“Right before the pandemic, I had bought my whole family a class with Sonoko Sakai, who does ramen noodle classes up in L.A. I kind of started with her recipe, took it to the bakery, and deconstructed it. (With our ramen), we’re milling our own rye, toasting our rye, using whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. And with COVID-19 and everything, I thought, what if we could make a super vitamin-packed and immune-boosting broth to go along with it? I think we really nailed this toasted rye ramen noodle. It’ll definitely be a staple on the menu (at our) shop. It’s such an unusual thing to be able to pick up fresh from the bakery. You don’t hear about that outside of Asia.”

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Photographs by Emily J. Davis

MORE FROM THIS COVER PACKAGE:

• Your Guide to O.C.’s Finest Noodles
• 5 Questions With O.C. Food Blogger Connie Aboubakare
• Local Chefs and Industry Leaders Share Their Favorite O.C. Noodle Dishes
• Our Readers’ Favorite O.C. Noodle Spots