Howaitokuren Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in George Town

We visited this airconditional Japanese restaurant on weekdays in separate 2 occasions to sample all the popular dishes. First visit we spent about RM80 when we ordered set dinner while second visit we spent RM165 to try all its famous ala carte dishes. 80% of the tables were vacant on both occasions. Table service for ordering and serving within 15 minutes upon ordering.

On the first visit, we ordered a set dinner with 4 dishes at RM59.90. Dish 1 = sweet and sour fish. It was a whole fish and it was well fried. 4 stars. Dish 2 = garlic claypot chicken. It was simply one of the best chicken soups we liked, and the chicken keat was soft and tender. 5 stars. Dish 3 = Stir fry potato leaves was mediocre. 2 stars. Dish 4 = tofu with minced pork was great in tofu and sauce. 4 stars

Edamame at RM7.20 was mediocre, but at RM7.20, it was pricey. 2 stars

Second visit we ordered all ala carte items.

Cawanmushi at RM7.20 was one of the worst we tried. Tasteless and lack of the bean fragrance. 1 star

Miso soup RM4.20 was mediocre. Nothing special. 2 stars

It was one of the worst sushi we ever tried. Nothing fancy and ikura didn't live up its reputation. Moreover, the wasabi was tasteless. 1 star

Spicy ramen RM23.80 was the star of the night. It was superb and addictive. We finished until the last drop of its soup, and we didn't feel thirsty afterwards. We ordered this ramen at spicy level 2, and we felt comfortable, and for your information, there was actually a spicy level from 1 to 40. But, we didn't like the prawn tempura that dipped into the curry for too long. 5 stars

Tempura was mediocre as it was a bit too oily. There were too many oil stains on the paper. 2 stars

Grilled squid RM32 was great as some portion was soft and tender while some portion was over and burnt. 2 stars

Shishamo RM13.80 was a great disappointment. It was over burnt, and we didn't feel the best of the smelt fish. 1 star

In short, we liked its set dinner and spicy ramen. Other than that, more improvements...

Have a dinner here. Waited for 45mins for the food as the shop was full which is understandable as they are lack of crew.

When the food arrive and we thought we finally can enjoy it, there was a group of people start shouting and laughing in the shop.

We ask the lady boss if she could ask them to tone down a little bit as it was too noisy to eat. But the lady boss just tell us they are celebrating birthday.

While I did not see any birthday cake and they are not singing birthday song. I don’t understand why they can’t tone down a little bit just for the other customers.

We were force to rush and finish our food and leave the place within 15mins after 45mins of waiting. Which I don’t think it worth to pay Japan restaurant price but eat like in fast food shop.

Will not...

Had a great dining experience here! The boss is super friendly and took the time to explain the menu to us when we asked about the differences between the ramens, what's in the curry ramen, and even recommended their bestsellers. Also, he can speak Chinese, which made communication even easier. The prices here are reasonable, and the service is really good. The toilet is very clean, which is always a good sign.

What really surprised me was when he found out it was my birthday, he gave me a free sushi cake! It came in a big portion with a light candle on top and honestly looked like a real cake, so creative and thoughtful. I really appreciate the gesture, thank you so much! It’s my best birthday ever!!! And, the food very...