Come out for the 2nd edition of the Ippo Ramen pop-up here at Umami Mart. Last month, the ramen sold out in record time — 56 bowls in 56 minutes. You know what that means… get here EARLY if you want a bowl. Seriously. Steve will be serving his signature ramen with shoyu, miso and shio broths with all the accouterments: soft-boiled egg, negi (green onions), chashu (roasted pork) and nori (seaweed).

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a man embarked on a quest was to eat at every ramen shop in Los Angeles. Mr. Ramen was on the list from Day One, but the man never visited.

You see, Mr. Ramen has a certain reputation. To put it bluntly, the man has never seen a good review from a reputable source.

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My first-ever visit to New York was with my sister and it flew by. It’s been four years since we travelled together and she’s always so much fun — we do a lot of laughing, shopping and, of course, eating. This time was no exception as we raced through the city to meet our friends for brunch, lunch and dinner. As a family of mixed-Japanese origin, I’m rather proud to say we started and ended our short holiday with ramen (we had no choice, it’s in our blood.)

MOMOFUKU NOODLE BAR

Ramen is booming in London at the moment but it took root in the States way sooner in a more tighter, deeper way — from instant ramen so beloved of college students to the more artisan kitchens for the truly addicted.

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We are SUPER EXCITED to host a pop-up by Ippo Ramen this First Friday 4/5. Proprietor Steve Yee will be here starting at 6pm, ready to cook up some noodles to serve you his ramen. His simple menu consists of three choices: shoyu, miso and shio (salt) broths. He makes everything except the noodles by hand, and spent over a year perfecting his broths and a long while on the egg and chashu.

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Men Oh hails from Tokushima prefecture on Shikoku Island, the smallest and least populated of Japans’s four main islands. Until the completion of the first of several bridge systems in 1988 the island was only accessible by ferry or plane, and to this day the mostly rural island flies under the radar.

Their ramen is no different. While Japan’s other three islands are all famous for their regional specialties — Hokkaido for its winter-warming Sapporo-style miso ramen (often served with corn and a couple slabs of butter); Kyushu for its pork-perfect Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen (stewed pork bones distilled to a creamy goodness); and too many to count on the central, main island of Honshu, like the traditional Tokyo-style shoyu ramen.

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London Ramen Wars Part I: Ittenbari

The second ramen bar that opened in London close on the heels of Ittenbari is Tonkotsu located in the middle of Soho. Run by the team behind Tsuru Sushi whose pop-up ramen event I attended last year, Tonkotsu is a stylish and modern ramen-ya serving tonkotsu ramen as its central dish — so beloved of Kyushu in Southern Japan.

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On a dull, drizzling day in Tokyo I set out for my second-ever bowl of tsukemen (ramen dipping noodles). After its introduction in the early 2000′s, tsukemen has boomed in popularity, rising to a crescendo a few years ago and still going strong. Many, many shops in Tokyo offer both standard ramen and tsukemen, and the consensus is that the majority of the latter tastes relatively similar no matter where it’s eaten (although the quality varies).

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London is currently undergoing a ramen boom. In the past year alone, five new ramen bars are opening its doors to a public clamouring for some hearty B-kyu Japanese grub. It’s a ramen war, baby. Compared to what was available before, these are serious noodle bars with a tight focus on all the accoutrements that make ramen such big business in Japan: fresh noodles, aji-tamago (marinated boiled egg), home-made chashu and most importantly, the soup.

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Ramen culture has finally reached America. In New York, when it rains, it rains cats and dogs. There are so many new places opening up and I already lost count. Tonkotsu, shoyu, miso, there is so much variety. Plus, American-owned ramen places serve innovative dishes that are more like soupy pasta than ramen.

Thanks to the boom in gourmet ramen culture, instant ramen has vastly improved in quality as well.

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Ramen has always been big in Japan, and since the mid-2000′s it has exponentially grown in popularity and trendiness, with younger entrepenuers trying their hand at making the nation’s most beloved B-kyu (B-Class) food.

B-kyu foods are defined as “comfort foods” like curry, ramen, gyudon (beef bowl) and yakisoba. In contrast, A-kyu (A-Class) foods are the countless kaiseki and Michelin-starred restaurants that populate Japan.

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