In a city where ramen restaurants are in every major mall, Menya Appare stands out for its detailed dedication to delicious bowls.
With two Japanese chefs who specialise in the art of ramen, consistent authenticity can be assured. But beyond their masterful techniques, Menya Appare’s ingredients are impressive too.
Menya Appare's pork bone broth takes 48 hours to prepare from scratch, with more than 20 steps that provide a painstaking framework for how the bones are crushed to extract their pure flavour and slow-cooked for a delicate depth of richness.
Two types of charsiew are offered, harnessing belly and shoulder meat sourced straight from Malaysian pork farms. The belly is marinated for a full day, slow-cooked for maximum tenderness, and quick-seared just before serving, while the shoulder is salt-cured for a lovely concentration of flavour, then baked in a steam oven to a golden brown. The result: Melt-in-the-mouth belly, alongside firm, chunky shoulder with the perfect balance of fat and lean.
The restaurant's noodles are made in an exclusive collaboration with a trusted mill, in two versions - thin or medium-thick - with precise attention to their length, thickness and texture. Carb-counting customers can choose to swap the noodles out for vegetables instead!
Even the eggs are exceptional - Ipoh-farmed Kenkori eggs with luscious yolks, steeped in special Japanese soy sauce for at least half a day. And remember to order a side of fried chicken too - the karaage are hand-prepped one by one, marinated overnight in a secret salt tare.
Everything comes together terrifically for some of KL's most harmonious bowls of ramen, singing with soothing soulfulness. If you love ramen, bookmark Menya Appare for your next meal, exclusively available for now inside Isetan in The Gardens Mall.
Fun fact: Appare is Japanese for wonderful and worthy - a name that the restaurant lives up to!
Appare's Chef Ishizuka and Chef Ando
The restaurant is a spacious, serene sanctuary in this bustling mall.
With 40 seats spread through multiple sections, there's a corner for everyone, whether you're here solo for a fast, fuss-free lunch or meeting ramen-loving friends for a leisurely dinner.
Menya Appare's team is committed to the spirit of omotenashi - selfless customer service - so that each guest enjoys the most pleasant experience possible.
Deluxe Tonkotsu Ramen
The Tonkotsu Ramen (RM30-RM44, depending on the toppings) is the ideal introduction.
At first slurp of the soup, the comprehensiveness of flavour is clear - the pork bone broth is enriched with natural salt, plus seafood like scallops, abalone and dried sardines, blended with kelp and shiitake mushrooms. Despite the bevy of components, the broth isn't overpowering - it's deep and resonant with undercurrents of savoury and briny notes, meaty and earthy but not cloying or gamy, upliftingly peppered with shichimi togarashi for a subtle citrusy spice.
Noodles can be tailored to your preference - thin or medium-thick; hard, normal or soft (we recommend hard for a full-bodied bite). Smooth and chewy, they're so satisfying, but if you want a lower-calorie choice, have the noodles replaced with cabbage, radish and bean sprouts.
Last but not least, the charsiew is the final star of this show - Menya Appare takes pride in sourcing locally farmed pork with clean, clear flavours. The pork shoulder is triumphantly tender and fleshy, while the belly is everything we crave from a sinful, succulent cut.
Season the ramen further if desired with Menya Appare's own vinegar, laced with kelp, plus chilli flakes and chilli oil that channel a mala-like sensation of numbness, and a free flow of sesame seeds and grated garlic for aroma addicts.
Deluxe Miso Tonkotsu Ramen
Beyond the fundamental tonkotsu, Menya Appare's repertoire includes Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen (sharpened with soy sauce that's made with organic soybeans, refreshingly brightened with yuzu), Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen (showcasing raayu chilli oil blended in Menya Appare's kitchen with 10 different spices and a hint of sweetness to balance the heat), Black Tonkotsu Ramen (fragrant with no fewer than seven kinds of garlic infused in a bittersweet oil) and Miso Tonkotsu Ramen (using Kyoto's Nishino miso, accentuated with aozansho peppers).
These might seem like familiar recipes to ramen aficionados, but Menya Appare elevates each one with its own flair, creating captivating flavours - we'll be returning to explore each ramen!
Tokyo-Style Dry Ramen
Tokyo-Style Dry Ramen - or abura soba - is also available; this is just as delightful without the broth, since Menya Appare has carefully calibrated everything from the extra-thick noodles for a potent chew to the umami-saturated soy sauce, tinged with grade-A pork back fat and bonito flakes. Mix it all up thickly with the freshest Kenkori raw egg yolk, house-fried garlic and nuts, sprinkled with a squeeze of lemon - a rush of headiness, absolutely addictive!
Tsukemen
Regulars will appreciate how Menya Appare serves seasonal specials like Tsukemen to keep the variety coming - these dipping noodles with robustly hot broth deserve a place on Menya Appare's permanent menu!
Also try the perennially popular side dishes, like Spicy Chicken Nanban, whose kick comes from green chillies infused in nanban sauce, topped over joyously juicy flesh concealed in crisply compelling batter. Other favourites include perfectly grilled dumplings and the sizzling aromatic Iron Plate Fried Rice.
Menya Appare
The Table by Isetan, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 11am-9:15pm. Tel: 019-385-1955 (no reservations; walk-in only)
