Going Back To Basics With
SOLOMEN CAFE
Going Back To Basics With SOLOMEN CAFE
As the saying goes, if the food is good, customers will come in droves. However, when a good restaurant is new to the F&B industry, it is a challenge to keep the momentum going. Well, during one of my 'Jalan Jalan Cari Makan' journey, exploring the treasure trove of eateries around SS2, Petaling Jaya, I discovered Solomen Cafe, a newly opened cafe while looking for a bite in this gem-filled neighbourhood.
Comforting & Hearty Japanese Cuisine
Solomen Cafe
Solomen Cafe serves a myriad of comforting and hearty Japanese cuisine focusing on simple ramen and don (rice) dishes with a good fare of appetizer, ala carte items and All-Day Set menu to choose from. They have gone for simple, fuss-free decor instead, letting their meals speak for itself.
For me, Solomen Cafe is perfect for ramen and rice (Don) dishes. Their menu specialises in meals for those who love pork, okay not just pork but lots of pork belly. One example of a dish would be the Hokkaido Buta Don and Hoikoro.
Solomen Cafe is a full-on Japanese restaurant but they specialise in unique ramen and rice (Don) dishes using only the freshest and best ingredients they can find. I love their broth and wheat-based homemade ramen made, which makes me wants to come back for more.
I'm impressed with the fact that they do make their own ramen which many F&B establishments might shy away. The task to having housemade ramen is tedious with consistent quality and standard to match.
Oh yes, did I forget to mention that Solomen Cafe's concept is to provide a comfortable place for 'Solo' men or freelancer to work and chill with a meal and drinks providing them with a pleasant dining cum working environment.
The High Bench ~ Perfect For Family Portrait
Thus, you will notice the cafe layout comes with high chairs and tops for solo freelancers to work on. It's very internet friendly cafe with a high-speed WIFI access, they also provide many plug points equipped with USB charging too.
We started with a few delectable appetisers of Gyoza, Tori Karaage, Hoikoro and Tonkatsu to fill our growling tummies. Needless to say, these oh-so-tasty small bites were finished in minutes. Thumbs up to the gyoza.
Gyoza
RM 11.90
These Japanese dumplings are my top pick when it comes to appetizers. The gyoza's skin is housemade from scratch with much details and effort taken to make sure it not too thick nor too thin so that the stuffing does not fall out. It's the right thickness and texture, filled with flavourful minced meat within.
Hoikoro
RM 16.90
Another dish which I enjoyed eating is Hoikoro which is basically pan-fried mixed vegetable of cabbage, carrot and leek with pork belly in miso paste for the extra flavour. The dish is well-cooked full of 'Wok-Hei' with no overdone maintaining the crunchiness of the cabbage and an equal portion of juicy pork belly. Good dish actually to go with a warm bowl of rice!
Tori Karaage
RM 14.50
Tonkatsu
RM 20.90
We continued our lunch with ramen bowls. Solomen Cafe serves up a wide variety of housemade ramen in pork bone broth, miso broth to soy-based broth. Take your pick from Negi Miso Ramen, Tonkatsu Ramen, Tenshinmen and Kimchi Ramen for the Kimchi lovers.
Tonkatsu Ramen
RM 20.90
I enjoyed the classic favourites of Tonkatsu Ramen - simply loved the springy wheat-based noodles in thick pork bone broth served with Char siew, boiled egg, seaweed and some sour pickled vegetable.
Negi Miso Ramen
RM 20.90
Tenshinmen
RM 16.90
Kimchi Ramen
RM 19.90
Rice Bowls Selections
From the ramen bowls, we move on to ordering a few of the dishes from their (Don) rice bowl menu. Familiar flavours of Hokkaido Buta Don, Katsudon, Shiogayaki Don and Kimchi Chahan is bound to please your palate.
Hokkaido Buta Don
RM 22.90
Everyone at the dining table has to agree that Hokkaido Buta Don was the obvious winner in terms of taste and flavour among all of the rice bowls. This rice dish was good to the last grain of rice!
Juicy Melt-in-Mouth Pork Belly
More Lucious Pork Belly
Pork belly lovers will surely fall in love with the well-marinated juicy and tender pork belly coated with the homemade sweet sauce that complements the warm white sushi rice. Highly recommended to try dish at Solomen Cafe.
Shiogayaki Don
RM 21.50
Katsudon
RM 22.90
Kimchi Chahan
RM 17.90
Although we were stuffed with ramen and rice, we just simply cannot resist not trying their oh-so-delicious looking desserts - cakes on display at the counter.
There were many choices to choose from but we settled on tasting 2 different flavours. One is the classic favourite of Tiramisu while the other is the aromatic and pungent Cempedak Lover.
Tiramisu
RM 11.90
Cempedak Lover
RM 13.90
Cempedak Lover was good choice, surprisingly delicious pairing of cempedak with chocolate was like a match made in heaven! There are real chunks of fresh cempedak fruits in between the cake as we dig in. As we take our last bits of the delicious cake, we regretted having order a piece for sharing.
Must Eat Dish
Hokkaido Buta Don
Solomen Cafe
No 16 Jalan SS 2/24
47300 Petaling Jaya
Opening Hours
12pm - 10pm on Tues-Thurs
12pm - 10pm on Tues-Thurs
12pm - 12am on Fri-Sun
Closed on Monday
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For me, Solomen Cafe is perfect for ramen and rice (Don) dishes. Their menu specialises in meals for those who love pork, okay not just pork but lots of pork belly. One example of a dish would be the Hokkaido Buta Don and Hoikoro.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Solomen Cafe being the perfect place for ramen and rice dishes. Although they have different kind of meats to choose from such as fresh fish and delicious beef imported from Australia, it is not hard to see that they specialize in dishes with pork as there are pork in half of the dishes on the menu. After trying the Tonkatsu Ramen there, i can see why it is the signature dish of Solomen Cafe. It is absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteI also feel safer eating at Solomen Cafe as most of the food there are homemade from their ramen to their gyoza and even their miso soup that has a taste that cannot be found anywhere else. It is rare to find homemade food at restaurants nowadays and since i am too busy to cook on the weekdays i can only eat outside so Solomen will be my first option as the homemade food there at least will give me a sense of home and comfort.
Other than their food, service there is also not bad. I find staff there to be polite and well trained, unlike lots of cafes, they take you to a seat and you can also request to sit somewhere else. Staffs there are also attentive and will get to you once you've raised your hand or do a gesture that shows that you need assistance, even at their busiest times there will be someone there that is ready to serve you.
Last but not least, the environment there is just amazing! I love how quiet it can be at times as i like doing my work or study at cafes and a quiet environment is just perfect for doing these things. Gatherings there would also be cool, the decorations there are cute and cozy and just perfect for pictures with friends or even for instagram.
So the conclusion here is that i love Solomen Cafe! It just feels like this cafe is made for me and i hope that people like me can find a place to relax, do work and eat while feeling amazing. So come check i out it's the one and only Solomen Cafe!