Noodle apology: Ichiran stirs controversy with ‘not-so-fresh’ pop-up in Thailand

Renowned Japanese ramen restaurant Ichiran issued an apology following criticisms and confusion over its pop-up store in Thailand. The restaurant admitted that the ramen they served was not fresh but dry, with the soup base imported from Japan. Their statement aimed to clarify the misunderstanding, expressing regret for any communication errors.

The pop-up store, which attracted ramen enthusiasts and influencers for its review and content filming, faced controversy after claims of serving freshly made food. Some customers who tried the food later expressed doubts about its freshness.

This led to the original restaurant later revealing that the event was a promotion for their new semi-finished product set in Thailand, where semi-finished box ingredients were used by a Japanese chef, with pork and eggs added from Thailand.

Ichiran Thailand Authorized, as the official importer and distributor, issued an apology for the misleading communication that led to the misunderstanding. The sourced drama, titled ‘Famous Japanese Ramen Restaurant’, claimed to serve fresh food, but it turned out not to be the case, causing an uproar. Following the reviews, the famous Japanese ramen restaurant turned into drama, explaining and removing clips.

As of 9.49pm yesterday, Ichiran released another statement acknowledging that the ramen served to the customers was not fresh but dry. However, it is of the same quality as the ramen in the box products, packed and shipped directly from Japan.

Additionally, the soup is a soup stock of Kamadare, which is also prepared, packed, and shipped from Japan. The company, V2V Co., Ltd., the official importer and distributor of Ichiran in Thailand, released a statement in its name to provide more information about the pop-up store.

Clearing The Air

The noodles served to customers at the pop-up store are not fresh ramen but dry. They have the same quality as the noodles in the box product for convenience at the pop-up store, which is selected by Ichiran and packed and shipped directly from Japan.

The soup used is the soup stock of Kamadare, which is also prepared, packed, and shipped from Ichiran, Japan. The type of pork Chashu and its preparation method are adjusted for the pop-up store, differing in each country and selected by the Ichiran chef from Japan.

The dry ramen noodles and soup used in this special menu are packed into sets for cooking each bowl of ramen, complemented by having a chef from Japan cook the Chashu pork and other topping ingredients. This is not a direct preparation from the box product. The chef from Japan comes to cook, serve, and take care of every step to ensure that every bowl of ramen retains the quality and standard of Ichiran.

As the official importer of Ichiran products in Thailand, the company wanted to clarify that the quality of products and services presented to consumers is always of utmost importance, especially for a brand loved by Thais. They apologised to Thai consumers, influencers, all involved parties, and customers who love the taste of Ichiran ramen again for the mistakes and ambiguities in communication.

The company will take all feedback and criticism to further improve. The statement clarified Ichiran Ramen’s position, reported KhaoSod.