Shams El-Mutwalli Dubai

Cloud kitchen business Kaykroo has brought a unique Japanese street food experience to Dubai called Susuru—a delivery-based restaurant that offers an extensive range of Japanese dishes.

The restaurant launched in October 2020 with a very specific goal of becoming Dubai’s Japanese street food hotspot.

“Japan is well known for being one of the global capitals for food lovers where Ramen is the premier comfort food, with about 50,000 ramen shops in Tokyo alone. It’s popular, it’s cheap, everybody loves it and has a favourite noodle dish. We wanted to deliver this experience to our community in Dubai,” Head of Marketing at Kaykroo, Dalia Eit told Arab News Japan.

The menu’s best sellers include Chicken Katsu Curry with rice, Sanuki Udon, Chicken Ramen, and Bubble Tea but extends beyond just that.

Eit illustrated how these dishes are prepared in a cloud kitchen “with steaming bowls, sizzling noodles, and ramen – filling the space with savory aromas and coming together to create a soulful selection of affordable, high quality, delicious on-the-go Japanese dishes. Our irresistibly slurp-worthy noodles, sauces and toppings guarantee to have you saying “Umai!” (It’s delicious!) by the end of every meal,” she said.

The Kaykroo team behind Susuru take pride in how the brand is cool, trendy, and appeals to those hoping to get a taste of Japan in the Middle East.

The Susuru concept was influenced by Japan’s Yatai markets—famous Japanese street food markets–where “young, hip and tech-savvy people gather to have a good time. We want to bring these vibes and make our customers a part of our brand story,” as well as offering food that is quick, easy and delicious, Eit said.

Although, Susuru doesn’t provide a physical culinary space, the brand compensates by continually refining their menu based off the latest Japanese food trends, as well as brand collaborations including their latest with PS5.

As part of the collaboration, customers were encouraged to create their own wok, share the video on social media and possibly win a PS5 to highlight how gaming is an integral part of Japanese culture while also appealing to gamers, anime enthusiasts and an overall younger crowd, Social Media Specialist Yunus Fazly Farook told Arab News Japan.

Kaykroo has 19 brands, and recently launched their operations in Saudi Arabia with plans to open three more cloud kitchens there by the end of the year.

“The future is very promising, KSA is very promising” there “is a lot of demand for food brands, new restaurants, people in KSA they love experiencing new food, and we are here to offer them this kind of experience,” Eit shared.

Kaykroo has established their reputation by running 20 cloud kitchens, with plans to grow the business as well as tailor their menus to continually adhere to the needs of consumers– further reinforcing their role as the largest marketplace for virtual restaurants in the UAE.