Shin Haru Tei, Jaya One: Blue & Red Ramen Specials

Ramen in a naturally coloured broth of soothing steel blue, alongside another rendition that's fiery red: Shin Haru Tei has introduced two new ramen recipes with strikingly eye-catching hues, perfect for adventurous Japanese food explorers seeking a vibrant change from conventional bowls of noodles.

The blue ramen is definitely the most distinctive one - inspired by the creation of a Tokyo ramen shop, Shin Haru Tei puts a special Malaysian spin on this hue, not quite the colour of the sky or the ocean. There are two secret ingredients to this broth - one is Japanese in origin, the other is Malaysian; one is secured from the sea, the other is harvested from the earth. The noodles too take on the tinge of blue, making this the most intriguing ramen you might have in the Klang Valley this month.

The base for the clear broth is a mix of the classic and the creative, built initially with chicken bones slow-boiled over fire for three hours, mixed with a French-style aromatic mirepoix vegetable stock. It's a lovely, light flavour with enjoyable nuances, even without the blue. 

This is topped with chicken thigh char siu, exclusively crafted for this limited-edition ramen (a reasonably priced RM23.90, with about 20 bowls served each day) that should satisfy fans of chicken-based ramen as well as folks seeking fun inspiration for their Instagram feeds. Currently only available at Shin Haru Tei in Jaya One, as well as its sister outlet, Haru Tei, in Setapak's PV128.

The red should be relatively easy for most customers to figure out, a Japanese-Chinese concoction that weds the ramen with a paste of Szechuan peppercorns (RM23.90). This is unmistakably fragrant, a must for mala fans, but its spice level remains at a comfortable level that shouldn't upset most stomachs; we were sweating while eating this, but the pain was tolerably pleasurable. A terrific choice for customers who love spicy noodles, rounded out here with tender pork cha-shu and a whole egg.

Shin Haru Tei has become even more inviting since our last visit, with beautifully photographed images of Japanese scenes now lining the walls. The restaurant also has increased its health and safety precautions, including with a German-built dishwasher that cleanses all bowls, plates and cutlery with steaming-hot water for reassuring sanitation.

Many thanks to Shin Haru Tei for having us back.

Shin Haru Tei

69-P1, Block D, Jaya One, The Suite, No 72A, Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Daily, 11am-930pm. Tel: 03-7931-9733

The blue and red ramen are also available at Haru Tei in PV128, Setapak.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Shin Haru Tei, Jaya One

The latest hideout for Japanese food fans in Jaya One, Shin Haru Tei is a distinctive destination that tackles two different genres - soulful fare that spans classic ramen and rice bowls, as well as yoshoku-style Western-influenced recipes that embody a more contemporary culinary spirit.

Newly launched this year, Shin Haru Tei remains a well-kept secret, spearheaded by Chef Richie Ng, a Malaysian who has sharpened his skills under Japanese mentors, with 16 years of experience so far in the sultry art of Japanese street cooking (with six years specialising purely in ramen).

If you're seeking a Japanese meal that marries time-honoured traditions with tantalising twists, Shin Haru Tei is worth bookmarking.

Ramen is our painstakingly prepared introduction to Shin Haru Tei, with no shortcuts in crafting its traditional broth, taking 12 hours to boil pork bones, trotters and skin for an authentic base. No milk is added for any artificial creaminess, no MSG is used to up its natural umami - all the goodness of the collagen-rich tonkotsu broth comes purely from the pork.

The top temptation is the Ooki Chashu Ramen, with a chunky slab of pork belly to top the ramen, succulently layered with flesh and fat, marinated in mirin and soy for an unmistakably Japanese sweetness, torched to order, a meaty companion for the thin, smooth noodles in broth that's relatively light-textured but robust-tasting. You can also choose other broths for this, including miso, spicy or Shin Haru Tei's fusion pesto broth (laced with basil for Japanese-Italian fusion fun).

The ramen with the full Ooki Chashu ('ookii' is Japanese for big) clocks in reasonably at RM28.90+, complete with all the other essential accompaniments, including a whole, irresistibly creamy-yolked ajitsuke tamago for the egg enthusiast. If you'd like the Ooki Chashu on its own, it's RM18.90+.

You'll also find eight other ramen recipes available, each priced at RM17.90-RM18.90+, a solid bargain at this time when ramen at many other joints breach the RM30 threshold.

The Tonkotsu is the cornerstone, with the regular rolled chashu, as luscious as we like it, plus the seasoned egg, seaweed, black fungus and spring onions. Other options include Miso, Spicy, Pesto, the Korean-inflected Kimchi, Tan Tan (with minced meat), Abura (with minced meat and onsen egg in slightly spicy broth), and Hiyashi (in cold broth with wasabi) - lots of variety for ramen enthusiasts.

Comfort can also be uncovered in rice bowls, with nine types of donburi now available, all served with miso soup. The Gyu Don is our best bet, with tenderly mellow simmered beef, sweet with onions, layered on the rice with the runniest egg (RM16.90), but the other bowls also sound well worthwhile, from the crowd-pleasing Oyako Don (with chicken and egg) and Karaage Rice (with Japanese fried chicken) to the pork lover's Chashu, Buta Kimchi (pork slices with stir-fried kimchi), Shogayaki (pork slices with ginger sauce) and Kakuni (slow-braised pork belly), plus young-at-heart treats like Cheese Curry Rice and premium indulgences like Una Don (with grilled eel and omelette).

What makes Shin Haru Tei doubly delightful is its newly introduced yoshoku selection, a confident repertoire that would be at home in a modern Tokyo cafe.

If you're a hamburg (hanbagu) hunter, Shin Haru Tei's pork rendition of these ground meat patties is super-satisfying - more flesh, nearly no filler except for egg white - with a beautifully textured bite constructed with a 30 percent fat content to 70 percent meat, with a tangy, tomato-tinged sauce to brighten up the ensemble with a lovely potato salad, tomato, broccoli and other fresh vegetables.

We're equally impressed with Shin Haru Tei's other protein pleasures - the Australian roast beef striploin is as enjoyable as a respected steakhouse's, best savoured medium-rare, buoyant with citrusy yuzu kosho spicy paste for a Japanese flourish, while the Spanish iberico ribs are lip-smacking to the bone, with a firm chew and fragrant char, slicked up by a soy-based sweet sauce that's livelier than Western BBQ glazes.

It's rare to see a Japanese kitchen adept with all these offerings, making Shin Haru Tei a welcome entry to the Klang Valley's food landscape. Many thanks to the team here for having us.

Shin Haru Tei
69-P1, Block D, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Open Monday-Wednesday, 1030am-9pm; Thursday-Sunday, 1130am-9pm. Tel: 03-7931-9733

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Hop Beer Bar, Jaya One

Jumping into Jaya One, PJ's latest craft beer bar is a casually friendly space where customers can stroll up to the self-service fridge and pick up a cold one of their choice (perhaps an American IPA like the Californian-brewed A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale) or have a pint freshly poured out for you (for an East Coast contrast, New York's own Brooklyn East is currently available on tap).

HOP Beer Bar
G.015, The Square, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya, 46200 Selangor. Daily, 3pm-1am; closed Sundays. Tel: 03-7931-3330

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Tommy Thongchai, Jaya One

In a city that's awash with Thai cuisine, most eateries swim with the tide of tom yum goong, green curries, papaya salads and pad Thai that floods so many menus in the Klang Valley. Tommy Thongchai, however, makes a major splash with a gastrobar-style selection that dives into the deep waters of Thai cooking and resurfaces with fresh, reinvigorating recipes that showcase international inspirations with playful, crowd-pleasing skill. Head here for a fun meal that'll easily keep you returning for more.

Rustle up the entire gang for a trip to this restaurant, the better to share in Tommy's Drinking Platter, putting a uniquely Thai spin on pub grub. This princely portion for four persons boasts a king's ransom of spectacular starters - one bite of Tommy's moo ping might convince you that these are the most satisfying grilled pork skewers in Petaling Jaya, made with collar meat, lusciously fleshy and sweetly savoury without being cloying.

There's plenty more for merry munching: succulent Chiang Mai herbed pork sausage with a tamarind chilli dip; fried marinated pork belly that's crisp to the bite and juicy to the chew with a fresh chilli dip; fries heaped with robustly tender pulled pork garlanded with garlic aioli; wonton skin nachos with pork ragout; battered spiced calamari; luncheon meat fries; and pork riblets with fried garlic - an indulgence to devour on those calories-shouldn't-count evenings after a long day or week at work.

And while a platter like this pairs perfectly with beer, it might be best to couple it this time with Thai-inflected cocktails instead (more on that in a bit!).

Salads also secure a mouth-watering makeover: Even if you've eaten hundreds of Caesar salads over the years, it's likely you've never had one like Tommy's, served sizzling on a hot plate with an onsen egg, spam croutons, corn and house-made Caesar dressing - certainly not the healthiest salad ever but certifiably a memorable one, bursting with lip-smacking flavours and textures (RM26). The traditional pomelo salad is also a far cry from rabbit food, tossed with white prawns and imported Thai pomelo in a yum som-o dressing that displays delicious depth (RM26).

Round out the appetisers with a series of protein-powered skewers that span the bovine (Black Angus rib eye and Australian beef tongue), the porcine (meatballs and intestines) and lamb (New Zealand shoulder meat), charcoal-grilled to smoky, sink-your-teeth-into-this succulence (RM5-RM19 each).

What would happen if you transplanted an all-American diner into the heart of Bangkok? Tommy Thongchai offers a tantalising glimpse of that potential - the chili dog brings together Coney Island and Chiang Mai, plopping a punchy northern Thai sausage into a fluffy bun, blanketed across its length with rich pork ragout for possibly the tastiest hot dog we've had in Malaysia in years, bolstered by Thai-spiced fries (RM28).

For burger enthusiasts, Tommy Thongchai could merit a visit for the Thai-informed burgers alone, stuffed with everything from deep-fried battered chicken topped with an uplifting som tam slaw (RM28) to a larb moo tod herbed pork patty with laarb slaw, krapao pork patty with fried egg, and deep-fried sea bass with tom yum aioli. The chicken burger is a terrific ambassador for the art of infusing the classic dynamics of Asian flavours into contemporary burgers.

Ultimately, Tommy Thongchai thrives in serving up comfort food for every palate - from pastas like the Pad Kee Mao Spaghetti (RM26; an Italian reinterpretation of Thailand's stir-fried 'drunken noodles,' buoyed by seafood and holy basil in a slick mix of soy, fish and oyster sauces) and Thongchai's Mac & Cheese (RM35; loaded with krapao pork in ooey-gooey decadence) ...

... to rice platters and soup bowls - the Chiang Mai sausage fried rice brings back the herbed pork sausage that we can't get enough of, a moreish match with aromatic Thai jasmine rice and prawn crackers (RM19), while The Staff's Meal started out as something for the kitchen crew, but it turned out so triumphantly, it has earned a permanent spot on the menu, thanks to the substantial bowl of fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, meatballs and crunchy lard in a soulful broth that a Thai matriarch would approve of, completed with steamed rice for a meal that'll instantly restore your spirits (RM21).

Speaking of spirits, that's the final secret weapon in Tommy Thongchai's arsenal, courtesy of cocktails imbued with influences from the Land of Smiles.

P'month, the man behind the bar, has three decades of experience in the craft of cocktails, having reputedly produced potions for everyone from the late Thai king to the Queen of England, honing his craft in luxury hotels, speakeasy-style bars and beyond - the fact that Tommy Thongchai flew him into KL from Bangkok to be its resident mixologist speaks volumes about the venue's determination to be a serious destination for cocktail devotees, with P'month relying on many own-infused liqueurs.

Tommy Thongchai might have PJ’s best happy hour bargains for cocktails - while its cocktails are typically listed at RM28-RM35 on the menu, Tommy Thongchai is currently serving most of the cocktails at RM20 each, all day long (1130am through midnight) for its opening special promotion. A fantastic bargain, considering the quality of the cocktails, which rely on premium liqueur.

Thai elements abound, in treasures like the Tub Tim Gem (Thai homemade herb whiskey, lime, mint) and Tommy's Tom Yum Thai (vodka, lime, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime). Beverages prove well-balanced and potently refreshing, notably the Bussaba (tequila, mango, passion fruit, lychee, lime) and the Bussarakam Gem (butterfly pea-infused vodka with bourbon, bianco, apple, lime and pandan, presented in ice to keep it cool even if the conversation runs long).

The curation of cocktails is extensive, so it'll require multiple visits to explore its horizons - other ideal introductions include the Amphan Gem (gin, rosella juice, palm juice, lime juice, vanilla), Soi Cowboy (Thai whiskey, lime, mint, soda) and Thai Tea With A Kick (rum, Thai tea, pineapple, lime, honey ginger). Classic cocktails like the Negroni and Old Fashioned are available too. Similar to the food, the drinks here are imaginatively conceived and irreproachably constructed.

All in all, Tommy Thongchai should be a solid recommendation for patrons seeking a distinctive difference in their dining experience. Many thanks to the team here for an enjoyable evening.

Tommy Thongchai
G.005, The Square, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 012-901-2848