Located inside of the Planet Bean Coffee Shop at 369 Gordon St., customers can choose, create and cook their own ramen in minutes
Korean-style convenience has arrived in Guelph with the grand opening of The Self Ramen Bar in Wednesday.
Located inside of the Planet Bean Coffee Shop at 369 Gordon St., customers can choose, create and cook their own ramen in minutes.
“We want to expand, especially for students, with affordable and delicious hot meals. I’m happy to be here and to introduce our ramen system to students and the community. It really is amazing,” said Korean Self Ramen Bar owner, Jei Ryu.
“And it takes only four minutes.”
The cook your own concept offers students the opportunity to be the chef and choose from a curated selection of noodle brands including vegan, gluten-free and high protein options to personalize every bowl.
Using vending machines, automated cookers, and topping stations, they can create the perfect bowl, how they like it.
After opening his first location in Toronto two years ago, Rhu is thrilled to expand with another next to the University of Guelph, something he says is designed to bring convenience, flavour and creativity to student life.
“Prices go up especially for international students who are already paying high tuition and living costs. Ramen is easy, and it really is a meal, especially at night time. When I was a student, I would always eat ramen at night. It was comfort food for me.” Rhu said.
“We wanted to bring this system from Korea because there, every convenience store has this system. It’s for kids, adults, for everyone. When I realized that maybe I can bring this idea to Canada, I thought why not?”
Ramen noodles are associated with Japan but the soupy broth is originally a Chinese concept. Typically, the noodle soup dish is served in a flavourful broth, often seasoned with soy sauce or miso.
At The Self Ramen Bar, the noodle bowl can be topped with ingredients such as chicken breast, boiled eggs, a lobster ball, green onions, cheese, corn or seaweed.
The cost per bowl is around $7 or $8.
For ramen lovers such as University of Guelph student Namita Shankar, the self-made meal can be a combination of novelty and convenience.
“It’s the first day. We saw the grand opening. I love ramen and thought why not try it?” Shankar said.
It was the U of G’s Hospitality Department that first approached Ryu with the idea of bringing another location to Guelph.
“They were interested in our system. I am happy to work with the university and to be on campus for the students,” Ryu said.
Food Service Manager at University of Guelph, Julie Richard says the university is always looking for new concepts to introduce to students, to keep things fresh and keep things modern.
“A colleague from Hospitality Services first discovered the concept. When we saw the number of students flooding into the location in Toronto, we thought let’s get our finger on the pulse and introduce it here,” Richard said.
“We wanted to find a spot for it within our Dept. And the Planet Bean on Gordon, seemed to be the best fit for it.”
The Hospitality Dept. at U of G will oversee the new location.
“It’s something that is different. We pride ourselves in Hospitality Services in providing a huge variety of international cuisines. And this in particular, the draw is the machine. It’s that self ramen you cook yourself,” Richard said.
“That is the eye-catching part. We always want to stay on top of what’s popular and what’s ground breaking.”
link
