A new ramen restaurant in north Arlington is aiming to offer an authentic Japanese experience, complete with a cultural cooking style and imported ingredients. Called Itadaki Ramen, it’s a new concept from first-time restaurateur Kevin Chau, located at 837 E. Lamar Blvd., in a space that previously held Chinese restaurant Royal Panda.

Itadaki Ramen is currently in soft opening mode, but Chau plans to hold a grand opening event in mid-April.

“I’m trying to open a more authentic ramen restaurant using a traditional Japanese ramen style instead of the Americanized version that’s more common,” Chau says.

The restaurant's ramen style is from Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands. It requires low heat and long hours to cook its miso-infused pork bone broth, creating a rich, velvety liquid that’s clearer than the creamy broth common at many ramen restaurants.

It also uses thick curly noodles, and stir-fried vegetables like bean sprouts and cabbage, cooked in lard and garlic.

Chau learned to cook the ramen style in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. A native of Vietnam, he worked in various sushi and hibachi restaurants before deciding to pivot to ramen.

Beyond the cooking techniques, Itadaki Ramen will also use ingredients from Japan such as menma, a Japanese condiment made from lacto-fermented bamboo shoots.

“We’re using noodles, sauces, and ingredients imported from Japan,” Chau says. “Our difference is in the style and ingredients.”

The menu has five ramen choices:

• Sapporo Gara Broth Ramen: combo (pork and chicken) broth with pork chashu, chicken chashu, menma, ajitama egg, kikurage mushrooms, and scallions
• Clear Chicken Broth Ramen: Hokkaido-style clear chicken broth, with chicken chashu, menma, ajitama egg, corn, and scallions
• Nigori Chicken Broth Ramen: creamy broth with pork chashu
• Veggie Broth Ramen: vegetable and kelp broth with mixed vegetables and seaweed
• Soup-less Ramen: noodles with shredded chashu, ajitama egg, seaweed, sesame seeds, and scallions

In addition to ramen, he serves a handful of entrees like chicken teriyaki, stir-fried noodles, and fried rice. Appetizers include gyoza, seaweed salad, edamame, and chicken karaage (fried-marinated boneless thigh meat).

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, but does not serve alcohol. The space incorporates Japanese influences as well, with traditional Japanese paintings, woven light fixtures, and an elegant blue wall. It’s fairly intimate, with space for about 40 diners.

“It’s a little modern but still has a traditional Japanese feel,” Chau says.