Ramen shops are everywhere. So if you want to know about a special one that offers something extra, we’ve got the lowdown on Ramen Shack, which just soft opened in San Juan Capistrano.
Background: Born in Huntington Beach, Japanese American chef Keizo Shimamoto — whose ramen burger went viral on social media in 2013 — has returned to his native Southern California to open this new restaurant in mid-September. He’s moved from New York City, where he was running a ten-seat critic’s darling called ramenya. Now 44, Shimamoto was once a ramen-obsessed young man who quit his computer programmer job and moved to Japan where he ate thousands of bowls of the stuff and learned the craft of making it from local experts there.
Hungry? Sign up for The Eat Index, our weekly food newsletter, and find out where to eat and get the latest restaurant happenings in Orange County. Subscribe here.During the pandemic he had time to think about making a change. Now a father of three with his wife, Junko, he decided to move back home to be closer to family.
“I started my ramen journey right here in SoCal more than a decade ago, so it only makes sense that I return and continue pursuing my ramen dreams here,” he said.
The Look: The 1,400 square-foot restaurant will be divided into a 32-seat ramen shop and a tea bar that serves boba. The restaurant is decorated with a mural that’s the chef’s vision of Tokyo, by artist James Haunt. Dark and cozy, Shimamoto says it has a “speakeasy” vibe with Japanese hip-hop as its soundtrack.
The menu: The noodles are made from Shimamoto’s recipes by Myojo USA, one of the leading Japanese ramen noodle manufacturers in North America. Try the Signature Shoyu, with classic chicken and dashi broth, or the Ganga-style Tsukemen, with thick Tonkotsu Gyokai dipping noodles.
For something original, there’s The Quiet Storm, a 13-ingredient broth with pork chashu, spinach, scallions, nori and other goodies. The Infamous Green Curry is made with Quiet Storm broth, green curry paste, soy sauce tare, chicken chashu, spinach, menma, scallions, red chili and cilantro.
Diners won’t want to miss the famous ramen burger with noodles in place of a bun. That is not on the menu now but will be added soon.
The drinks: Boba drinks and tea are available now. Ramen Shack is applying for a beer and wine license.
Info: Soft opening hours are 11 a.m. -3 p.m. Sunday; 4-8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m Friday-Saturday. Closed Wednesday. 31761 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, ramenshack.com.
The last word: Shimamoto is self taught but that didn’t stop him from becoming a ramen king. “I’ve learned everything just based upon my love for ramen, mainly eating ramen everywhere. I sometimes eat like two or three bowls a day,” he said.
The most he’s eaten in a year was 600 bowls in 2014. “I still can’t get sick of it,” he said. “Ramen has so many different styles, so many different variations that you can satisfy your desires every single day with something different.”
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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