PUCHONG, Sept 9 — This is but a simple bowl of broth and noodles but one I haven’t had in a long time, so there is some degree of anticipation if I am to be honest.
The surface trembles, silken strands swirling in a happy middle between bisque and consommé, neither gloopy nor thin.
A drizzle of black vinegar cuts a sharp line through the richness, its tartness lingering like an afterthought that refuses to leave.
This is the signature Yi-Ting Flour Rice Noodles at Ichimachi – their take on Taiwanese meesua – less a dish and more an atmosphere, a memory coaxed into being.
It reminds me of street corners in Taipei, where stockpots bubble quietly even on rainy days (especially on rainy days!), and where bonito lends its earthy undertones to every sip.
But we are not in Taipei. Instead, we are having an early lunch at Ichimachi, tucked into a row of Bandar Puteri Puchong shophouses. Its poetic name alludes to machiya, those wooden townhouses of old Japan, married to a place of eating.
Inside the restaurant, pale woods soften the light. — Picture by CK Lim
Inside, pale woods soften the light, a brighter echo of Kyoto lanes but reimagined for suburban Malaysia. It is at once Japanese in inspiration and Taiwanese in palate, a hybrid that serves up contentment rather than confusion.
A hot chestnut sugarcane tea arrives first, steam curling upwards with an earthy sweetness. You can’t really go wrong with a cup of liongcha (Cantonese for herbal tea): soothing, mellow, its sweetness grassy rather than saccharine.
We can’t resist the house specialty though: the SanMachi Milk Tea, decadent in its layering of tapioca pearls, pudding and Malaysian cincau – each sip a shifting equation of textures. The tea itself is floral yet creamy.
Chestnut sugarcane tea (left) and SanMachi Milk Tea (right). — Pictures by CK Lim
You can choose your sweetness – normal, half sugar, or none. The middle path is the way to go, ever the sound choice.
Time for our hearty mains. First, the Taiwanese stewed pork rice bento: a mound of pearly grains crowned with braised pork, sauce seeping deep as though the rice itself were parched for it. The pork yields with ease, tender from its long simmer, equal parts bite and melt. Soy, spices, and the faint sigh of star anise linger.
The Taiwanese stewed pork rice ‘bento’. — Picture by CK Lim
We opted for Set B, accompanied by a fried egg, garlic sauce tofu and Taiwanese sausage. The latter tastes faithful, smoky-sweet in that particular Taiwanese style.
Alternatively, you may opt for Set A which arrives with chawanmushi – that delicate Japanese steamed egg custard – alongside garlic sauce tofu and Taiwanese kimchi. It is a small but telling inclusion, a nod to the other half of Ichimachi’s menu.
Tender braised pork (left) and Taiwanese sausage (right). — Pictures by CK Lim
Indeed, beyond Taiwanese comfort fare, the kitchen also offers Japanese staples: croquettes with their panko crunch, golden curry rice, bowls of udon. Here, the culinary conversation continues, between soy-braised pork and the gentle wobble of chawanmushi.
There are options for the Yi-Ting Flour Rice Noodles – pork, oysters, even fried ebi – but ours came with Taiwanese fried chicken. The cutlet pounded thin, encased in jagged golden crust, before being thinly sliced. A dusting of spice powder clings to the ridges.
The Yi-Ting Flour Rice Noodles with Taiwanese fried chicken. — Picture by CK Lim
It is best to eat the fried chicken alongside the meesua, alternating between crunch and silk. A spoon of noodles, sharpened by vinegar, rounded by raw garlic. A bite of chicken, spice-laced and yielding. Back and forth until the bowl is gone, the plate wiped clean.
We leave Ichimachi feeling sated, reminded that we don’t have to travel to relive meals we had enjoyed in other lands. Comfort food that, surprisingly, is actually comforting.
Don’t forget to add vinegar and raw garlic to your ‘meesua’! — Picture by CK Lim
Ichimachi 一町居食屋
2A-G, Jalan Puteri 2/6,
Bandar Puteri, Puchong.
Open Mon-Fri 12pm-9:30pm, Sat-Sun 11:30am-9:30pm
Phone: 017-992 7497
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ichimachiCuisine/
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
AloJapan.com