exceeded our daily quotas. As a matter of fact, I think it had exceeded my weekly quota.
The consistency of the curry sauce was a lot watery than the ones I used to have in Brunei. Having said so, it was still good and flavorful in my opinion. The chicken meat were soft and tender. They were the same chicken meat from the ramen dishes.
Verdict: The Halal ramen dishes from Ichizo Ramen certainly left me with a different perspective. I am so used to Tonkotsu to the extent that I thought Halal ones would never be as good. Sister on the other hand commented that she prefers Tonkotsu ramen over the Halal ones at any time. Having said so, she agreed with me that the ones from Ichizo Ramen were equally good.
Customer service at Ichizo Ramen was good. Our food came promptly after we ordered. Pricing was considerably affordable given the currency exchange. However, I do think that it was on the pricier side for the locals.
Ichizo Ramen
Unit #1-37, First Floor,
Suria Sabah Shopping Mall,
Kota Kinabalu 88000,
Sabah,
Malaysia
Tel: +6-088276456
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