Ordering in: Discovering the joys of Japanese ramen infused with interesting Chinese influences

(From left) Kwek, Phang and Yap are the brains and talent behind the aptly named FusionMan Noodle. — Photos: FUSIONMAN NOODLE

The allure of a bowl of Japanese ramen is often so intoxicating that eateries like the famed Ichiran chain in Japan (which specialises in tonkotsu ramen) regularly have long, serpentine queues trailing outside.

In Malaysia, ramen’s hold is no less powerful and denizens flock to local Japanese restaurants angling for a taste of this noodle dish that has many permutations and iterations, from tonkotsu ramen (which requires pork bones to be slow-cooked for hours to elicit maximum flavour) to Hakata ramen (tonkotsu broth with thin noodles), and Tsukemen ramen (where noodles are dipped into a separate bowl of broth).