A music-loving ramen chef creates a venue for those craving Japanese food after midnight. Come for gyoza, agedashi tofu and chicken-based ramen that’s light enough to keep you dancing.
Whenever Manato Hikawa went partying on Chapel Street, he noticed there were no late-night places serving the Japanese drinking snacks he had become used to in Tokyo. “It was only kebabs,” he says. “I saw a gap in the market for an izakaya that stays open after midnight.”
He opened Umami Tokyo in May close to bars and clubs that push through to dawn, serving street dishes such as takoyaki (fried octopus balls), chicken skewers and pork gyoza, as well as ramen, until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Hikawa is a founder of Parco Ramen in Collingwood and Moonee Ponds, but he moved on last year to launch Umami Tokyo as a takeaway business, popping up at Queen Victoria Market and music festivals.
“I want to deliver my ramen to as many people as possible,” he says. “I’ve devoted myself to being a good ramen chef.”
In contrast to the rich, creamy tonkotsu pork broth served at many Melbourne ramen restaurants, Hikawa is focusing on lighter chicken ramen. “When you have pork, your tummy says once a month is enough, but chicken is not too heavy. I want my customers to come three times a week.”
His Melbourne-style base includes more vegetables than usual: mushroom, carrot, radish and kelp round out the flavour extracted from simmered chicken bones. There’s extra umami from two types of oil stirred into the finished ramen: chicken oil that’s skimmed from the base broth, and a vegan oil powered by slow-cooked leek and nashi pear. The resulting soup is glossy, silky and comforting.
“It’s all about umami,” Hikawa says. “Of course if you add, add, add, you can make something yummy, but I’m focusing on depth and balance.”
The medium bowl size ($20-$23) is a draw too, making it feasible as dancing fuel rather than the typical ramen-to-couch trajectory.
Small bites are just as carefully constructed. Agedashi tofu is served with a sauce that includes five different soy sauces, and roasted cauliflower is seasoned with two types of Japanese curry powder. “My secret is to add cauliflower to your ramen so you can enjoy the curry taste,” says Hikawa.
The shopfront restaurant has 30 seats, arranged around a central horseshoe-shaped bar.
Hikawa also ran Gaku Obanzai, a home-style Japanese deli in Elwood, for a short time, but landlord issues caused a rethink in March; he’s hoping to reopen on High Street, Windsor.
Meanwhile, Umami Tokyo will expand its drinks program, and add events including taiko drumming, Japanese comedy and DJs, drawing on connections from Hikawa’s Tokyo Love Hotel music collective.
Extended hours are a key part of the plan. “My vision is to be like China Bar [which is open 24 hours at 275 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne] or Supper Inn [open till 2.30am daily at 15 Celestial Avenue, Melbourne] – a place that you can always go.”
206 Chapel Street, Prahran, instagram.com/umami_tokyo
Dinner and late nights Monday-Saturday
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
