Spotted: another ramen-ya in Jakarta

A common scene at Sanpachi Ramen, Melawai branch

I've heard about Sanpachi ramen a while back, but it wasn't till last week that I finally got a chance to try it out. The first time, my parental unit had called me one Saturday morning not long after I had just taken my late breakfast to see if I was interested in having an early lunch. Talk about timing eh? After weighing the pros and cons: pros being finally tasting Sanpachi Ramen and the cons being that I had just eaten... the pros won out and I quickly head out there. Unfortunately I forgotten my camera... So I went with the other half of my parental unit remembering to bring my camera this time, so that I can share my findings with you all.

What I found was not disappointing at all. I was very pleased indeed and now Sanpachi Ramen is head to head with Sing Sing Ramen as my favorite ramen-ya in town. Located on the second floor of Kamome Japanese supermarket in Melawai area, Sanpachi has an authentic ramen stall feel to it. The staff's attire were quite casual, with many counter seats surrounding the open kitchen. Ramen lovers will be able to see the hustle and bustle live from their seats. Many Japanese visited the store as well as locals and expats alike. Good food quality, fast service and value for money are no doubts reasons why Sanpachi is always packed.

Anyway, we ordered one Shoyu Ramen with sliced pork, Sanpachi Salad, Dim Sum Age, and side orders of menma (bamboo shoots) and sweet corn. The Japanese way of ordering would usually be of the small dishes first then the ramen, but I was too hungry to do that. However, once the food started to arrive all at the same time, I kinda wished I did. That way I wouldn't have such a hard time choosing what to eat first and I was worrying that my ramen would get too soaked.

Sanpachi Salad with two dressings behind: Mayo and Wafu

Anyway, I started with the salad which came with two type of dressings: Mayonnaise and Wafu. I opted for Wafu and used the mayo for the dim sum age later on. The salad were fresh and had a good variety of ingredients. I originally wanted to try the Pitan Salad, but they were out of the century egg. Though I was disappointed at first I was throughly satisfied with the Sanpachi salada. The crunchy lettuce pieces and the lightness of the whole thing made me felt healthy as that meant I balanced my diet that particular afternoon with some veggies...

Dim Sum Age with Mustard on the side (Rp 25,000)

Next I ate all the rest at the same time, multi-eating at its glory for sure. I was glad that I got the dim sum age in the end instead of the pork gyoza (by the way, you can get the chicken gyoza if you don't eat pork). I tried the gyoza last time I was there and it was good, but it didn't make me dream of it... The dim sum however, had more substance, texture and taste. You could order it 'mushi' (means steam) or 'age' (means fried). I chose 'age' which was why I had to have the salad to balance out the fattiness of this! I noticed some mushroom pieces in the dim sum which add to it's substance and taste. Dip it on the mayo, yum....

Shoyu Ramen (Rp 40,000) split into two (add Rp 5,000)

The Shoyu Ramen was a little disappointing though. The noodle was good, like Sing Sing, here at Sanpachi they offered 2 types of noodles: regular and curly. I of course chose the curly. They also offered cooking options for the noodle: well done and medium. I chose medium as I like my noodles chewy. The noodles didn't disappoint, they were chewy, bouncy and yummy. It was the broth that was too thin in my opinion and since the heart and soul of a ramen bowl is in it's broth... This one didn't really win that many points for me. The last time I was there I had the Miso ramen and the miso broth was so rich, I was in ramen heaven. So, if you do go I'd recommend to try the Miso, but as everyone has different taste buds you might like the Shoyu ramen.

Close up on the bowl, notice that the pork was halved...

The two side dishes that I ordered were excellent. For the sweet corn, lest the cook accidentally mixed it with the normal corn, it's pretty hard to mess up. As for the menma, it was just nice. The bamboo shoots were just done nicely in terms of texture and taste. Another dish that I chalked to my effort in being healthy... ;)

Sweet Corn Side Dish

Menma (Bamboo Shoot) Side Dish

Last but not least, green tea ice cream for dessert. Sanpachi ramen doesn't have an extensive variety for dessert, but that is expected from a ramen-ya. After all, wouldn't we rather they concentrate on the ramen than on dessert? They serve kakigori also, but I didn't try it this time. The green tea ice cream did not disappoint. One service was three scoops! Such generous portion is quite rare these days in this metropolitan city, but here it was. If you are suspicious whether the reason they serve such generous portion was because the taste wasn't great, wrong. It was perfect! To me anyway, not too sweet and the green tea strength was just right instead of being too bitter. They also serve complimentary jelly, but sadly they forgot this time.

Green Tea Ice Cream (Rp 14,000)

All in all, we spent about Rp 140,000 for everything. Water is complimentary but ocha isn't. The ice cream was Rp 14,000 for 3 scoops of one serving. They also have outlets at the malls like Pacific Place, etc. Although, I think the best is this one in Melawai and that is also what I have heard from others. I can't wait for my next ramen-ya discovery though I must admit I don't have anymore lead... If you know of any, give me a shout!

Sanpachi Ramen (Ramen 38)

Kamome Bldg, 2nd floor

Jl. Melawai Raya no. 189B

Jakarta Selatan

+62 21 728 0268