Oishii Ramen is bringing Wausau the savory goodness of Japanese ramen
The restaurant is thriving in the former Thrive Foodery space
When Thrive Foodery, a restaurant that opened the winter I came back to Wausau, announced it was closing, Yang Liu and her husband Louis saw an opportunity.
Liu and her husband own Nagoya Japanese Restaurant in Marshfield and are partners with a ramen restaurant in Minnesota. But central Wisconsin doesn’t have a ramen restaurant anywhere, so the opportunity to bring one to central Wisconsin seemed like a good opportunity.
It turned out to be a better opportunity than they imagined, when they opened their doors Jan. 3 (coincidentally, Thrive opened its restaurant on New Year’s Eve in 2014) they were swarmed with customers - so much they ran out of food. “We were not ready for that kind of busyness,” Yang told The Wausonian. Things have since settled down to a nice pace at the restaurant and they’ve gotten a handle on the amount of food they will typically need.
Ramen is a dish that used to require some explanation since most people in America used to (and many likely still do) think of the cheap instant noodles that are the staple of college students and those looking for a quick and affordable hot meal.
But in Japan, ramen restaurants are serious business, with a lot of craft going into perfecting the broth. Ramen restaurants are usually small, bar-like restaurants serving the noodle dish with meat and vegetables, and are a great option for lunch and supper - as well as to cap off a night of drinking.
Different regions are known for particular kinds of ramen styles: the Hokkaido region is known for miso ramen, whereas Toyama is known for its black ramen.
Oishii (Japanese for delicious) serves several varieties of ramen, from beef ramen to soba ramen and even tsukeman ramen (where the noodles are served separately from the broth and the diner dips them into the broth before eating).
So far the crispy chicken ramen has been the most popular with customers, Liu says.
Louis told me so far people have been really taking to the ramen, that the customers are interested in Japanese cuisine. And, as any good ramen connoisseur knows, the broth is the most important part, Louis told me.
With the initial rush out of the way, business has transformed into a steady stream of customers and they’ve got a pretty good handle on how much food they need, Yang says. Now they can enjoy the advantage of being the only ramen restaurant in central Wisconsin.
Oishii Ramen is located at 2105 N. Second Street, Wausau, across the street from Wausau Music in the building that once housed Thrive. Their hours are Mon.-Thur. 11 am-9:30 pm; Fri.-Sat.: 11 am-10 pm; and Sunday: 11 am-9 pm. Find them online or on Facebook.
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