- Kiwami Ramen opened in the old Wild Ginger space on Bardstown Road this past May.
- The most popular dish has been the Kiwami Aka, made with house spicy sauce and Kiwami’s signature pork broth.
- The cocktail program wasn’t quite ready when Kiwami’s doors first opened a couple of months ago, but guests can now expect to find a variety of unique boozy beverage options to go with their ramen.
I grew up eating saimin, a wheat-and-egg noodle dish made with a dashi-based broth and topped with things like SPAM, eggs, kamaboko (fish cake), and green onions. Though I have yet to find a Louisville restaurant that serves saimin, I’ve been pleased with options around town that serve a heavier, richer alternative: ramen.
My latest go-to restaurant to get the noodle dish is Kiwami Ramen, which opened in the old Wild Ginger space on Bardstown Road this past May. My favorite menu item is spicy curry tonkotsu, made with sesame curry and Kiwami’s signature pork broth.
Kiwami Ramen partner Duy Tran shared his menu picks and caught me up to speed on what other customers have been ordering and what’s new at the restaurant. Here’s what I learned.
Tonkotsu ramen broth is made from pork bones
Tonkotsu means “pork bones” in Japanese, and tonkotsu ramen broth is made from pork bones. The bones are cooked over high heat for several hours, giving the collagen from the bones time to transform into gelatin. This helps give the broth its cloudy coloring and silky texture.
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While many recipes call for a boiling time of about 12 hours, Kiwami Ramen goes the extra mile, cooking its broth for over 25 hours.
“We do that every day,” Tran said, “so everything that comes out is perfectly made. We also go by a Japanese golden ratio of ramen to broth. We follow a strict standard to give our customers the highest quality service and food that we can.”
The Louisville store is the third Kiwami Ramen location
Kiwami means “ultimate” or “extreme” in Japanese, and the Kiwami Ramen brand was created by chef Ame Tani, who has been making ramen for more than two decades. Chef Tani opened the first Kiwami Ramen in Tucson, Arizona; the second in Laredo, Texas; and, along with Tran, the third here in Derby City.
“I met Chef Tani through some mutual friends,” Tran said. “I tried his ramen for the first time and was like, ‘Wow, this is something that we really need to bring to the city of Louisville.’”
Tran says once he convinced Chef Tani that Louisvillians would be amenable to the kinds of ramen flavors that Kiwami could offer, they began preparing for a new spot.
The Louisville location chefs headed to Texas to train in the Kiwami kitchen there; and once the doors at Bardstown Road were ready to open, some members of the Texas team came to Kentucky to help get things organized and running smoothly.
Louisvillians like spicy ramen
The most popular dish has been the Kiwami Aka, the second item listed on the menu. Made with house spicy sauce and Kiwami’s signature pork broth, it comes with scallions, kikurage (wood ear) mushrooms, bamboo, bean sprouts, pork chashu, and noodles.
“It’s been our top seller,” Tran said. “I think Louisville has become more of a spicy town.”
There are nine ramen options available, all of which can be customized with extra toppings like nori (seaweed), avocado, shrimp wonton, and poached egg, to name a few.
The menu also boasts a variety of appetizers, bowls, and teriyaki and hibachi items. In addition to typical soft drinks, there are other beverage options like mango and melon cream soda, milk tea, Japanese unsweetened green tea, and a carbonated Japanese drink called Ramune.
Boozy beverages are now available at Kiwami Ramen
The cocktail program wasn’t quite ready when Kiwami’s doors first opened a couple of months ago, but guests can now expect to find a variety of unique boozy beverage options to go with their ramen. Cocktails include everything from a yuzu highball and jalapeno collins to a pineapple ginger mule and a Tokyo mint julep.
“We (also) have a twist on the old fashioned,” Tran said of the ginger old fashioned, which features Woodford bourbon, bitters, and ginger liqueur. “We came up with the recipe (by working) with some local vendors and a buddy of mine who (supplies) a certain ingredient that we use.”
He adds that their gin and tonic — the second most popular cocktail after the old fashioned — is also a twist on a classic recipe. The Kiwami version boasts Roku gin, bitters, and Fevertree Mediterranean tonic water.
Additional options include beer, sake, and soju; a small selection of whiskey, bourbon, scotch, gin, and tequila; and spiked boba — which can also be served sans alcohol.
Try these recommended favorites
Tran and I share the same favorite ramen dish — spicy curry tonkotsu — but his other go-to is the rib-eye steak hibachi.
“(And I add) a poached egg, every time,” he said. “I add a poached egg into any rice dish. (It’s) delicious.”
For guests who are new to ramen, Tran suggests starting off with the traditional miso tonkotsu.
“If you have dietary restrictions when it comes to pork,” he said, “I would go with our vegan option, which is the vegetable ramen.”
He adds that for adventurous diners, he highly recommends the spicy gyokai tsukemen.
“(It’s) a unique, traditional Japanese ramen that I don’t think anyone else in Kentucky does,” he said. “It’s a dipping ramen, (and) has been very popular.”
Know a restaurant that would make a great feature? Email writer Lennie Omalza at aloha@lennieomalza.com or Lifestyle Editor Kathryn Gregory at kgregory@gannett.com.
Kiwami Ramen
WHAT: This is a Japanese restaurant that serves ramen, rice bowls, hibachi plates, and more.
WHERE: 1700 Bardstown Road
SERVICES: Dine-in, carryout, and delivery via DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
CONTACT: 502-384-6412, kiwami-ramenbar.com
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