What Owning a Ramen Restaurant in Japan is Like

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BudokaiMR2 said:
They are literally not the same thing. It's not even called instant ramen (generally just called cup noodle after the biggest brand) here and most people would make a disgusted face if you tried to compare them.
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The one's I've tried say ramen on the packet...that's why I was hoping actual restaurant ramen was altogether different:
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I've done some searches and there are some local Japanese restaurants that have ramen on the menu (I usually only order off the sushi menu)....I'll have to give it a try the next time we go to one of them. Sure, they may not be authentic..but it may at least allow me to get an idea for what ramen should taste like.
 
Joeku said:
So...Toronto has to have somewhere legit like this, right? Everywhere east of the city (where I live) is way too broad in its range; makes me doubt it all together.
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If you're in Toronto, check out Sansotei Ramen: they are rated as the best Ramen shop in town on most social media sites, including Yelp and BlogTO.

http://www.sansotei.com/

I especially love their Tonkontsu Black Ramen (garlic flavour):
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TheBryanJZX90 said:
Instant ramen is also called "bag ramen" in Japan. Yes it's still ramen. But it's not the same thing as what you can get in a restaurant.
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I've actually never heard it called that. The flavors are sometimes something specific like chicken ramen, but really no one is going to think of cup noodles if you say you want to eat ramen.

They are similar for obvious reasons but it's like comparing a $10 burger with some frozen white castles. They just aren't the same thing at the end of the day.


FireCloud said:
The one's I've tried say ramen on the packet...that's why I was hoping actual restaurant ramen was altogether different
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Yeah, I just meant that's not how it's branded here in Japan. It's mostly for the exported brands and here the same thing is just called something like Cup Noodle (chicken ramen flavor)

So yes, restaurant ramen is a completely different beast.
 
M_Night said:
Poor guy. You would think he would at least have hired someone else to do the cleaning at the end of the day.

It could perhaps free up 1-2 hours a day.
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Yeah, I understand not being able to find help to do the cooking, he seems like he has really high standards and for someone like that it's very, very hard to find someone to substitute your work. The cleaning though you'd think he could find someone to pitch in at the end of the night but it's also probably hard to find someone who wants to work a 2 hour shift 6 days a week just to clean.
 
Fwiw his pronunciation of the word ramen was off, and the accent wasn't consistent. He kept rolling the r, which you don't need to do. So if it bothered you, don't worry.

It's like 70% L, 30% R. And you dont accentuate the second syllable like he kept doing. It's just ramen. And you barely pronounce the u in tsukemen, its more like tskehmen.

(Sorry, I'm a stickler for pronunciation.)
 
sprsk said:
Fwiw his pronunciation of the word ramen was off, and the accent wasn't consistent. He kept rolling the r, which you don't need to do. So if it bothered you, don't worry.

It's like 70% L, 30% R. And you dont accentuate the second syllable like he kept doing. It's just ramen. And you barely pronounce the u in tsukemen, its more like tskehmen.

(Sorry, I'm a stickler for pronunciation.)
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I'd say it's like 50% R and 50% L, and the side effect is that they find it hard to differentiate the two.

Or a rolled L.. if that makes sense
 
Cobalt Izuna said:
In Japan I hear it called Cup Ramen or just Instant Ramen
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This seems so weird to me. Maybe I've heard it called that and forgotten the fact or it's less common to call it that in Kansai or something.

The closest I've ever heard is it being called カップ麺.

I just can't help but imagine an actual ramen chef hearing someone ask if what he makes is the same as cup noodle and his face twisting into a look of pure disgust. Lol
 
Zyzyxxz said:
haha I hope this is a joke post because nobody makes their noodles in Japan because the noodles makers specialize in it.

It'd be like those restaurants that make their own ketchup when Heinz already perfected the science behind it.
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or like a deli that buys their bread from a local bakery.
 
BudokaiMR2 said:
This seems so weird to me. Maybe I've heard it called that and forgotten the fact or it's less common to call it that in Kansai or something.

The closest I've ever heard is it being called カップ麺.

I just can't help but imagine an actual ramen chef hearing someone ask if what he makes is the same as cup noodle and his face twisting into a look of pure disgust. Lol
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カップ麺 are the noodles that come in the cups or bowls, while instant ramen are the ones in the bags.
 
Cobalt Izuna said:
I'd say it's like 50% R and 50% L, and the side effect is that they find it hard to differentiate the two.

Or a rolled L.. if that makes sense
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Sounds similar to Korea's ㄹ sound. I occasionally get it right, but it's so unnatural to me that I almost always go too heavy on the r or too heavy on the l.
 
BudokaiMR2 said:
Only one person is being willfully obstinate in this scenario and it wasn't the chef.
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?!
I tried to order Yaki Ramen: a stir fried vegetable and noodle dish. From the vegetarian section of the menu. I find out it's not actually vegetarian. I try to suggest the easiest possible fix: substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. They refuse. Ergo, I'm the one being obstinate? What the hell... ?

I ordered something else btw. At their recommendation. It included kimchi which they promised was vegetarian. Guess what? Fish sauce.
 
FireCloud said:
The one's I've tried say ramen on the packet...that's why I was hoping actual restaurant ramen was altogether different:


I've done some searches and there are some local Japanese restaurants that have ramen on the menu (I usually only order off the sushi menu)....I'll have to give it a try the next time we go to one of them. Sure, they may not be authentic..but it may at least allow me to get an idea for what ramen should taste like.
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Not at all. Even more so with whatever that is(the beef, the herbs, the vegetables are all wrong) The taste and texture of everything is completely different.
 
Linkark07 said:
With this I'm convinced the first restaurant I would stop in Japan is a Ramen Restaurant.
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Do some research though, just like anywhere else in the world there are a ton of shitty low quality restaurants to avoid. Don't walk into any Ramen place expecting something mind blowing.

One of the worst bowls of Ramen I ever had was in Tokyo. Buuuut so were the top 10 best.
 
A ramen restaurant is finally opening in my area. I can't wait to try it!

We've had tons of pho restaurants for years, but no ramen.
 
As someone who's worked in ramen shops and who has ramen chef friends, a big challenge is the water bill/usage. You go through soooooooo much water throughout the day, haha.

It makes a ramen food truck concept virtually impossible. :\
 
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