One ramen restaurant has absolutely blown up on social media with thousands of people filtering through the doors of the Sydney restaurant since in opened two weeks ago.
James and Hahn opened Happy Ramen Express in Cabramatta, Sydney, on May 15 after the idea of a self-serve ramen restaurant began to form in December 2023.
Essentially, people can choose from a collection of noodle brands before picking out their toppings to create their idea of a perfect ramen.
“I tell people I came up with the idea but Hahn really was the brains behind it all,” James told news.com.au.
“My daughter Bella-vie and her siblings came up with the shop name and colour theme. I am just their minion building things and giving my two cents.”
James is a carpenter while Hahn is a chef.
“The concept of self serve ramen is quite popular in Asia and something we felt the Australian market would enjoy,” James said.
“We started researching among the younger generation and families to understand the trend. While we started building the shop in February, my mum, Hanh and our eldest daughter flew to Thailand to firm up the concept and how we could successfully introduce it in Australia.”
And, it’s safe to say, the concept has been a resounding success with TikTok flooded with videos of people checking out the establishment.
TikTok user @cinsdaily was one of the customers, saying she’d been to Korea but never got her Korean ramen convenience store by the river experience.
“Holy, look at their selection. They have one of my favourites Jin Ramen and a few I’ve never seen before like the scallop ramen,” Cin said.
“I went for a potato ramen and then you can head over to this fridge where you can choose your toppings. They also had this Asian snack and drinks bar but I went for the ice cup.”
She said found it fun cooking her ramen on the machines, which only takes three minutes to cook your dish.
Nessa said the store design “really made her feel like I was in Korea” adding the ramen selection even included exclusive ramen flavours.
“There’s a fridge full of toppings like seafood, fish balls, cheese and rice cakes separated into bags,” Nessa said.
“I was so surprised to see Korean pouch drinks, ice cups and ice creams. They even have induction cookers like in the convenience store.”
Fatimah Omran also checked out the restaurant after revealing her daughter loves Asian food and wanted to try it.
“I know it’s just ramen but it felt like we were in Japan,” she said.
Manu social media users commiserated that it wasn’t close by to them.
“Why can’t this be in Brisbane,” one social media user commented.
Another said: “They must open one in the Gold Coast.”
“omg I need this in Melbourne,” one added.
James said he and Hanh were shocked that their family business had gathered so much attention.
“We are really in shock and are grateful as to the support and interest it has created,” he said.
“In some ways it has helped with all the nights we had one or two hourx\s sleep over the past three months in getting it off the ground.”