Feed your hunger for Japanese soul food at PJ Section 17's Torinana, where ‘tori paitan ramen', ‘hambagu', Japanese claypot rice and more are served

Malay Mail

15-05-2025

PETALING JAYA, May 15 — Nestled in Happy Mansion, Section 17 is Torinana which offers a variety of Japanese eats, ideal for those seeking diversity.
The pork-free restaurant uses chicken, beef and seafood in their ramen, mazesoba, rice bowls, hotpot, gyoza, kamataki gohan and yoshoku offerings.
Slurp on a bowl of ramen here, with choices of different soup bases.
The signature bowl is the Tori Paitan Ramen (RM19.90), where a chicken broth made by slowly simmering whole chicken carcasses, skin and whole chicken for a whopping 12 hours!
A creamy chicken broth made from chicken carcasses, skin and whole chicken, slowly simmered for 12 hours is what makes this Tori Paitan Ramen special. — Picture by Choo Choy May
The creamy white broth brimming with good-for-you collagen is served with ramen and topped with ajitama or marinated egg, menma, corn niblets, seaweed and a slice of chicken chashu, fashioned from a roulade of chicken, cooked in a sauce using shoyu and garlic.
Variations of this chicken broth include a spicy version and another served with clams.
Adventurous diners can try the fiery Mala Ramen with Beef (RM29.90), where creamy chicken broth is spiked with numbing mala.
Shoyu and miso broths plus curry versions are also available here.
Pair your noodles with their house-made Gyoza (five pieces for RM13.90) made with chicken. There's also a prawn variant.
The absolute best pairing for your ramen will be these house-made plump and juicy gyoza filled with chicken and cabbage. — Picture by Choo Choy May
There's so much to love about these plump parcels of dough with a crispy bottom, stuffed generously with juicy chicken and cabbage fillings. One gyoza is not enough so you'll be forgiven if you end up eating all five.
For those who cannot live without rice, try their Kamataki Gohan, where rice and your choice of ingredients are cooked in a traditional style iron pot known as kama.
It's the ultimate one-pot meal where rice can be combined with a choice of protein, like salmon or beef, and a super orange coloured Kodawari egg yolk, rich with antioxidants. Once it's ready, just mix it up like claypot rice.
Kamataki Gohan is similar to claypot rice except it's cooked in an iron pot, where rice is cooked with beef slices and a bright orange Kodawari egg yolk. — Picture by Choo Choy May
The Salmon Kamataki is RM25.90, with a choice of teriyaki or plain grilled with salt or shioyaki, while the Gyuniku Kamataki is RM29.90, where it's served with Argentina sliced beef.
As the Kamataki Gohan is prepared only upon order, it takes 20 minutes to cook.
For those who prefer not to wait too long, there are various other rice bowls too, like the Hambagu Classic (RM21.90 for the beef). It also comes in a chicken version.
Hambagu Classic is a trendy rice bowl topped with juicy meat patty, egg yolk, bonito flakes and grated radish. — Picture by Choo Choy May
These meat patties with a soft, juicy texture are currently in-trend, popping up everywhere in town.
At Torinana, their version sits on a bowl of seaweed rice with the patty crowned with raw egg yolk, bonito flakes and grated radish.
There's also their Ten Don (RM23.90) or assorted tempura with rice and sauce, letting you enjoy the crunchy texture of freshly fried vegetables and prawns.
Toriniku Omelette (RM12.90) is testament to how the Japanese can cook up simple yet appealing dishes.
Sukiyaki Nabe (left) with its sweet soy broth and beef striploin slices while Ten Don (right) is a rice bowl with crunchy textures and the Toriniku Omelette offers an ideal side dish with the omelette wrap topped with bonito flakes and seaweed. — Picture by Choo Choy May
It's a bountiful bite where a thin rolled omelette is doused with mayonnaise, bonito flakes, seaweed, which hides a generous mountain of chicken.
When night falls, it's time for Sukiyaki Nabe (RM29.90) cooked at the table.
It's the perfect pick-me-up after a weary day in the office: bubbling hot sweet soy broth mingling with vegetables, tofu and mushrooms with tender premium Argentinian beef striploin slices gently swished to cook.
Dip the beef slices in the beaten egg like it's a sauce, transforming it into a velvety bite.
Find the restaurant nestled inside Section 17's Happy Mansion. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Torinana,
AG-04, Happy Mansion, Block A,
Jalan 17/13, Section 17, Petaling Jaya.
Open daily: 11am to 10pm.
Tel: [phone].
Instagram: @torinana.my
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.