“He’s happy to get the Michelin star, but for him, it makes him happier when the customers he serves himself appreciate what he does.”

sauce, brightened with hot sauce, porcini mushroom oil and watercress; the had a nuttiness to it that gave it a certain raw earthiness.

Uniformly, all the noodles had a silky texture that was yielding and seductive. Combined, all the elements gave an almost complete sensorial experience: from the sound of your slurp to the noodles’ slip towards your lips.

STYLISH CHEF

Chef Onishi Yuki was at the launch in the Philippines, and he was every bit as stylish as the ramen he served. Due perhaps to his previous work in fashion (where he would buy goods from overseas and bring them to Japan to sell), he had a certain flair evident in his choice of work clothing. While other ramen chefs content themselves with boots, and towels wrapped around their heads, Mr. Yuki had his navy chef’s jacket cut like a blazer, wore a Gucci watch, and a diamond-studded cross dangled from his neck and rested on his chest.

According to his interpreter, speaking in a mixture of English and Filipino, Mr. Yuki has always felt that ramen was something cool, something that looked good, and he wanted to be seen as looking just as good. Just as well, because according to his interpreter, Mr. Yuki serves his customers in his nine-seater Tokyo restaurant himself. “He wants to serve only nine at a time because he wants to make sure that he really serves quality,” she said in a mixture of English and Filipino.

“He’s happy to get the Michelin star, but for him, it makes him happier when the customers he serves himself appreciate what he does.”