‘When you slurp, you draw in air alongside the noodles and broth. This allows the aromas to travel to your nasal cavity so that you get a more intense flavour profile of the dish,’ says Wangari Wachira, one of the founders of Shokudo Japanese Restaurant in Nairobi.
The process is often compared to swirling a glass of wine before tasting it to create a fuller sensory experience. But that’s not its only purpose. Ramen is typically served scalding hot, and drawing in air as you eat can help cool the noodles and broth as they enter your mouth. The Japanese do not care about making sounds while we eat,’ he says. ‘It’s simply a way of expression, a way of saying that we are having a good time and enjoying the meal.’
The one-pot meal
Another Japanese tradition is saying Itadakimasu before a meal and, Gochisousama deshita afterwards. Both are expressions of appreciation for the food and the work that has gone into bringing it to the table, and in the case of ramen, that work can begin hours, sometimes even days before the bowl is served.
‘Ramen is what you call a one-pot meal,’ says Wangari. ‘It brings together several components in a bowl, with broth being one of the main ones. And to make a proper broth, you have to boil it for hours.’
The broth can vary in style, from lighter versions that require less cooking time, to thicker, more concentrated broths that are simmered for 18 to 24 hours.
‘Different regions use different ingredients and have different styles of cooking, but the most common one is tonkotsu, which is a broth made from pork bones,’ says Koki.
‘We use the bones with plenty of bone marrow and boil them together with aromatics such as ginger, garlic, and leeks. I can compare the technique to how Kenyans make their beef soup, although more care and consideration go into the ramen broth to achieve that deep, rich taste.’
A ramen bowl also includes noodles, which are often made by hand using wheat flour, water, and alkaline salts such as sodium bicarbonate. Unlike spaghetti and many commercial noodles, ramen noodles tend to have a springy, chewy texture that allows them to take on the flavour of the broth, hold their shape, and retain some bite even when immersed in the hot soup.
To prevent them from becoming soggy, however, the experts say the trick is to boil them for a few minutes and remove them while they are still slightly undercooked so they can finish cooking in the broth.
And then there are the toppings.
‘If you are doing it at home, you can use whatever you have in your pantry, but the main toppings include chashu (braised pork belly), soft-boiled marinated eggs, and vegetables such as bok choy, spinach, bamboo shoots, or green onions,’ says Wangari. ‘You can also add extras such as seaweed, mushrooms, narutomaki (cured fish cake), or miso paste.’
Once each component has been prepared, they are brought together in a single bowl, which Wangari describes as both a bowl of goodness and a labour of love.
Growing foothold
In recent years, Kenyan diners have increasingly come to appreciate this labour of love, giving ramen a foothold in Nairobi’s dining scene.
In Japanese, the word shokudo refers to a casual, local eatery, which is exactly what Wangari and her co-founder envisioned when they started the restaurant back in 2019.
‘My partner and I have interacted with Japanese culture for over 30 years now,’ she says. ‘We started Shokudo because we felt the Japanese food culture was not being experienced here in the same way that it was in Japan, and we wanted to share that full-on, authentic experience. There are a lot of things we incorporated into our restaurant simply because that’s how it’s done in Japan.’
The reception, she says, was better than she’d hoped.
‘The timing was perfect,’ she says. ‘It was a time when people were looking for more from the restaurant scene, and Japan had done a good job marketing its food globally, including through social media. If someone was a foodie, they had in one way or another heard about Japanese food, so by the time we opened, the curiosity was already there.’
The diners profile
Still, the majority of her customers were Japanese, French, and other members of the international community. Curious Kenyans initially gravitated toward sushi, with ramen gaining more attention over the years.
‘We still have people coming in to try Japanese cuisine for the first time, but while sushi is still a best-seller, many of them want to start with ramen,’ she says.
Koki, who also started his restaurant in 2019 after noticing a gap in the market, shares a similar experience.
Shokudo Japanese Restaurant co-founder Wangari Wachira demonstrates how to prepare ramen during an interview at the restaurant in Kilimani, Nairobi, on September 3, 2026.
Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
‘I would find ramen shops at every corner in other countries, but when I came to Kenya, it wasn’t a booming business at all,’ he says. ‘And I think that’s because there wasn’t proper information about Japanese food.’
But unlike Shokudo, Sushi Ramen Bar’s main clientele is Kenyan.
‘We have a bit of a mix, but about 90 percent of our customers are Kenyan,’ he says. ‘This has been our target all along, so it wasn’t surprising.’
Though exact figures are difficult to come by, both restaurants say demand for ramen has steadily increased over the years. Both have since expanded to three branches.
Shokudo has outlets in Kilimani, Gigiri and Riverside Drive, while Sushi Ramen Bar has branches at New Muthaiga Mall along Thigiri Ridge, The Hub Karen and Sarit Centre.
The business secret
Wangari credits the growth to the restaurant’s authentic recipes and consistency. Much of what goes into the ramen is made in-house, including the broth, noodles and miso paste. The restaurant uses locally sourced ingredients and produces its own vegetables, eggs and chicken, while importing seasonings such as soy sauce, mirin and sake from Japan.
‘My secret is I never skimp on ingredients, even if it is costly for the business,’ she says. ‘That is how the dishes get their rich taste, and that is what keeps the customers coming back.’
The restaurant makes few adaptations to its ramen, mostly by offering options that are less common in Japan, such as a vegetarian bowl made with tofu and mushrooms instead of meat and eggs. Even so, Wangari says the pork ramen remains the most popular. Prices range from Sh1,500 to Sh1,700 a bowl.
For Sushi Ramen Bar, Koki believes its commitment to local communities, affordable prices, generous portions and variety have been key to its growth.
‘We work for the locals,’ he says. ‘Beyond making a profit, our vision is also to support and create impact for the local communities.’
The restaurant employs about 60 women, whom Koki trains from scratch in kitchen safety and hygiene, hospitality, recipes and ingredients, as well as the history behind the dishes. For Koki, this approach is a way of addressing social challenges within the communities the restaurant serves, particularly by creating opportunities for single mothers.
The restaurant also relies heavily on ingredients imported directly from Japan, including ramen noodles, soy sauce, nori, wasabi, sake, mirin and dashi. Koki says this helps simplify the cooking process for his staff while maintaining consistency and an authentic Japanese flavour.
‘We make it simple enough for the staff to manage,’ he says. ‘But customers feel the authenticity, and every time they come back, they can enjoy the same taste.’
Sushi Ramen Bar currently serves several ramen varieties, including tonkotsu, miso, spicy miso, shoyu, and Nagasaki champon, a traditional noodle soup. A bowl costs Sh1,000.
Challenges
One of the challenges that stands out in making and selling ramen in Kenya, Koki says, is what he describes as a lack of information about Japanese food.
‘Some people are still confused about Chinese, Japanese and Korean food, so I think we still need to talk about it more and explain the differences, the history and even the health benefits,’ he says.
‘Japanese food is popular all over the world, partly because of its reputation as a healthy cuisine. If we start talking more about health, how to eat and what makes a good diet, I think we can change people’s minds and help them recognise that Japanese food offers more than just a different taste.’
But if the lack of information remains one of ramen’s biggest hurdles, Wangari believes time may work in its favour. She sees the dish as more than a passing trend, with a younger generation already growing up familiar with it.
‘I don’t think ramen is a fad. I think it’s here to stay,’ she says. ‘Every day I see the love for Japanese food growing, particularly among younger generations. Gen Alpha, aged around seven or eight, especially, come to the restaurant already knowing what they want. Their parents could be totally clueless, but they know the name of what they want, what it looks like, and even how it’s eaten. These are the ones who are going to keep the trend going. For them, foods like ramen will be the usual food they go to eat at restaurants for lunch. They are the carriers of our vision.’