Cape Town lining up for FYN’s ‘cool little brother’ Ramenhead

The creators of FYN have made something special with their award-winning restaurant that has been globally recognised and they have used their Japanese inspiration to bless us with Ramenhead to constantly feed into our ramen cravings.

The team consisting of chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Ashley Moss went on a culinary fact-finding mission when they went to Japan and were inspired to create Ramenhead.

Dedicated ramen restaurants are slowly growing in South Africa and Moss explains what they found on their trip and why they wanted to open one in Cape Town.

How Ramenhead came about:

“The idea hatched during a trip to Japan. We went out for ramen at an intimate ramen shop with no more than eight seats. A huge bowl of broth and noodles was brought before us, and we were in awe. It was the first time I understood authentic ramen. After returning home, we wanted to create the kind of ramen that we enjoy and craved, and so Ramenhead was born!” Moss says.

Ramen is considered a street food in Asia, some people will assume it’s just noodles and soup, however, if you ever tasted it, the flavours are much more complex, bodied and flavourful. And yes, there will be some slurping when you eat it and that is a good thing.

“Seemingly simple on its surface but there is complexity and precision in the sourcing of its ingredients and preparation. Ramen culture is so much more than just ramen. It’s the story about how the political crisis in Japan spawned a global food craze,” Moss explained.

The political crisis Moss is referring to is when Ramen first appeared in the mid-19th century after the collapse of the Japanese empire, which led to severe food shortages after World War Two.

Ramen is considered a staple in Japan, Americans brought in emergency wheat, flour and eggs, and were assisted by a small Chinese migration, leading to the popularity of Ramen in Japan.

Out of necessity, it quickly became a “workmans dish” and has evolved in the modern world in the country as a quick meal.

Authentic ramen

Ramenhead menus focus on delicious pork-free chicken broth, pork and vegetarian broth and offer both traditional and gluten-free noodles.

Japanese snacks like fried chicken karaage and gyoza dumplings and a curated selection of wines, beers and cocktails

Moss says her favourite dish on the menu is the Tonkotsu, “which is a rich and creamy pork bone broth with thin straight noodles, Iberico pork belly chashu, menma (bamboo shoots) and a hint of star anise”.

The ingredients are sourced from the same local suppliers they use at FYN which makes sense because of the high-quality results as FYN was placed at number 37 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

 “We do source a few speciality ingredients from Japan, but all our noodles are freshly made in-house using our Yamato Richmen noodle machine – the only one of its kind in Africa,” she says.

The interior design of the restaurant is by famed designer Tristan du Plessis’ creating the cool, vibey and relaxed setting of Ramehead. The restaurant has even bee described as FYN’s “cool little brother”.

Having opened its doors in December 2022, Moss is appreciative of the customers who have supported them by the masses, with long lines often seen outside their restaurants.