ramen

People | WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN? Apr 7, 2018

Tak Tokumine: It's all about love and noodles

by George Koutsakis

Founder of Japan Centre and Shoryu Ramen says the U.K. is now his home.

Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Feb 3, 2018

Men Labo Hiro: Balanced ramen from a yakitori chef

by Robbie Swinnerton

Men Labo Hiro is far from your standard noodle counter. Squeaky clean both inside and out, with spacious tables by the door and enough room to squeeze in even a stroller or two, it feels more like a family restaurant than the type of ...

Food & Drink | KYOTO RESTAURANTS Jan 13, 2018

Aitsu no Ramen Kataguruma: Tsukemen the show stopper

by J.J. O'Donoghue

If you're a fan of tsukemen, the ramen dish where the noodles are served separate to the soup, you'll need to get here early.

Business Dec 27, 2017

End of 47-year Japan rice program signals boost for ramen wheat

by Aya Takada and Hiromi Horie

The end of Japan's four decades of rice-market control could be good news for noodle lovers. That's because rice farmers may plant alternative crops like wheat once government control ends by March 31 and look to tap into rising demand for ramen. Fukuoka Prefecture is ...

Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Dec 2, 2017

Homemade Ramen Muginae: These noodles are well worth the wait

by Robbie Swinnerton

All the best restaurants require considerable outlay. Usually that means a hefty dent in your bank balance. At Homemade Ramen Muginae the demand is not on your pocketbook but your time. Just reaching this simple, bright, nine-seat noodle counter entails a trek out to nether ...

Business / Corporate | Taking the Lead Oct 16, 2017

Ippudo ramen chain credits its global success to localized tastes

by Alex Martin

Toshiyuki Kiyomiya likes to compare ramen to a carefully arranged universe in a bowl. The savory combination of steaming broth, noodles and toppings — typically ranging from chāshū (Chinese-style roasted pork) and menma (pickled bamboo shoots) to soy-sauce braised soft-boiled eggs and sheets of nori ...

Food & Drink Oct 7, 2017

Hokkaido's Hakodate is heaven for gourmands of all stripes

by Davey Young

Hakodate occupies a unique place on the Japanese landscape, both literally and gastronomically speaking. Facing the Tsugaru Strait from its position on the southern shores of Hokkaido's Oshima Peninsula, the city grew from a small Ainu fishing village to become, in 1854, Japan's first port ...

Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Jul 29, 2017

Hanabi: True labor-of-love ramen

by Robbie Swinnerton

It is all too easy to overlook Hanabi. Every day streams of visitors walk past this unprepossessing noodle joint without giving it a second look as they hike between the center of Kamakura and the Hase area and its famous Great Buddha. That's their ...

Business / Corporate Jun 13, 2017

Japanese ramen shops prove popular in competitive Malaysian market

Japanese ramen shops are thriving in Malaysia, where locals are embracing the noodle dish with gusto. Famous Japanese ramen brands have been entering the Malaysian market one after another in recent years following the entry of sushi and shabu shabu hot pot restaurant chains in ...

Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE May 6, 2017

Mensho: Charting a new course for the future of ramen

by Robbie Swinnerton

Ramen is no longer just ramen. Japan's favorite noodle is changing in front of our eyes, evolving into new forms that have little in common with the classic soul-food bowls of the past. Some bemoan this as the end of an era. Others call it ...

Business / Corporate Apr 13, 2017

Japanese noodle restaurant chain Ippudo makes debut in Myanmar

Popular Japanese noodle restaurant chain Ippudo is making its debut in Myanmar, opening a branch in Yangon's new Junction City Shopping Mall. Chikaranomoto Holdings Co., the Fukuoka-based operator of the ramen restaurant chain, opened its first outlet on Tuesday ahead of a grand opening in ...