Penang is known as a melting pot of culture, and this can be easily seen in the food you find on the island.
From the mainstays; food served by the three major races; Malay, Indian and Chinese, you can savour international food from Vietnam, South Korea, Italian, American, Japanese and many others.
We went to Beach Street to have a taste of authentic Japanese food from a restaurant called Kaka Ramen.
Kaka Ramen is located between Alliance Bank and Saw Brother’s Realty office at Beach Street and is owned by Mr. Kelly Png. He has 10 years’ experience as an F&B consultant and has consulted restaurants and cafes. Mr. Kelly found that the ramen served in Penang did not have the authentic flavours that Japanese ramens have and this inspired him to open Kaka Ramen in Beach Street. He found that it was strategic to set the restaurant in a famous cultural hotspot where locals and tourists can enjoy a taste of an authentic Japanese meal.
The décor of Kaka Ramen was split into two sections with one section having the appearance from the ramen shops or ramen-ya in street corners and alleys in Japan and another section is like a traditional Japanese house for a more homely vibe. It gives a small insight into Japanese culture both traditional and modern which conveys Mr. Kelly’s passion to bring the authentic Japanese feel to customers.
The menu at Kaka Ramen has many Japanese dishes such as ramen, dons, and curry rice. There are unique dishes such as Sukemen (where the soup is separated from the bowl of ingredients and you would dip them in before eating) and Mazemen (which had instructions on how to best enjoy the meal). They also served salads with their own handmade Goma sauce and even specialty coffees and fruit drinks such as hojicha latte and watermelon lychee juice.
Besides the regular menu, Kaka Ramen also has seasonal dishes that are available for 3 months but can be extended and many seasonal dishes are so popular that customers often request for them, and the restaurant hears the feedback and often do call backs. The set lunch or Teishoku is great for those on a budget with a nice small selection of mains, starter, side dishes and dessert to have.
We had some classic Japanese snacks to start with which were the tamagoyaki, yaki gyoza and grilled squid. The Tamagoyaki, which is a Japanese omelette, made by rolling together several layers of fried beaten eggs, was fluffy and slightly sweet. The Yaki Gyoza were crispy outside with delicious filling inside and the grilled squid was grilled well and juicy.
For the mains, we decided to order the Char Siu Ramen that comes with 4 types of soup bases, Tonkotsu, Black Garlic, Supreme, and Kimchi, their Pork Katsu Curry Omurice and their Mazemen. The Char Siu ramen noodles were springy and the char siu was buttery, slightly salty and smooth while the soup was very rich with pork broth and was absolutely delicious. The Pork Katsu Curry Omurice was lovely with fluffy garlic fried rice and omelette and the katsu curry was creamy. The unique dish we had was the Mazemen which came with instructions on how to eat it. The whole dish was creamy, slightly salty, and rich with flavour which is worth trying as it is hard to find such a dish being served at Japanese restaurants in Penang.
We also tried their desserts which were their mochi and ice cream banana split. The ice creams flavour was matcha, double chocolate and cookies and cream with banana. The smooth and creamy ice cream goes well with the banana and the mochis came in three flavours, red bean, matcha, black sesame and peanut and were not overly chewy but delicious.
Overall, we had a delicious meal at Kaka Ramen and were able to learn more about Japanese cuisine and history. You can feel the passion and commitment that Mr.Kelly has put into bringing authenticity to the food served here. We highly recommend coming to Kaka Ramen and enjoy a taste of authentic Japanese culture and food in the heart of Penang’s cultural landmark.
