Goku Raku Ramen @ Mid Valley and Paradigm Mall

As you know lately I’m have been ramen-fied…like for example hitting 4 ramen outlets in KL within a week and buying truckloads of instant ramen. I have been back to Menya Musashi twice and Yamagoma 3 times since! So yes, my ramen fever has not abated.

Inmy previous post, I did a comparison of all 4; Santouka Ramen in Pavilion, Menya Musashi and Hokkaido Gantetsu in Food Paradise, 1 Utama and Yamagoma Ramen in Solaris Dutamas.

Goku Raku Ramen was not on my list. I first visited them when they were newly opened in Mid Valley but I have not posted about it. And since it was such a long while ago, I paid another visit last week to check it out.

I don’t remember much from my last visit other than it was just so unmemorable that it didn’t leave any impression.

Goku Raku Ramen-001

It has finally left its mark in my memory last week; though a rather distasteful one; when we were both served soft, almost mushy ramen. Yes I kid you not, the ramen stuck to my teeth bite after bite. I’m not sure if this is Goku Raku’s standard for its ramen  but it certainly wasn’t as bad or I would have remembered it from the very first visit.

Goku Raku Ramen-002

The broth is very thin, certainly not as complex or satisfyingly earthy as Menya Musashi’s, Gantetsu or even Yamagoma’s, which by my standards are already at the edge of minimum ramen quality levels.

Goku Raku Ramen-003

I can assure you the pork slices were pretty bland as well.

Goku Raku Ramen-004

My order was the “new” Clam Soup base Ramen, which really didn’t work flavour-wise with the pork slices. Coupled with unusual stick-to-the -teeth texture of the ramen, my dinner was almost unbearable after a few bites. Naturally I didn’t finish the bowl.

Goku Raku Ramen-005

Goku Raku Ramen-006

I guess I won’t be back again. Next, I’m heading back to Marutama. Let’s see how it had changed (or maintained) its standards after my initial visit in Oct 2010! 🙂

Hmm… anyone here actually likes Goku Raku Ramen? Is this just an unlucky visit for me?

Goku Raku Ramen
Lot S25 & S26, Level 2 – Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Another outlet opened at Paradigm Mall recently.

This Post Has 23 Comments

  1. Charmaine

    I heard that many ppl complained their standards have deteriorated. But according to my friend, she said her Japanese colleagues told her that the taste at Goku Raku is the closest to Japan ones.

    1. rebeccasaw

      OMG..serious?
      My Jap friend told me Menya’s the closest. Well, ask her Jap colleagues to try Menya, santouka, and Gantetsu instead and see how 😛

  2. fiseel

    Actually I quite like their tonkotsu ramen 🙂 Their soup is quite “thick” with flavours.

    1. rebeccasaw

      I see. Have you tried Menya, santouka, and Gantetsu? Do try if you’re a ramen lover!

  3. ulric

    I actually tried their Tonkotsu broth last year and liked it…can be overpowering to some peeps with its porkyness…their standards might have dropped though since then =)

    1. rebeccasaw

      overpowering to some peeps with its porkyness? Trust me .. it was NONE of that LOL.. very thin broth.. that’s what we got.

  4. Kelly

    I had the Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen completed with burnt garlic oil recently. The noodles fare slightly better than your visit and the soup is almost too thick for me, I felt a bit sick after. Still gotta try the other 4 you’ve posted though.

    1. rebeccasaw

      The broth was thick? Oh my.. wonder what happened.. perhaps I ws there late at night and the broth was diluted by then??

      1. ulric

        Tat might explain the thinness of the broth when u visited 🙂

      2. Kelly

        Might have been a different dish? I have had the ‘normal’ Tonkotsu ramen before and the broth wasn’t thick like that. The Ultimate Tonkotsu was I think on the first page of the menu.

      3. rebeccasaw

        Oh yes, my friend chose the Ultimate, and the noodles were of the same texture, and the broth thin as well.

  5. Ken Wooi

    I went to the one at MV for a “review” before, it was good. But when I went for a “self-paid” one, it wasn’t as good. That was the last visit, so far. 🙂

    1. rebeccasaw

      ahhh the arguments of invited reviews vs self-paid. Invited ones will no doubt be better naturally, considering the attention and care put in. I have thought of it, one invited review followed by another visit on my own before publishing the post, but it doubles time, budget and effort-wise.. so damn hard la.
      But the food is not VERY inconsistent i hope during both times

  6. connie

    i find their soup base too salty for my liking

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yups, most ramen soup base are richly flavoured and can be salty

  7. Sean

    gosh, i think maybe they might be inconsistent. after reading what you wrote, i went and read what i wrote about gokuraku: “The noodles here were chewier, like kolo mee, while the broth seemed to have pervasive overtones of pork liver.” quite the opposite experience!
    the paradigm mall outlet seems to do brisk business. i guess partly cos there’s no other japanese ramen outlet currently at that mall 😀

  8. Ken

    Well, i’ve tried their outlet here in Penang Paragon Mall, so far so good, but i’m looking forward to try the Menya that you are recommending, hopefully they are opening an outlet here in Penang soon 😛

    1. rebeccasaw

      Come KL!!
      I’ll bring u guys around 🙂
      Menya in Pg? Hmmm… maybe next year..

  9. Arelle

    Yea, I do hope this is a transient problem, i visited around the same date as you did and found the ramen soup (lacking richness) and pork (rubbery) less up to
    usual standards.
    in my memory, gokuraku ramen was one of the most satisfying ramen around.
    i will still revisit though, hopefully they just had a weak week ;D

    1. rebeccasaw

      Oh oh.. great. that probably explains it.. considering that the other comments here says it was alright. yup, must be THAT WEEK. Wonder if the chef quit or something?? LOL

  10. Choi Yen

    Goku is the only more “premium” ramen that I’ve tried so far (sound miserably huh T_T) so no comparison can made >.<

    1. rebeccasaw

      OH dear.. U got to try the rest soon CY! 🙂

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