Interview with Duncan Yung, General Manager at Shoryu Ramen Manchester

Lifestyle - Interview

by Melisa Kaya

While Tak Tokumine moved to London from Hakata, he brought Japanese cuisine culture with him. After the first Shoryu Ramen opened in London, it quickly reached 13 branches with its popular Japanese flavors. Shoryu Manchester is first Shoryu ramen bar outside London. Located in the city centre, near Manchester Piccadilly Station and the Northern Quarter. From ramen and buns to desserts and cocktails, you can find many different Japanese cuisine tastes in Shoryu Ramen Manchester. In order to learn more about Japanese foods I asked Duncan Yung, General Manager at Shoryu Ramen Manchester.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

Could you tell us about your restaurant?

Shoryu Ramen celebrates the very best of Japanese food and culture. Now with over 13 branches across the UK and Japan, the restaurant is all about delivering top-notch ramen, delectable street food style dishes and some of the best sake and Japanese inspired cocktails the UK has ever experienced.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

What is your overall restaurant concept?

We bring the best of Japanese cuisine to the UK. Shoryu Ramen CEO, Tak Tokumine, moved to the UK from Hakata, Japan and recognised the need for decent Japanese food over here. He began setting up his first restaurant in London and quickly began to expand into other branches across the city. Shoryu chose Manchester as the first city outside of London to venture into, because of its eclectic culture and demand for good food from across the globe.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

How often do you change up your menu? What are you paying attention to while selecting new dishes for your new menu?

We always love adding new dishes to our menu and try to change it up every season. We’ve recently launched our new summer menu which includes some lighter dishes using fresh seasonal ingredients where we can. For example, both the Chicken Mango Noodle Salad and Summer Salmon Ramen feature on our new menu as well as lots of seasonal cocktails which are perfect for this Manchester heatwave we’re experiencing! Plus cocktails are available 2-for-1 everyday between 5pm-8pm so even our new offerings don’t have to break the bank.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

What is your favorite dish?

There’s far too many to choose from to pick just one! Although our signature Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu ramen is a firm favourite, we can never resist our Shoryu buns and recommend them to everyone who walks through the door. The BBQ Pork bun is a favourite, but we also have a Prawn Tempura bun and a Halloumi bun for the non-meat eaters which are equally as delicious. We have a Bun Monday offer where if you buy one bun you get a second free with any ramen purchase so it’s a deal worth taking advantage of.

Who is the audience for your restaurant?

The great thing about Shoryu Ramen is that anyone and everyone is welcome. Being located right in the heart of the city means we get all sorts of people coming through our doors every day, whether it be couples, families, groups of friends, students or business professionals. There really is no one demographic in particular - as long as you love good food and good atmosphere then you’ll love Shoryu Ramen!

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

Who are the most famous people you welcome at your restaurant?

We’ve seen all sorts of famous people in our Manchester restaurant, from the Corrie cast to footballers! It’s right in the heart of the city so it’s ideal for anyone coming to visit the good city of Manchester whether they’re here working, on tour or just passing by! Only last week we had the gorgeous Adore Delano (RuPaul’s Drag Race runner-up) pop in to try our Spicy Vegetarian ramen - she even shared her visit across her social channels so it seems like she may be a fan.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

What are the most popular traditional dishes at Shoryu Ramen?

Ramen has certainly become a popular dish in the UK over the last few years. What makes Shoryu stand out is the unique and bespoke recipe we use to create our distinct flavour in our ramen. Our signature dish is the Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu ramen. We create a tonkotsu pork stock that cooks over 12 hours at a rolling boil. For the base, we use only the best soy and spices from Japan. As for the noodles, we have worked extensively with a UK-based Japanese noodle-making master! Using strong Cotswold flour to create the perfect original hosomen (a.k.a “thin noodles”) for ramen. The final components are the toppings - we use use Burford Brown eggs to make nitamago, which are soft boiled eggs marinated overnight in soy, mirin, sake, and ginger, then add marinated pork, on top of kikurage mushrooms, spring onion, sesame, ginger, nori & mayu (caramelised black garlic oil) are also added. It’s always on our menu and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for any serious ramen lovers out there.

Shoryu Ramen Manchester

If you have only one weekend in Manchester as a first-time visitor, in this limited time, what are the best things to do?

It would be difficult to pack everything into one weekend. We’d certainly recommend visiting some of the cities amazing museums and galleries, such as MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry). The Northern Quarter is also a great place to spend the day as it’s the cities hub of all things independent - from cafes and bars to quirky shops and sometimes they even have a market on. For nightlife, the Gay Village is also a must-visit for anyone who’s never been. If you can, try and get yourself on to one of the free walking tours that take place over the weekend - they’re the best way to see everything in one go and you can soak everything in. They start in Piccadilly Gardens right opposite Shoryu Ramen so when you’re finished you can come and rest your legs and enjoy a bite to eat and a cocktail with us too.

How do you describe Manchester in one sentence?

Manchester is vibrant, fun and friendly - there is nowhere else in the world quite like it and that’s why we love it!

Thank you Duncan for this delicious interview.

For more information, please visit website of Shoryu Ramen Manchester

This interview was conducted in a Question-and-Answer format. The answers were checked for grammar and punctuation and published without any additional editing. Wednesday, August 8, 2018. All photos are the property of their respective owners.