Amin Abbas

Konjiki Hototogisu restaurant organized a special 1^st anniversary supper club event on Friday, August 9^, where it featured unique dishes created by Chef Yamamoto for the restaurant’s first branch in UAE at Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.

The special event was attended by invited guests who enjoyed the food.

The special anniversary menu had various dishes such as: crab salad, stir fried batter melon, crispy squid as well as Wagyu skewers, chicken curry katsu and special anniversary ramen.

Konjiki Hototogisu is a Japanese ramen restaurant from Tokyo founded by Chef Yamamoto Atsushi and it is the only the third ramen restaurant in the world to get a Michelin star (awarded between 2019-2023, after Tsuta and Nakiryu).

Chef Yamamoto has studied traditional cooking techniques in Japan from scratch and has taught himself the cuisines of many different countries to sublimate his skills. In October 2000, he worked for the first time in a ramen restaurant and in January 2006 he Founded “SOBA HOUSE Konjiki Hototogisu” with the goal of creating a ramen flavor that no one else could produce.

Chef Yamamoto’s biggest challenge is creating flavors that customers around the world can identify with.

Chef Yamamoto said about the special anniversary supper event of Konjiki Hototogisu in Dubai. “I was very pleased to meet the guests who came to the event and enjoyed the special menu that features amazing dishes such as our special anniversary ramen that has lobster bisque and whole lobster with my signature shio tare”.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to provide authentic Japanese ramen to people living in the UAE. It was also my dream to open a store in the UAE. Our restaurant uses local ingredients from the country where the store is opened, and creates the taste from scratch.

“In addition, the menu we offer at our store is all handmade including sauces. (No ready-made sauces, soup stocks or noodles are used). We omit chemical elements and are based on creating a taste that is gentle on the body. We will continue to strive to provide high-quality Japanese ramen to customers living in the UAE and tourists, and to be appreciated, so please continue to support Konjiki Hototogisu”, he added.

About the history of Konjiki Hototogisu, Chef Yamamoto said: “In January 2006, I started a small restaurant with only 8 seats in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, with the aim of creating a one-of-a-kind flavor at that time, only five people (five bowls) a day visited the restaurant. Perhaps it was because the ramen was made with ingredients that no one uses in Japanese ramen restaurants.

“For about two years, it was difficult to make ends meet. In order to somehow become able to make ramen that customers would say was delicious, I repeatedly made prototypes until late after business hours, and stayed at the restaurant one day a week to study flavor creation until late. After three years, the number of customers increased, and after five years, a line formed outside the restaurant, and little by little, we were able to create a taste that customers could identify with.

“Eventually, I was able to become the best in Japan in the ramen industry. I also received various awards. It was also awarded Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide Tokyo, 2015-2018; from 2019-2023, it was awarded one star, a distinction only three ramen restaurants in the world have received.”

Konjiki Hototogisu restaurant opened its first branch in UAE last year.

Chef Yamamoto said about the restaurant opening: “We opened our first UAE store at Mall of the Emirates in July 2023. The concept is to create a one-of-a-kind flavor just like in Japan. In July 2024, we were awarded Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide Dubai. Our team will continue to work hard together to make our guests feel even closer to us. We would also like to strive for further commendation in the Michelin Gulde Dubai.

“The response and feedback of people since the opening of the restaurant in Dubai has been very well received by our customers. If a customer has a complaint about the taste, we will check it immediately, and if there are any changes that need to be made, we will of course make them,” he added.

Regarding “Konjiki Hototogisu” upcoming plans in the near future, Chef Yamamoto said: “I can’t tell you where, but we plan to open two stores overseas by the end of the year.”