Japanese comfort food at Sakaba

 

When my friends and I arrived at the restaurant, it was not lunchtime yet but we noticed that diners were already trickling in and the tables were fast filling up.

 

A section of the dining hall at Sakaba Cuisine

Our Japanese friend, Yoshiko, who invited me along for our first visit, agreed with me that these diners appeared to be regulars and seemed familiar with the menu.

 

Yoshiko explained that the word, Sakaba describes the light bites which accompanied a leisurely time of casual drinking (hard drinks!) but from the menu, we saw that the cuisine here featured a range of familiar Japanese comfort food.

 

I knew that there must a story behind this name and asked to speak to the proprietor, Sam Wong, to find out more.

 

Traditional Japanese green tea
[Foreground] with auspicious
Chinese couplets posted next to
the wall mural behind the counter

While Sam was keen for us to taste their signature Ramen and Don bowls, I was (as always!) keen to hear his story about the origins of this Japanese restaurant.

 

Well, it all started with a few friends – Sam with Jimmy and Robert – who enjoyed the Sakaba lifestyle of having a few casual drinks along with light bites of Japanese delicacies.

 

While drinking and eating snacks the Sakaba way, these friends would reminisce about their many trips to Japan, their favourite Japanese dishes and often wondered why they could not set up their own restaurant to serve authentic Japanese food.

 

So this was how the restaurant was opened and earned its name, Sakaba.

 

Incidentally, before he became a restauranteur, Sam learned to appreciate the Japanese culture and its cuisine when he was working with a Japanese company established here.

 

Side dishes of light bites

When Sam mentioned its name, Idemitsu Malaysia, I recalled that it was also the company where the co-founder of the art of the 24 Festive Drums, Tan Chai Puan, used to work with.

 

[This information was garnered from an interview with Tan when I featured him in an exclusive story under Portraits in my 2017 Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.]

 

On hearing Tan’s name, Sam made an instant connection because Tan was in fact, his former boss… [Ah! What a small world!]

 

Sam went on to share about how he, with his friends and business partners, came up with the design concept for a wall mural created with pieces of wood that showcased the cross-section of cut wooden logs, posted as the backdrop to the reception counter.

 

He was proud to tell us about how they pieced together this design with Chinese couplets that reflected traditional Chinese auspicious wishes for good fortune and prosperity.

 

Oyako Don topped with chicken and Onsen egg

Working closely with Chef Lun, a local chef who acquired his skills in preparing Japanese cuisine from Michelin Star chefs, Sakaba Cuisine has a small menu which features Ramen and Don dishes with a range of familiar light bites.

 

With some 10 years of culinary experience in Japanese cuisine, Chef Lun has put his own touch into the traditional recipe for brewing the rich pork broth as the base ingredient for the signature Ramen bowls served at Sakaba.

 

As Chef Lun described the process of brewing the broth from pork bones for 18 hours to achieve a broth, naturally sweet and rich with collagen, I could not help but started to get rather impatient for my first taste of this mouth-watering Ramen.

 

Buta Shogayaki Don topped with pork and ginger

I must confess that I was privately glad when the chef returned to the kitchen to prepare a range of popular dishes for us to taste.

 

As requested by Yoshiko, the side dishes were first served, followed by Don or rice bowls and to end with the three special Ramen bowls that featured original pork broth in Tonkotsu Ramen Special, the spicy version in Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Special and with black garlic in the Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen Special.

 

Edamame, boiled beans still within their pods, was a good start to our meal. A small empty cup was provided for us to dispose of the opened bean pods, neatly.

 

Three choices of Special Ramen [Clockwise]
Spicy, Black Garlic and Original pork broth

To enjoy the dishes lined up ahead, I was careful to sample smaller portions of each of the light bites of Cha Shu or chunks of braised pork, Kakiage or deep-fried vegetables, Gyoza dumplings, Tori Karaage or deep-fried chicken, and Shishamo, crispy deep-fried whole fish, native of Hokkaido.

 

While these are distinctly Japanese dishes to savour with sips of sake, wine or beer, we noted that the flavour of the Cha Shu and Tori Karaage were tweaked to match with local tastes.

 

When the bowl of Oyako Don, steamed rice topped with pieces of Chicken and a wobbly Onsen egg was served, Yoshiko commented that it was a “Mother and Child” dish.

 

Tonkotsu Ramen Special

At first, I thought it was a dish for a kid’s meal because I somehow pictured a mother feeding her child with this delicious bowl of rice and ingredients.

 

A moment later, as I digested (more food!) and what Yoshiko just said, I bulb seemed to light up in my mind when I suddenly figured out that the Chicken and Egg was in fact, the “Mother and Child” in her comment.

 

Another popular item in their rice range must be Buta Shogayaki Don, a comforting bowl of steamed rice topped with slices of Pork and Ginger.

 

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Special

When the three signature Ramen bowls were served, we took our time to first savour its rich broth, starting with the original pork broth, followed by the spicy broth and rounded off with the broth with black garlic.

 

With every mouthful, we could taste the passion and effort in creating the perfect pork broth for its Ramen served with Kyushu-style noodles, topped with chunks of ingredients.

 

For a while there was no more talking but only the gentle sound of slurping (in Japanese tradition!) as we focused on enjoying the Ramen noodles in its rich broths.

 

Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen Special

When our bowls were empty, I was delighted to hear Yoshiko declare that Sakaba Cuisine will be a regular destination for Ramen, for her family.

 

I can understand where this was coming from because to the Japanese, this was authentic comfort food served in the right portion at a fair price.

 

[Even while we were busy eating, I could not help but notice the number of diners who arrived, enjoyed their meal and had left. And this was happening on a weekday.]

 

Sakaba Beauty Rose Tea, a
Chocolate Cheese Tart (on plate),
(L to R) Chcolate, Ondeh-Ondeh
and Tiramisu cakes

Besides drinking traditional Green Tea, there was a range of flower teas including their signature Sakaba Beauty Rose Tea served in elegant transparent teapots and teacups.

 

After lunch, diners were welcome to linger for afternoon tea and savour cheese tarts and fruit tarts as well as cakes in flavours like Tiramisu, Chocolate and Ondeh-Ondeh.

 

So the next time when you are in the Skudai neighbourhood, you can enjoy casual dining at Sakaba Cuisine for an authentic taste of Japanese comfort food.

 

Sakaba Cuisine [Non-Halal] is at No. 71, Jalan Impian Emas 22, Taman Impian Emas, 81300 Skudai, Johor. Open daily from 10.30am to 9pm. Tel: +6011 6512 7122.

 

Seating is limited so please make advance reservations to avoid disappointment.

Update: Sakaba Ramen – By popular demand

 

A takeaway set of Black Garlic 
Tonkotsu Ramen Special

Having received countless requests for takeaways of their Ramen served in rich pork broth, the good people at Sakaba Cuisine have now made it available for takeaways.

 

The takeaway Ramen, topped with ingredients like chunks of chashu or braised pork belly and Onsen egg, are served in a deep bowl with the broth packed separately.

 

The sheet of seaweed is also packed separately to keep it fresh and crispy. Before adding in the broth, just tear or cut the seaweed into your bowl.

 

Just add the rich broth to your Ramen

If you prefer your Ramen with piping hot soup, just heat up the broth before adding it into your bowl of Ramen.

 

A tiny cup of soy sauce is provided for you to add into the broth, to your own taste.

 

Sakaba Cuisine serves three special Ramen bowls that featured original pork broth in Tonkotsu Ramen Special, the spicy version in Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Special and with black garlic in the Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen Special.

 

For a Ramen meal in the comfort of your home, place your order for your choice of Ramen takeaways now.