In Search for the Best Udon in Klang Valley

CS and I got onto udon craze recently. It is now much easier to lure CS on a shopping trip with me, as long as I make the promise of a good udon find. When Manmaru opened it’s first (it’s still the only one outlet) we were skeptical but tried it anyway. We fall in love with it instantly and had a year long relationship with it. That involves shopping in Mid Valley frequently. Ah.. there goes my resolution to stay away from gluten!

The udon in Japan are good but the menu can be boring as they stick to the basics. On the other hand, Manmaru serves a variety of menu, spicy to non spicy, from poultry to seafood, claypot to cold. There’s even a Kimchi flavoured ones.

My favourite picks : Seafood Nabe Udon, Kimchi Nabe Udon

CS’s favourite picks : Kamo Seiro Udon (cold udon dipped in duck gravy), Kamo Nanban Udon (udon with smoked duck)

Sorry for no picture most of the above menu, because CS had lost the pictures!In fact for the whole year, we kept on coming back to try on each menu that we forgot to hunt for other good udon in Klang Valley.

Recently we stumbled upon another Kodawari Menya Udon in Mont Kiara 1 when we were shopping for swimming goggles. It wasn’t time for dinner yet but we relented anyway.

Kodawari Menya Udon is a self-service eatery so off we went checking on the menu board (painful neck), take the tray and order our choice of udon. Udon was served in a split second and the second line are the tempuras. Ranging from fried vegetables to chicken and prawns, we chose the octopus tempura. The chef was kind enough to fried a new one just for us.

Niku Miso Udon. Forgive the humble look because we decided not to ‘decorate’ them with any extras, available at the condiment counters. Rest assured that the taste was the opposite of its look. The broth was very flavourful, probably the best udon broth I had (sorry, Manmaru). The al dente udon are pleasantly chewy and boiled to the right firmness. KMU’s udon and dashi soup are made and imported from Kagawa, Japan, that explains it. We could not ask for more. Okay, except for the minced beef, as they are just too palatable.

The octopus tempura are crunchy and the portion was generous and worthy of the RM 4 we paid.

So which one has the better udon?

In terms of the basic broth and udon texture, KMU has the upper hand. I will say, go to KMU for authentic udon (just like how they were served in Japan), and Manmaru for the variety of unconventional yet delicious broth.

I almost forgot that we tried another udon joint in Midvalley – Hanamaru. Sounds familliar? It’s the very same udon brand we tried in Hiroshima. Imagine our joy and surprise when seeing it operating on the top floor of Midvalley. CS couldn’t wait for weekend and decided to drive all the way from Shah Alam to Midvalley on a working day, just to try it. Unfortunately, the effort went in vain.

The udon were too chewy. I may not be the expert to judge it, but I knew when my jaws are numb and strained from chewing. The chicken broth could have been better if it was just bland but the ‘chicky’ smell was too strong for me.