The success of Ivan Ramen, a noodle shop founded in 2007 by U.S.-born chef Ivan Orkin, has been well documented in the press over the past year. Indeed, it is not unusual for the 10-seat restaurant in Minami Karasuyama, Setagaya Ward, to have dozens of people waiting outside its doors to try the handmade shio (salt) and shoyu (soy) specialties.
It might seem odd then that Orkin would now be endorsing an instant-ramen product at Circle K Sunkus convenience stores.
Not so, Orkin says, reasoning that the just-add-hot-water venture will expose more people to his philosophy of serving the best possible noodles, fast.