Ori-Udon, the handmade udon specialist

ORI-UDON,
Lower Ground Floor,
The Gardens Mall,
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours: 10am-10pm daily.

WHEAT flour noodles, also known as udon, may just be the next dining trend after ramen, with a number of shops popping up around the Klang Valley.

One of them is five-month-old Ori-Udon; which aims to serve only authentic handmade udon noodles which have a chewy texture.

Located on the Lower Ground floor of The Gardens Mall in Mid Valley City Kuala Lumpur, this restaurant serves hot and cold udon, soup and dry udon, spicy udon, and just about any kind of udon you can think of.

“The secret is in how we cook the noodles in a special boiler,” said the restaurant’s founder and owner Victor Teo.

Cold Mentaiko Udon noodle.

Teo explained that each 250gm bowl of noodles is made to order.

It takes about 15 minutes to boil the noodles which are served immediately to maintain their chewy texture.

“If it is more than 15 to 20 minutes the chewy texture will be lost and we would have to throw the noodles away,” he said.

Teo added that if they cook the noodles earlier, they will taste starchy and ordinary like the frozen noodles sold at grocery stores.

“We are also trying to change the misconception people have of udon, that they are unhealthy noodles,” said the 30-year-old who used to work in the real estate industry.

 

From bottom left: Gyu Don (beef rice), Kare Udon (Japanese Curry Udon), Chicken Karaage and the Sesame salad.

For only RM7.90 customers can get the basic Kitsune Udon, which consists of noodles, beancurd and poached egg in a hot fish-based soup.

Patrons can add on noodles for RM2 or opt to have their famous chicken karaage or even seaweed and fish roe.

Ori-Udon also has Kushiage, which are skewers of fried food like fried mushroom, brinjal or fishball.

“This is actually how the Japanese eat udon, with just the noodles and soup and the additional ingredients on the side,” he said.

For lunch and dinner crowds who do not know what to eat, Ori-Udon has set meals which consists of a drink, sesame salad, noodles and a few sides to choose from.

“For first-time udon eaters, it is recommended they try the cold udon dish, which is unique and different from the usual fried or soupy udon,” he said.

The Mentaiko Udon comes served with their special fish-based sauce, topped with a handful of seaweed, fish roe, poached egg and a dollop of mayonnaise.

Teo showing his restaurant specials.

The best way to eat the dish is to mix it all together, including the watery egg yolk and whites, before slurping up the content.

 

“I have many customers who love to add in chilli oil to make it extra spicy,” he said.

 

However, he recommends patrons add chilli oil into the soup udon rather than the dry ones as it is already full of flavour.

 

He said there are no preservatives in the noodles, and they are made of all-natural ingredients. Teo plans to open more outlets in Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya in future, offering more flavours.

 

Currently Ori-Udon has curry flavour, dry fish-based sauce and fish based clear soup.

 

This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.