Gan Nen Do — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Amazing soba but mediocre tempura means there isn't much to choose from here.

Gan-nen-do’s Soba is wonderfully chewy and maybe I’m imagining it, but full of buckwheat in each bite. They also give a very generous portion, and I was fully satisfied by the end with soba. I also like their dipping sauce, which is a bit lighter than other places, and is actually drinkable with the Soba-Yu at the end of the meal.

However, the tempura, a key side dish in soba restaurants is completely lacking. The batter is far too thick, and, whatever their recipe is, does not bind well to the ingredients. For the okra, I had one bite, and the entire skin slid off! The thickness of the batter also obscures the taste of more delicate ingredients like the prawn and frankly, tastes like chain restaurant tempura. I wouldn’t order it again willingly.

Incidentally the “special” tempura set which is about 20rm more than the regular version, only adds 1 shrimp and 1 piece of eel, so I wouldn’t recommend the upgrade.

Apart from tempura though, there’s not much to order along with your soba; they have a duck dipping version, but everything else is tempura or tempura-adjacent.

Finally, I know they’re new, but the tempura station is a real choke point in their setup: we ordered 4 soba-tempura sets and waited 40 minutes for all of them to arrive, with the restaurant only half-full. If the restaurant is even slightly busy, be ready to wait if you want to try their tempura.

Overall, I think the soba quality and portions are top notch for KL, but the tempura is so disappointing I would not go again on an empty stomach. If you’re a soba aficionado, it is definitely worth trying, but otherwise, I just don’t know what else you’re eating, given the limitations of the menu. To me, the best tempura-soba combo in KL is Mitsumori in Lot10, and Sobakichi next to Agile MK has more additional options like curry, tonkatsu, etc.

So, even though I really like their soba, I can’t really recommend GND until I can go there for a full meal; soba...

Buckwheat soba. As someone who frequents ramen establishments a lot, I had greater expectations for this place. I ordered the hot buckwheat soba while my friends ordered the cold soba. The broth was good, it packed really good flavor. But the soba noodle, I don't know if buckwheat soba was supposed to be served like this, but I could feel flour texture as I bit into my noodle. Is this expected? I've never had noodles like this before, it felt undercooked to me. Also my soba was chopped up to small pieces, why? I don't know if they made an assumption that just because I'm Indian that I wouldn't be able to hold chopsticks? Courtesy would have been to ask me first isn't it? Or maybe they thought they could give me left over tail ends from the soba noodles made? Either way, I didn't want to continue eating after my first bite but forced myself through out of respect for the people I was with. I couldn't bring myself to finish it. We also had the fried chicken. The fried chicken was completely tasteless, I could not take a second bite from it. We ended up not finishing the fried chicken and I couldn't finish my soba. For the price paid, I expected quality but that is not what we got. Won't be coming back again...

I recently tried a fantastic new Mori soba restaurant that serves 100% handmade buckwheat soba, and it exceeded all my expectations. The texture of the soba was excellent, perfectly firm and flavorful. I opted for the cold soba, and it was a delight. The portions were generous, and the meal offered great value for the price.

The tempura was another highlight. Lightly battered, crispy, and not overly oily, making the whole meal feel healthy yet satisfying. Pairing the soba with the tempura set was a perfect combination.

What really stood out was the dipping sauce, which was delicate and balanced, complementing the soba beautifully. Finishing the meal with sobayu (the hot water in which the soba is cooked) added a warm, comforting touch, rounding off the experience in such a satisfying way.

To end the meal on a refreshing note, I had a yuzu-flavored ice cream, which was the perfect palate cleanser. The citrusy flavor was light, zesty, and refreshing. A wonderful finish to an already excellent meal.

This place is a must-visit for soba enthusiasts. The attention to detail, freshness of the ingredients, and overall quality make it a standout spot for anyone craving authentic and delicious...