To achieve this, Yoon adorned the walls with pictures of anime and video game characters. She also worked to blend the flavors from each culture in the kitchen.
The backstory
Before opening Wahta Ramen, Yoon owned a construction company that built several restaurants, which led to her interest in opening a new restaurant. The restaurant opened in December 2019.
“She has also owned a restaurant before,” Wahta Ramen employee Anna Lee said of Yoon. “She designed everything and installed everything [in Wahta Ramen].”
Yoon is originally from Korea, but the restaurant's decorations are heavily influenced by Japanese culture.
In a nutshell
“Korea is so close to Japan,” Lee said. “We are impacted by Japanese culture, gaming, animation and movies—even food.”
Many of the restaurant’s dishes were developed with a former employee from Japan, who recently returned to her hometown of Osaka, Japan, Lee said.
What’s special about it?
“Our ramen is a Korean and Japanese mix,” Lee said. “Japanese ramen is so greasy because of the fat.”
The broth at Wahta Ramen is boiled for 24 hours, and uses more vegetables and is less salty than the broth at many other ramen restaurants, Lee said.
“I think that is why so many people like our ramen,” Lee said.
Additionally, speaking through Lee as her translator, Yoon said she wants the restaurant to have a family-friendly atmosphere that serves Asian comfort food.
What’s on the menu?
Lee said the restaurant’s signature dish is the tonkotsu ramen served with an optional spicy sauce.
Other popular dishes include the spicy seafood ramen, curry and chicken karaage, Japanese-style fried chicken served with a housemade spicy sauce. In addition, the restaurant offers vegetarian options that use spinach noodles, Lee said.
- 8745 Gary Burns Drive, Ste. 165, Frisco
- www.wahtaramen.com
