We’ve been a frequent eater here since our friend Joey (not the real name) introduced this place to us. You could say we’re hooked instantly.
Our must is the tori karaage, the chicken dish. I never miss out this number on every single visit. It sure is a joyful thing that meant to be shared. Such a simple dish yet very subtle and addictive. The exterior skin is very crunchy and the interior flesh is very moist. It has this garlicky flavor that is not too-much-it-bothers-you, it is just plainly good. But if you want the strong garlic taste you can get it straight from the condiment that comes along with it; generous sprinkle of fried garlic. It is also accompanied with a salty pepperish dusty thingy (maybe a mixture of salt and pepper); kinda remind us of a fried pigeon dish.
Because we love the tori karaage so much we also tried the jigoku tori kara. Basically it is the same with the tori karaage but after they fried the chicken they put the jigoku sauce which is spicy yet sweet. You can still find it crispy although all covered with sauce. Mostly it is quite nice, but we still prefer the tori karaage.
But of course, the main star is the ramen itself. There are many varieties of ramen; you will have a hard time choosing hehehe especially for Librans like us. But there are only 2 types of noodle: straight or curly. Please eat them while they’re still hot because cold soup is a no-no.
The safe choice is always the Shoyu Ramen. Everybody loves it. Shoyu ramen never tastes too complicated. It hit us with its simplicity. The flavor is light but tasty, you can taste the shoyu beautifully when you slurped the soup. In this eatery, shoyu ramen is my comfort ramen.
Then comes the star, the Jigoku Ramen, the salty, hot and spicy ramen. This jolting dish comes with several level of spiciness which are 38 (please cmiiw). To be honest we can’t imagine eating Jigoku Ramen with the maximum level, because for us, number 4 is HOT enough to make our body sweat bullets, LITERALLY!!
The Miso Ramen is a downer for me; it is still good, but not as expected. Maybe because the flavor is too much; so much that it confuses my tongue hehehe. I’ve been a fan of Miso Ramen everywhere because it is a ‘safe’ ramen for a Moslim like me. Sing Sing Ramen in Wijaya still serves the best Miso ramen so far.
The dark horse definitely is the Goma Kara Ramen. It is unexpectedly good! It is so yummy that I emptied the bowl instantly. As you can see the soup is heavy looking and not clear at all. It consists of minced chicken, lots of it. By judging the picture you’ll guess that the taste will be too heavy and complicated but the truth that it is not, the ingredients blend together so well. You can taste a little bit of miso, and of course, sesame flavor in it.
Please take notes that, there’s a slight difference between each branch. Like the topping for instance, in Melawai, they don’t have the ’chicken’ topping, they only have ‘beef’ topping, in the other hand, Pondok Indah has the ‘chicken’ topping and if you want the ‘beef’ topping you have to request it. Also in Melawai the shoju ramen comes with half an egg but in Pondok Indah it comes with 2 slices of ‘chicken’ topping.
For you moslem people, please do ask the waiter for halal food, if not the possibility of the food containing pork would be soooo high.
If you still have rooms for your stomach you should try the shaved ice. There’s nothing special about the taste, truthfully it reminds you of ‘es shanghai’ minus the entire topping, yes, it is basically only shaved ice with syrup and condensed milk. But it is so fun to eat them together with friends. Get the extra sweet condensed milk for double fun. Sweet, cold, light and silly; a perfect combination for summer hangout (always summer in Jakarta!).
+ free flow of water
+ free konyaku jelly
-small place, very crowded during lunch and dinner time
-tax is high
tori karaage 28000
jigoku tori kara 30000
shoyu ramen 40000
jigoku ramen 45000
goma kara ramen 45000
Price not included 21 % tax
