Authentic Japanese ramen shop opens in Annandale

Kimen Ramen & Izakaya, Annandale’s newest restaurant, offers authentic
Japanese-style ramen with broth that takes eight to 12 hours to cook.

The
small ramen shop is at 4217 John Marr Drive in the
same building as The Block. 

“The broth is the main point,” so it takes hours of cooking to get it right, says Mark Chung, manager and
assistant chef. “We make sure every seasoning is cooked properly. The noodles
are al dente, so they are perfect when they get to the table. Everything is
made fresh every day.”

“It’s the attention to little details that separate us from
the chain ramen houses,” Chung says.

The owner of Kimen Ramen, Sung Eun, sent her brother, chef Min
Kim, to Japan for a month to learn the Japanese craft of making ramen.

Diners have a choice of eight types of ramen: original, spicy,
miso, shoyu (soy based), tsukemen (cold noodles dipped in a separate bowl of
broth), mazemen (soupless ramen), tantanmen (spicy minced pork ramen with
peanut broth) and vegetable ramen (with tofu).

Toppings includes pork belly chashu, chicken chashu, menma
bamboo shoots, soy-marinated egg, kikurake (ear cloud mushrooms), nori (dried
seaweed), wakame (wet seaweed), corn, bean sprouts, green onion, crushed
garlic, and hot oil sauce.

In addition to ramen, the restaurant serves bowls with tuna,
salmon, or pork belly; chahan (Japanese fried rice); rice bowls with a choice
of toppings, and a variety of appetizers.

Kimen Ramen is open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Sunday and 11:30 a.m.-midnight Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.