Hana Ramen‘s chef and co-owner, Mike Harrison, fell in love with the classic noodle dish and wanted to make it accessible to Utahans. He was set up to travel to Japan and train under Tokyo’s master ramen Chef Tekashi Koitani, however due to the pandemic his plans had to adapt. Meeting with his mentor Chef Koitani exclusively via zoom – Mike honed his ramen making from home through trial, error and lots of practice. The results of his labors are Park City’s newest noodle shop – Hana Ramen. Located in Kimball Junction, open daily for lunch and dinner this new shop has been a must-try for locals and visitors since opening their doors in September.
“I fell in love with ramen and wanted to bring good ramen closer to home – I thought, “How hard could it be?”….famous last words.”
Mike Harrison, owner and chef of Hana Ramen
Mike and his wife, CC Guo, have a goal to introduce amazing and authentic ramen and other specialty Asian cuisines to the Park City community. While they have well known classics like their signature tonkotsu, served with house-made bone broth, chasu pork and of course a gooey ramen egg – they are hoping to extend their menu into specialty ramens from every region of Japan and for any dietary preferences.
Northern Sapporo-style ramen and vegan miso ramen are on the docket for the menu. With a strong emphasis on all organic products, they have forged strong relationships with local and similar-minded partners, including kombucha on tap from Han’s Kombucha, DokiDoki Dessert‘s infamous crepe cakes, and Mindful Coffee‘s nitro cold brew are all making appearances (while they can keep it in stock).
Hana Ramen has not been immune to the current supply chain shortages but they have found fantastic alternatives while they are still in their soft opening phase. Soon to arrive will be a custom built noodle machine to make every type of ramen in-house and visible to the guests. In the meantime, Mike and CC are sourcing their noodles directly from his mentor in Japan. They are so focused on quality that they even have a different options for carry-out to avoid any discrepancy between an in-restaurant experience versus at home. They have also secured a soon-to-be painted custom mural to emulate a Tokyo night market, complete with custom neon signage. Liquor licensing for sake and craft beer services are also in the works.
