Our visit to Wakaba on 2 Nov, 2018

Interior of Wakaba. (2 November 2017)




I have been asking around for friends to recommend a good Japanese restaurant that specialises in noodles, and was told to try Wakaba. I asked members of my Penang Restaurant Food group to recommend, but as it turns out, the restaurant we eventually visited A few days ago, my wife and I tried to go there. It was a wet day, and we saw a long queue of cars entering Elit Avenue, so we decided to postpone our visit.

Yesterday the weather was fine, so we to give Wakaba another try. I often receive invitations to dine at various restaurants, but this time, I was going incognito. I love good food, and am well prepared to pay for a dining experience where nobody knows me.

Arriving at Wakaba, I was pleased to learn that it has a Japanese chef. In fact, I later learned that Chef Takashi Kadowaki speaks limited English. A young local Chinese waitress who took our orders, and throughout the evening, it was she who served us. The rest of the restaurant staff were Nepalis, and on the whole, they stayed in the kitchen or elsewhere.

I was pleased to see that the restaurant has its own noodle-making machine. This was what I was hoping to see. And as my intention of visiting was to try their noodles, so it was noodles that I ordered. Two different items in fact: the Kitsune Soba きつねそば (RM18), homemade buckwheat noodle served with bean curd and Japanese Fish Cake; and Wakame Udon わかめうどん (RM15), homemade thick wheat flour noodle with seaweed. My wife, however, decided to go for the rice set: Saba Teriyaki Set さば照り焼き (RM21), was a rice meal with grilled mackerel.

The noodle-making machine at Wakaba. (2 November 2017)


Kitsune Soba (2 November 2017)


Wakame Udon (2 November 2017)


I was right in ordering two noodle dishes. Although the taste is good, they are pretty sparse for a big eater like me. This is what I have come to realise with Japanese noodle meals. I usually have to order something in addition. The soba is quite similar to the one I had in Singapore, which is also homemade. The udon is slightly thinner than store-bought udon (which look like the local "tua pui mee"), but the taste is good. The noodles hold their shape and are al dente or springy. I am so happy I found this restaurant! The soup of the two noodles, as I would have expected, was on the salty side, so I did not drink much of it.

As we were enjoying our dinner, the manager of the restaurant came in, saw me, and immediately recognised me. His name is Mr Kedrick Kok, and he has been following me on Facebook. That ends being incognito.

Mr Kedrick Kok and I at Wakaba Japanese Noodle Restaurant (2 November 2017)


Kedrick was delighted that I have visited his restaurant. I think he couldn't believe his eyes that I am in his restaurant unannounced. He said that they were in the process of revamping their menu, and that he was already planning to invite me to a meal there. He wanted me to try their ramen, as it is their house specialty, but I told him, since we had ordered two bowls of noodles, we would be pleased to return in future, to try the ramen, when his new menu was ready.

According to Kedrick, as far as he knew, Wakaba is probably the only Japanese noodle restaurant in Penang where they make their noodles inhouse. I was pleased to hear that, as I have been searching for such a restaurant. The flour was imported directly from Japan. Noodle production is carried out in the morning, and the noodle is served fresh. That is how Japanese noodles should be, as they would lose their freshness if kept. I will leave further explanation about the ramen for my next trip, when I have a chance to try it myself. I also learned from Kedrick that the owner of the restaurant chose the name Wakaba because it means "green leaves" or "green shoots" in Japanese, and in a sense, means forever rejuvenating.

Meanwhile, Kedrick was eager for me to try other items at the restaurant, so he served us Japanese ice cream and Japanese char sio, on the house! We tried the Sesame Ice Cream ごまアイスクリーム (RM4) and the Yuzu Ice Cream ゆずアイスクリーム (RM4). My wife liked the Yuzu Ice Cream best, while I enjoyed both equally. I am very pleased when Kedrick invited Chef Takashi Kadowaki out of the kitchen and we had a photograph together. We were pleased to meet each other.

The final item we tried, again on the house, was the Japanese char sio, which interesting is also called "chasyu" in Japanese. But unlike the local char sio, Wakaba's Chasyu Moriawase チャーシュー盛合せ (RM12) is stewed. The meat was incredibly soft, it easily fell apart in the mouth.

It has been a lovely dinner. Even though I had intended to visit the restaurant unannounced, to quietly try out the food, it appears to me that it's getting harder to be incognito. I paid the bill for my dinner, and thank Kedrick for letting us try the various items on the house.

Sesame Ice Cream (foreground) and Yuzu Ice Cream (background). (2 November 2017)


Chasyu Moriawase. (2 November 2017)

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