Food Blog | Aori Ramen Restaurant Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Lee Seungri’s (however you may feel about him due to his complicated situation at the moment) - of Big Bang acclaim - ramen chain has been around in Pavilion for quite some time now, so I thought that while I was nearby, it was a perfect chance to try it out!

Context: I actually saw it on the KL Burpple Hot 100 List for 2019 (which I highly recommend for finding good eats around Kuala Lumpur and Singapore) so I decided to try it out with my sister for a late lunch.

Is it Halal?

No, this is a non-halal restaurant and this is one of those restaurants that would be more difficult to bring Muslim company as most of their ramen are cooked in a pork broth and some even have pork meat components to the dishes themselves, so this would be one of the restaurants to avoid if you’re going as a big group.

Where it Is

It is located on the top floor of the Pavilion mall. I actually thought it was initially at the Tokyo Street, but it’s actually in the middle circle where Pavilion usually holds events. You’ll basically want to find the middle area on the 6th floor (basically the floor with Tokyo Street or Art Friend/Times Book Store and find the Miru Dessert Cafe/Koi.

Just look around in that circle and you’ll find Aori Ramen Restaurant!

Address: Lot 6.36.00 Level 6 Pavilion Mall, 168, Bukit Bintang Street, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Operating Hours:

Daily - 10am to 10pm (no rest days)

What it Costs

I came here and had a late lunch with my sister. Ultimately, our bill came out to RM81, but I think you’ll need to hear the breakdown of the prices (because there are ways to make this meal cheaper). We got two of the very basic options, so I think this is a review pretty representative for this restaurant.

I went with the Miso Ramen (you can see the details of what is in each of the ramens in the menu that I put above this part) - RM35 - whilst my sister went with the Aori Ramen - also RM35. I added a side order of two pieces of chashu (RM5) and we both got iced ocha (RM3 x 2) in order to complete the meal.

I think this one is a cool place because you can actually customise your ramen bowl. Among things you can customise include the sauce, the amount of leeks and garlic and the addition of side dishes (self order, minimum interaction kind of place if that tickles your fancy).

But this all adds up to the perfect experience when you’re eating alone. The order form goes in quickly, the food comes to you via those cute Japanese food booths (that you kind of think of when you go blind dating in Japan - not that I would know).

How it Tastes

This is definitely in the healthier variants of ramen restaurants. I say this because both of the sauces don’t taste that salty and there’s a healthy portion of vegetables that come with each serving of ramen.

As a whole, I feel that this is one of those ramen bowls that really combines well to give a very cohesive bowl of ramen! I’m a bigger fan of the Aori Ramen (I guess it is kinda expected since this is the name of the restaurant).

Starting off with what I personally ordered, I feel like the broth isn’t as rich as I expected, but the use of the leek, corn and kikurage make it really yum. Furthermore, I can’t help but munch on that seaweed with that sauce. Super yum!

The chashu that I added on is actually SO YUMMY AS WELL. I do actually recommend ordering the chashu, because I do think that it is another star dish that you can find here! (it isn’t in the Miso Ramen, but it is included in the Aori Ramen)

One thing to note is that they actually use different noodles in both of these ramen variants. They use that curly kind of ramen that you find in instant ramen, whilst they used straighter noodles for the Aori Ramen variant.

For the Aori Ramen itself, I just feel that the broth is richer than the miso version. This is why I would recommend you to just order that version. The other toppings taste pretty similar, so I think I don’t really have much to add about that.

But the tradeoff with Aori Ramen is that this isn’t as strong tasting as other ramens, but it really tastes a lot healthier (less salty, a slightly lower level of richness compared to the unhealthy versions), but the BIG reason to come here would be if you’re here at Pavilion alone and want to try some yummy food! This is the place for it!

Star Rating

7.5/10. I’m a fan of the ramen here, but I think I’m a bigger fan of the types of ramen with a richer, saltier broth (I guess because that’s what my tongues is expecting). But this is a good place to eat for a simple but elegant dinner in a clean environment!