Shin Chan Ramen: nice noodle house

It had been a while since I last posted anything to do with food. Not that I had give up on gastronomic delight, but completely opposite, I had been stuffing myself crazy for the past Chinese New Year with mostly Chinese cuisine that I felt it was bit pointless to write about them anyway. Anyway, back to routine now, so expected more to come since I finally got hold of my new S3 mini to capture pics.

Friday afternoon is another good opportunity to try out new things, so me and a colleague sort of drove bit further to Ipoh Garden area for lunch. We decided to try out new shops that both of us had not try before so we scouted for new joints. Along the road from Redcom, few doors from Spice of Penang, sort of side alley from Michaelangelo and within walking distance from Tesco Ipoh Garden, is this new shop. It look more like a Japanese gift shop from outside but the signboard do not lie. Sin Chan Ramen. Ah! What better way to spend lunch than a bowl of hot Japanese noodle.

even Japanese would choose this joint

real paperback manga

not for customers' consumption

The shop deco is minimalist, I really like it a lot. There is even a rack filled with Japanese alcohol. What attracted me is a cupboard full of manga. Not the cheap Taiwanese/ HongKong translated paperback but the one with Japanese words. And the owner even let me have a look at the volumes. Yup, it does give a authentic feel to the whole shop. The whole shop was rather empty for lunch, therefore the service was fast and good.

Hoikoro Ramen (RM15)

Food. I was never a fan of Japanese food. Not that I do not enjoy them, I just do not think they are worth the price. And I am not a fan of shashimi either. However, I do enjoy the usual sushi and bento sets. Ramen?  Am bit on the fence on this one. Probably I had never had a ramen that is out of this world. So, being in this shop with more than half of the menu items are dedicated to different ramen. However, I cant make out the items from the Japanese names and brief one line description. Luckily the waitress was there to help us choose. Basically the idea is few ramen choice plus 3-4 soup choice plus a few accompanying ingredients choices. I chose the Chasu ramen (RM13), which basically is ramen with slices of pork in pork soup. The ramen is rather expected, I would probably have a good plate of wanton mee anytime. However, the soup is rather sweet with meaty taste. Simple but nice. The pork slice is the one that lift this bowl of noodle above the rest. Marinated lightly, the slice taste of... pork. Friend choose Hoikoro ramen (RM15), and the soup base is also similarly simple and nice though I did not taste the noodle. In addition to that we tried the dumpling, gyoza (RM9). Nothing special, it is the usual pan fried dumpling you would find in any dimsum shop. But mix it with vinegar, it did make a good companion to the ramen.

Chasu ramen (RM13)

Overall, the lunch felt rather simple, but sometimes, less is more. It is still cheaper than eating in other Japanese shops in the area, in which I would be ordering either sashimi/ sushi/ bento which will cost a bomb.

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: lack of other staple Japanese choice of sashimi/ sushi. However, the choices of ramen would appeal to some. There is even a table of Japanese people sitting next to our, which is a good indicator.

Shin Chan Ramen
20 Medan Ipoh 1D
Medan Ipoh Bestari
31400, Ipoh
05-5459357
Mon-Fri 11.00am-3.00pm; 6.00pm-10.30pm

Weekends/ Public Holiday: 11.00am- 10.30pm