Reviewing Ippudo's Ramen

“Ippudo” directly translated in English means “one wind foundation.” Whilst its meaning appears to be lost in translation, it is said that founder and CEO Shigemi Kawahara felt the lackluster of the Kyushu ramen industry and “wanted to bring about a change in that culture and be the winds of change.” To question whether or not he revolutionised the era? It’s a resounding yes from me. 

I mean currently, there are over 300 Ippudo restaurants worldwide spanning Asia, Europe, North America and right here on our homefront. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve trekked to the city for their hearty ramen bowls, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover they made frozen noodle and ramens. 

I found this out by pure luck. David and I were eating at Yachiyo in Darlinghurst, a quaint Japanese restaurant which also offers a delicious omakase meal. After our meal, we had a couple of drinks with head Chef Mitsu who invited his friends, one being Gen, the director of IPPUDO Australia, which currently consists of 7 branches across the country. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but he walked in sporting a plain white tee with IPPUDO plastered across it.    

In a world where the term ‘entrepreneur’ is thrown around so casually, chatting with Gen was being in the presence of true entrepreneurship. He lives and breathes IPPUDO and not to mention, is so incredibly humble. He had just come back from a trip to Japan where Chef Mitsu divulged that Gen ate 7 different bowls of ramen a day. I asked him “Don’t you get sick of it?” while thinking in my mind, this guy must really love ramen. So when he replied “of course!” it made me laugh. But he told me that he needed to try different ramens, different competitors to see how he could innovate and create change in the bowls here. 

Interestingly and inspiringly, one of IPPUDO’s focuses on their mission statement is to “Keep changing to remain unchanged.” And Gen is the living, breathing proof of this. Always working, always innovating and always creating to keep providing the best experience for their customers. 

Not gonna lie, I was a bit skeptical at first about frozen ramen. Whilst several companies have tried to replicate their noodles and soups to meet the demands of our fast-paced world, nobody does it like IPPUDO. Their frozen ramens are legit. No corners were cut with their broth, noodles and delicious char siu pork belly (honestly just wish there was an option to order more of the meat!)  

But don't take my word for it, try it for yourself: 

In a world where ramen stores are burgeoning all around the world, IPPUDO will need to continue proving themselves, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will. 

---

Need help with Ippudo's cooking instructions? Watch our video here.