“When I first arrived in the Seattle area, I would drive 3–4 hours to Vancouver, just to eat good ramen, and drive right back. I thought I was crazy, but I realized a few of my friends were doing the same thing. I knew there was a market for authentic ramen, we just needed to figure out how to make it.”
Peach partner restaurant, Kizuki Ramen(formerly known as Kukai Ramen) specializes in authentic Japanese ramen, and has been serving the Greater Seattle Area for the past 3 years. Despite their bustle of running four locations, we were able to sit down with two of the three founders, Brandon and Jessmin for their story and the secret to their ramen success.
Let’s take a step back. What attracted you to introducing traditional Ramen to the Seattle Area?
Brandon Ting: After I graduated from college, I was working at a supermarket, and Nuri, another founder, was working in a distribution center for a supermarket. We would get together in my office every Wednesday night, drink coffee, and exchange ideas about how we could improve our future. In reality, these meetings were actually just us shooting down each other’s ideas. One day, I told him, “I really like ramen, but nowhere in Seattle offers good ramen. What do you think about trying to bring it here?” It was the first time he didn’t shoot down an idea, so I knew we were on to something.
Now I’ve always been a ramen enthusiast. When I first arrived in the Seattle area, I would drive 3–4 hours to Vancouver, just to eat good ramen, and drive right back. One time, Jessmin and I took a flight to LA for ramen! I thought I was crazy, but I realized a few of my friends were doing the same thing. I knew there was a market for authentic ramen, we just needed to figure out how to make it.
So how did you learn to make authentic ramen?
BT: We didn’t want to start a mom and pop ramen shop because we had no experience making ramen and we had no desire to make mediocre ramen. There was a reason we drove all the way Vancouver, we liked real ramen. So we wanted each bowl to be an authentic taste of Japan; it had to be the best.
Jessmin and I made several trips to Japan to contact traditional ramen shops. Her Japanese is very strong, and she was able to start the conversation with several locations. However, these initial meetings didn’t go too well, as Japan takes ramen seriously. They see ramen as a science, and a perfect bowl requires a significant amount of skill to create. They tend to feel like non-Japanese do not have this expertise and, therefore, cannot achieve a perfect bowl. We had a lot of dead-end conversations while looking for a partner.
How did form your relationship with Kizuki? It must have been difficult due to this stigma.
BT: I was flipping through a magazine in Japan and stumbled across an article about Kizuki. It mentioned that their customers, especially women, rated it highly in comparison with other shops. Both Jessmin and I were curious as to what could create this sort of response, so we decided to visit for lunch.
We were blown away by the food. I felt that Kizuki put in a lot of extra time and effort during the initial steps of making their ramen. I also found their broth to have less of a porky-animal smell, and this was the key contributor to their high marks. I knew immediately that Kizuki was the ramen for Seattle, and America as a whole. It took us two years to build the relationship, but they saw how dedicated we were to providing quality food and we were able to open our first shop.
What’s the key to Kizuki’s Ramen?
BT: Most ramen shops have one kind of broth, tonkotsu, which uses a pork bone broth. We have three: tonkotsu, chicken and shio (salt-based). When we prepare our tonkotsu broth, we roast the pork bones before we add it to the pot because it removes a lot of the smell and gives it a deeper, rich flavor, a technique we adopted from the French. Our chicken broth appeals to customers who can’t eat pork, an issue unique to the American market. Our Shiro broth is for the customer who finds tonkotsu too creamy. Most other shops don’t offer these choices and it positions Kizuki to best server our customers.
People always say to avoid the restaurant industry, but you didn’t head that advice. Why?
BT: The restaurant business is extremely chaotic. It’s very time consuming and it drains your energy. Success in the industry requires you to care for your restaurant like you are caring for a child. You have a problem to solve today, and expect it to slow down when you solve it, only for another issue to arise tomorrow. It takes a lot of passion.
At first, my parents didn’t approve, and asked me, “You graduated with a double degree in Economics and Finance, why do you want to start a restaurant?” They saw how much I loved the food, how much I cared about creating an experience that was true to it’s roots, and they began to understand. We won’t sacrifice on quality; we’re just that eager to provide a “real” bowl of ramen.
It must be interesting to be an integral part of the growing Seattle food scene. With all the new hubs of people, the city is really gaining a reputation for variety of high quality options. What’s it like being a part of that community?
BT: Seattle was a great spot to launch Kizuki because people here are so educated and well-traveled. They’re very interested in experiencing foreign cultures and cuisines. Initially, our clientele was Japanese individuals who lived in the area, or people who had traveled to Japan and acquired a taste for ramen, but they gradually told our friends and the business grew.
We focused heavily on educating our customers about ramen and the culture that accompanies it. We teach our servers a lot about the history and the brand, and they are keen to pass this knowledge on to customers. It really led to explosion in the ramen scene here; when we started, we were pretty much the only place around, and now, we have competitors. It’s nice to see people value the authentic ramen experience as much we do.
So with the scene becoming saturated in this area, what does the future hold for Kizuki?
BT: From the start, we’ve inquires from individuals interested in bring authentic ramen to their hometowns. It’s why we’ve opened in Northgate, Capitol Hill, and now Beaverton, Oregon. As we expanded, we started receiving more requests from out of state. We really sympathize with the customer in search of “real” ramen because we, our founding team, were in the same boat 3 years ago.
We’re actually in the process of expanding to Chicago; we plan to use it as the launch point into the East Coast market. We’re eyeing DC, Boston, NYC and Indiana from there next, but we don’t want to move to fast because making good ramen requires a certain level of expertise. It’s been difficult to find a kitchen staff that has the same passion and knowledge of ramen that we desire. We want to ensure that the overall quality stays as high as it is today.
Great! One more before we let you go. What is your idea of the perfect lunch?
BT: Most people are too busy to take the time to eat a good lunch. It’s honestly a little sad. When that happens to me, my stomach hurts and I run out of energy. I used to get teriyaki or McDonald’s, but even it wasn’t fulfilling.
The ideal lunch is quick, with high quality food served in a nice atmosphere. If I’m away from work, I want to enjoy myself; I want to invest my time in delicious food, in a gorgeous restaurant, with great, friendly service. That’s what we at Kizuki try our hardest to provide, and I’m glad our customers enjoy our spot as a great lunch destination.
Kizuki Ramen can be enjoyed at 4 locations: Bellevue, Northgate Mall, Capitol Hill and Beaverton, Oregon. You can follow the progress of their East Coast expansion on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
And next time they appear on the Peach menu be sure to place an order!
