Visitors are pouring in to indulge in ramen bowls at Cape Town’s latest Japanese-inspired hotspot. But some cultural eating ‘how tos’ are worth noting.
Some intriguing advice appears on a colourful table print-out at the new Japanese-inspired Ramenhead restaurant: “Slurping is expected and respected.”
There, on a December opening night in the heart of Cape Town’s inner city, diners queued patiently from 17h30 until well into the evening, waiting for others to vacate their seats so they could indulge in brothy noodle bowls.
Queues and a quick table turnover were an auspicious start for this local noodle restaurant – good luck being an important consideration for future success in Asian culture.
In Japan’s traditional ramen shops where seating is limited, it’s courtesy to order only one bowl per person, and to eat with speed, making way for the next person who’s queuing. There’s another reason: Ramen is fast food in Japan, explains Japan’s metronine.osaka. It should be eaten quickly before the noodles get soggy and limp, which impacts flavour negatively. You start understanding why slurping could speed things up ...
FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH
Ramenhead is already a Cape Town hit, banquette seating facing individual chairs with Japanese characters painted on their backs. Dinnertime buzzes with music, conversation, and a playful mood.
I sat solo at a long bar counter, absorbing a vintage brick and dark-tiled small kitchen space full of chefs busily dunking and straining baskets of noodles, finishing off ramen bowls, or transferring fried or steamed gyoza dumplings from the flat top.
FYN chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Ashley Moss, with Jennifer Hugé in front, are the team behind Ramenhead. Chef Julia du Toit joins their kitchen crew.
Tristan du Plessis of Studio A has done a fine job of bringing Japanese detail to the compact interior space at Speakers’ Corner. Wood panels traditionally darkened by charring with fire surround the bar, stocked high with a selection of sake bottles. Shelves higher up display ramen bowls from local ceramicists, each showing a unique set.
“We’re on street level here, which I like,” says Tempelhoff. “We’ve come in at competitive pricing.”
So why ramen? “This is the other side of Japan. The street side. Ramen is our [South Africa’s] bunny chow. Before it became trendy, it was worker’s food. Chinese migrants came to Japan and needed something wholesome, filling and packed with carbs and goodness, to give energy to continue the day. That’s why I like it: every bowl is so complex in umami flavour and nutrients: it’s extremely healthy but rich food. Just eating the broth will make you feel better and restore health and wellbeing.”
Moss has had a long fascination with Japan. “I became interested in the culture and watched Japanese anime,” he says. “I’ve tried to learn all I can about the country, including the language, and our last trip [to Osaka and Tokyo] gave me a lot of insights into ramen’s origins and the various regional styles.”
NOODLE LAB
Around the corner, facing terrace tables outside, is an open “finishing” kitchen where the continent’s only state-of-the-art Yamamoto noodle machine springs into action. It uses pressure to steamroller out delicate, lightweight ramen strands.
Any traveller to Asia will smile at the glass display of plastic imitations of roasted chashu pork, karaage fried chicken and tuna donburi dishes in the Ramenhead window, as you’d find in many Asian restaurant windows. These chefs had fun shopping in Tokyo’s Kappabashi Street, which supplies Japan’s restaurant trade.
And do plan in advance, if you want to have capacity for dessert (I didn’t). The purin Japanese egg custard looks glossy and gorgeous. “Our purin has fresh peaches cooked in a ginger syrup and lemon, with a touch of yuzu,” says Tempelhoff. “We change the ice cream flavours weekly. This week is roast pumpkin and miso ice cream, with pecan nuts and bourbon.”
OODLES OF NOODLES
Ramenhead, which is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, keeps options simple with two ramen styles: chintan (clear broth), or paitan, cloudy and emulsified. Wagyu mazemen is a dry noodle featuring ground wagyu beef mince. Diners could enjoy tori chintan clear brown broth, with chicken wontons and pork chashu. Or cloudy tori paitan, with shio tare and chicken chashu.
With sake to wash it down, I dived into a bowl of tonkotsu ramen. This creamy pork bone broth oozes flavours of slow cooking, richness and comfort. Thin slices of roasted chashu pork belly, fungus, nori and spring onion merged lovingly in textural contrast, with fermented bamboo shoot menma strips for sweet-sour zing.
As savoury somethings, there is Ramenhead’s gyoza dumplings or karaage, chicken thighs crisply fried three times, with yuzu and green chilli aioli. I had food envy when a couple nearby shared this popular Japanese dish before their ramen arrived.
Diners can also order kaedama (extra noodles) or nekomama (warm rice from Kanazawa) to douse in any leftover broth. Ramenhead’s homemade condiments will jazz up that ramen bowl: there’s garlic in a Japanese vinegar, sliced onion, or the aromatic heat of star anise chilli oil.
RAMEN ETIQUETTE
But do take note of Japanese ramen etiquette: noodles and toppings are eaten with chopsticks; soup requires a spoon. And while slurping may be considered bad manners in other countries, in Japan it’s acceptable and even encouraged.
According to kokorocares.com, slurping noodles shows just how much you are enjoying your meal.
The last word on slurping goes to Tempelhoff. “In Japan it’s regarded as respecting the chef if you eat fast: you’ve got to slurp. If you eat fast, the noodles don’t overcook in the broth. You’re also eating to make way for the next person. That way [tables turning over], the chef will be able to keep prices down. So, in Japan, it’s often no talking, eat fast and leave,” he smiles. “Here in South Africa, we’re a little more accommodating.”
“Ramen is very technical in its creation … some ramen houses in Japan are super-serious and don’t even allow talking while eating!” exclaims Tempelhoff. “But that delicate balance of ingredients – bone nutrients, lean protein and amino acids – working together give ramen its umami, making it highly addictive and creating a feeling of euphoria.
“Ashley has that very technical side to him, so the ramen will be as authentic as possible,” he adds. “Ultimately, ramen should be fast, cheap, filling, restorative and fun, and we will bring all those components into play for a Cape Town audience.”
IMAGES: Ramenhead
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