Food Blog | Kyudon | Jalan Dhoby | Johor City Center

Kyudon is a new and trendy restaurant along Jalan Dhoby serving up donburi rice bowls, ramen and a reasonably priced Omakase course (cheapest being RM88), here’s what I thought of the place!

Context: Came here for dinner with my girlfriend!

Is it Halal?

This is a no pork no lard establishment with ingredients sourced from halal suppliers. But as usual, if you’re concerned about the lack of actual halal certification, eat at your own discretion!

Where it Is

It is located along Jalan Dhoby (and is directly opposite Replacement Lodge, or otherwise on the same row as Flowers in the Window). The parking is pretty difficult (lanes are narrow, lots of people doing some strange illegal parkings), but I would probably advice against parkings like those on the road facing the temple and Galleria @ Kotaraya (they seem to get summons of some sort and there are people trying to make a quick buck on parking there).

In terms of the restaurant itself, they advertise themselves as small and cozy, but I would personally say that this is one of those places you avoid if you are scared of the lack of COVID-19 precautions in restaurants. It’s to the point that I would say that even WITHOUT those precautions put into place, I honestly feel as though I don’t have enough personal space for myself. So just to keep in mind.

Address: 13, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor

Operating Hours

Daily: 11am-4pm (Lunch) 6-9pm (Dinner)

Note: This place can get really packed for dinner, so I highly recommend reserving a table. They’ll hold your table for 10 minutes. (012-578 8547)

What it Costs

Dinner for the two of us came up to RM81.75 but I would probably think that the per person price would probably be RM25-30 if you order a main, share a sushi roll and have a green tea. As I said before, there is a RM88 omakase course and a more expensive variant - just check on the day.

The breakdown of our meal is like such:

Kyudon Chicken Ramen RM18.90
Chirashi Don RM24.90
Kyudon Salmon Roll RM18.90
Green Tea RM3.90 x 2 = RM7.80

Service Charge 10% - Total RM81.75

You can take a look at their full menu by clicking here! (Please do note that this is an opening menu and is subject to change)

How it Tastes

So, starting off with the salmon roll. This is a nice roll. A really nice balance of flavours coming from the salmon and the sauces and the combination in general is good! The sauces aren’t overpowering and the rice is yummy, so this is a nice choice to share among a group!

Next up, the Chirashi Don. Not going to lie, on first impression, this is a pretty small Chirashi Don and I would probably say that this is smaller than your average Chirashi Don (see comparison to cup size in photo) - my girlfriend agrees as well.

But in terms of flavour, you have a lot of nice flavours coming from the fish, tamago, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. The quality of the fish here in general I would say is pretty good - definitely better than your average Japanese restaurant.

Last of all, what I personally ordered - the Kyudon Chicken Ramen. I’m personally a fan of those hearty soup versions - those with pork broth, which are on the thicker side. This one is a thin broth which is still otherwise pretty fragrant and tasty - to the point where I’ll enjoy drinking on its own.

The noodles is probably the second thing that sticks out to be. Really springy noodles with a nice bite to them! The chicken is also something that is incorporated into this dish quite well. Grilled really yummily and has a nice bite to it!

Star Rating

7.5/10. Don’t get me wrong, the food is really yummy, but as I said before, I would probably give a higher rating had they perhaps done a better job with social distancing (especially given the current situation).