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GRAND RAPIDS | KALAMAZOO | MUSKEGON | 3.26.23

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ramen Uncommon

Michigan’s Best Local Eats:

Try Noodle Pig’s authentic Japanese ramen bar in Grand Rapids

AUDRA GAMBLE | agamble@mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, M

onoring his Japanese heritage, the owner of Grand Rapids’ newest ramen restaurant has worked hard to create the perfect blend of east meets Midwest at Noodle Pig. All the ramen noodles are handmade at the restaurant, following traditional Japanese methods for creating the comfort food. “Ramen is a noodle soup dish,” said Noodle Pig owner Chris Wessely. “What makes it distinguishable from other Japanese noodles is that the hydration level is very low. When I was testing my recipes at home, I broke five home pasta machines because the moisture level is so low.” In order to be able to make all the Noodle Pig noodles in-house, Wessely imported a Japanese noodle machine for the restaurant. Diners at Noodle Pig can choose a make-your-own ramen bowl route or pick from seven signature bowls ($13 or $14) crafted by Wessely. All the ramen at Noodle Pig starts with the traditional noodles and a chicken-pork broth base that takes two days to make. Vegetarian diners can swap out the chicken-pork broth with a Buddhistinspired veggie broth. “I’m half Japanese, so on our menu we have some traditional and then we have a handful of fusion bowls,” Wessely said. “In the base, I use lots of fruits and vegetables in it. There’s apples, carrots, celery, and then there’s bacon and butter and sake. You get flecks of goodness in there. It’s like Japanese ramen but it’s more gourmet.” Along with the ramen bowls, the Noodle Pig menu includes a wide variety of bubble

teas, cocktails, Japanese-inspired fries and a pankofried pork cutlet sandwich. The most popular ramen bowl at Noodle Pig is the Zessan signature bowl ($14), made with housemade noodles, a chicken-pork bone broth, scallions, bean sprouts, kikurage mushrooms, a steamed fish cake, seaweed, black garlic and chili oil. A variety of proteins can be added to the Zessan bowl, including braised pork shoulder, cheese and a soy sauce marinated egg. “Zessan is the first one I developed, and I wanted it to be approachable for Americans but people in Japan could still enjoy,” Wessely said. “It’s a comfort food. To make it even more American, I add shredded cheese and pulled pork shoulder.” Along with classic flavors, Noodle Pig also offers some more unique bubble tea drinks, a Taiwanese beverage that normally includes small, chewy tapioca boba balls. The Noodle Pig bubble tea menu includes flavors like strawberry cheesecake, matchajasmine latte, chai cinnamon latte and strawberry Sakura. Noodle Pig, at 601 Bond Ave. NW Suite 102, also offers alcoholic bubble beverages like the mango boba-rita, a mango margarita with mango popping boba

bubbles. One of Wessely’s favorite adult beverages on the menu is the Pau Hana, a tropical drink with white rum, orange and pineapple juice, coconut cream and Sakura jelly boba. “If you close your eyes, it’s like you’re in Hawaii,” Wessely said. “There’s some sunshine in that. We only came out with just a handful of drinks, but we’ll have more coming out soon that are more crafted cocktails. We give everybody a tall size, so it’s a goodsized drink.” For diners new to the ramen game, Wessely recommends either the miso ramen bowl or the shio ramen bowl, both of which are classic ramen flavors. No matter which ramen bowl you choose, Noodle Pig will give back to those in need with each purchase. According to Wessely, three hungry children are fed with every ramen bowl sold at the restaurant. Each ramen purchase allows the restaurant to give donations to three different nonprofit organizations, which are Hand2Hand, No Kid Hungry and Faith In Deeds.

INFO Noodle Pig is open 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. every day and has a happy hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. A full menu is available online at noodlepig.com/menus. Contact the restaurant at 616 327-2922.

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