Kodawari Menya Udon at 1 Mont Kiara: Restaurant Review

Japanese noodles are squiggling their way into the freshly revitalised 1 Mont Kiara mall; here’s a peek into a new outlet that specialise in slurp-worthy strands, starting with udon upstart Kodawari Menya.

Instructions At The Entrance

Kodawari Menya does things differently; it’s something of a self-service eatery, with instructions for the uninitiated outside the entrance. First, step up to the counter, check out the menu & choose from the diverse likes of niku, bukkake, zaru, kamaage, kake, kitsune & kare udon. Mainly RM10.90-RM14.90 for a small serving or RM12.90-RM16.90 for more substantial portions.

Tempura Pick-Up

Head next to the tempura section, where you can pick optional deep-fried accompaniments for your udon, ranging from prawns (RM4), chicken (RM3.50) & mixed veggies (RM2.50) to pumpkin, mushrooms, eggplant, sweet potatoes & lotus roots (RM2 each). Kodawari Menya is a no-pork restaurant.

Condiments Counter

After paying & collecting your food, mosey on over to the condiments counter & help yourself. And that’s it; the entire process shouldn’t take more than five minutes, potentially faster than ordering at a table & waiting for the kitchen to deliver.

Your Masterpiece

We pondered whether to have our udon with beef, tofu pockets, bonito flakes, curry or various dipping sauces, but ended up with the wakame udon (with edible seaweed). It proved pleasantly tasty, pretty much what a decent bowl of udon should be.

Flexible Customisation

The tempura squid isn’t half-bad either, with an interesting savoury batter that’s heavier than expected but still crisply enjoyable in its own right. All in all, the flexibility of customisation & the freshness of the authenticity-focused food makes Kodawari Menya a reasonable pit-stop if you’re hanging around Mont Kiara.

Before You Leave

Oh, one more thing: Return the food tray to help out with the clean-up before leaving.

All in all, there’s enough to like about Kodawari Menya; we’d love it even more if they served liquor, but even without, we’re high on the noodles here.