Mai Ramen Cafe, Jaya One: Slurped My Mojo Back

I'm sorry for the lack of posts or tweets recently. It's been hard finding my mojo back after flushing it down the toilet. I thought a holiday to Krabi would fix it, but I came back feeling more disconnected than ever. It happens to the best of us. But thankfully after last weekend's shopping spree, I now feel whole again and the dry spell is officially over. Well, at least I have my fingers crossed on the latter.

Last week, while waiting in queue for the 4, I was thinking about how much I missed the impromptu lunches a few of us shared in the past. I MMS-ed a familiar picture of a noodle dish to @hermajesty and she replied, "Ahhh... such good times." Indeed, they were really good times. Small intimate sessions that took our minds far from work; even if it was just for an hour.

Then, yesterday happened. Finally, the long spell of mid-day gathering was broken. I recieved an early morning text from @sistabanana, "Get your ass ready for lunch, I'm coming to kidnap you to that ramen place." My day was off to a good start and I counted the hours till it was time to escape. I was also surprised to find out that @ahpa was already on his way there to have lunch with @hansumbiceps when she picked me up. And so there it was, our kismet lunch. Small, cozy and filled with laughters to chase away any Monday blues that was hovering above us.



Mai Ramen Cafe is a cozy shop located on the fringe of Jaya One's main square and is a perfect place to head to when you feel like some traditional (read non-halal) Japanese ramen dishes. Their comforting noodle broth was fabulously made from pork stock and will definitely make you glee-er than the kids in GLEE. Whether you order the Gyoza Ramen or Buta Kakuni Ramen, you'll be slurping up those noodles in a wonderful tune. The gyoza dumplings were well constructed and tasted just as good as they look; none of those thick chewy skins and tasteless minced stuffing if you know what I mean.

Pork Rolls or better known as chasyu at ramen stores in KL are usually dry and has nothing on its Chinese cousins. However, the ones served here surpasses any of my expectations. The nice layering of fats not only made them more succulent and indulgent, it made them tastier too. Lard rules! Speaking of lards, don't go home without trying my favourite dish here, the Mai Inari. This was no ordinary sushi and was topped with a chunky piece of braised pork, like something you'd find in a good pot of tau yu bak. It had a beautiful layer of fats still attached to its soft tender meat and a token piece of healthy green leaf to balance off the dish. I'm pretty sure some enterprising bak kut teh seller is going to start selling this yummy treat one of these days.



Lunch set menus are also available from RM13.90 onwards, it's very reasonable if you ask me since it comes with a bowl of ramen, 3 pieces of gyoza and a cup of tea. Not too shabby.

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Mai Ramen Cafe
13-G, Block D, Jaya One
72A, Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia. 
Tel: +603-7957 6689