At the huge, brightly lit factory in Teterboro, New Jersey, machines from Japan gently mix eggs and flour and turn them into sheets of yellow dough that are then cut into thin wavy ramen.
Opened in 2012, the plant is a branch of Honolulu-based Sun Noodle, a business looking to educate people on true ramen culture and supply them with the goods once they've acquired the taste — in this case the finicky palates of New Yorkers.
Business is brisk. The plant, which now supplies noodles to 70 percent of the Big Apple's ramen eateries, has seen an eightfold sales volume growth since its opening and now accounts for 40,000 servings a day.