Photo: Instagram @tamashii_ramen_nyc
March 15, 2022 By Christian Murray
A Japanese restaurant popular for their specialty ramen opened in Bayside last week.
Tamashii Ramen–which has restaurants in Astoria, Long Island City and Forest Hills–opened at 40-09 Bell Blvd. on Wednesday taking the space that had been occupied by Mi Tea, which was known for its unique blend of teas.
The restaurant is owned and operated by Jhon Cho, who established his first Tamashii Ramen restaurant in Astoria in 2013. He then opened a second Tamashii Ramen restaurant on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City in 2015 and a third on Austin Street in Forest Hills in 2018.
Cho, a Korean national, has been in the U.S. for about 20 years and has worked or owned restaurants since. His father is Japanese while his mother is Korean. His mother operated a restaurant in Korea for more than 30 years, he said.
Cho, who lives in Fresh Meadows, said that he decided to open a Bayside location drawn by the Bell Boulevard dining scene as well as his passion for Queens.
“I love Queens. I would never do a restaurant in another borough. Not Brooklyn, Just Queens,” Cho said.
The restaurant will have the same menu as his other locations, with all items made onsite from scratch. He said the basic ingredients are Japanese, although he also uses Korean spices.
The existing Tamashii locations serve a wide variety of ramen bowls, including Tsuke-men, in which cold ramen is in a separate bowl and can be dipped in broth.
Cho said that the most popular dishes at his restaurants are Champon (spicy seafood noodle soup), Veggie Champon and Tamashii Ramen flavored with pork and seafood.
The restaurants also offer other Japanese dishes such as gyudon— marinated beef served over rice— and gyoza— pan-fried dumplings.
