The Tempe restaurant, which opened in April, has a modest menu featuring four ramen dishes with a variety of topping options and traditional Japanese sides — creating an ideal environment for a plethora of combinations. Owner Kim Ahn justifies the humble menu, saying she wants to start small to gradually introduce Arizonans to a cuisine that has reached its full potential in chic cities like Los Angeles.
"That’s kind of how I wanted to start. We wanted to introduce the ramen to people in Arizona [first] because not a lot of people know about ramen," Ahn says. "When we came to Arizona there was nothing like that here."
Ahn, who grew up in L.A. and went to New York University, says the popularity of ramen-only restaurants has spread from San Diego to Seattle. Considering the popularity amongst students, creating a dining experience devoted to ramen near ASU seemed like the perfect fit — and a great way to differentiate Republic Ramen from other local restaurants.
"I wanted to be known as a 'ramen bar.' I didn’t want to be known as an Asian restaurant," Ahn says.
Ahn is also adding a coffee-shop feel to the L.A. concept. Aside from the fair trade products and wi-fi that college students already expect from coffee shops, the shop also specializes in boba milk teas and slushes. Like ramen, boba (a Taiwanese tea beverage with tapioca clusters) has increasingly gained popularity in Japan.
The restaurant itself feels undeniably modern — big windows adding light, bright yet sparse colors, and a variation of bar stools and traditional tables. The experience is easy to navigate, too, with patrons ordering at the counter before seating themselves.
Like almost all noodles, the ramen noodle originated in China. The dish and the name "ra-men", however, are said to be derived from the Japanese pronunciation of Lo-Mein.
Rooted in the Japanese culture's affinity for rich, full-bodied flavors, traditional ramen stock is made with meat. Ahn says this proves to be a challenge when catering to the university market — where many students experiment with vegetarianism.
"One thing that I’ve noticed and encountered here as opposed to L.A. is there’s a lot of vegetarians here. A lot of the broth is made with meat, that’s the flavor — the pork, the chicken, stuff like that," Ahn explains. "Right now we’re developing more vegetarian broth with the authentic seaweed and kelp. It seemed like for the last week we’ve been here there’s been a lot of request for vegetarian [options]. A lot of youth are pretty health conscious."
Republic Ramen's stocks are made from scratch by a ramen chef from Tokyo, but Ahn hopes to debut a vegetarian-friendly menu as soon as this week.
"The chef that we have for the ramen, he’s traditional — very Japanese. So everything has to be his Japanese standards. But what he doesn’t understand is there’s a lot of Americans that don’t know that culture," Ahn explains. "We should be able to offer [vegetarian options]. We don’t want to take away from the authentic Japanese menu, but we want to add to it."
If you go... 1301 E. University Drive #114, Tempe. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 480-388-3685, one.republicramen.com.
Contact the reporter janessa.hilliard@asu.edu.
