Let's Talk Ramen with mu Denver

For those of you who don’t know, my family attends the Denver Buddhist Temple in downtown Denver.  We have been going there for at least the past 7 years. We attend service, special occasions like Cherry Blossom Festival and Hanamatsuri. All three of my kids take Judo and my husband and two sons do Karate. All of this at the Temple. The type of Buddhism we practice is called Jodo Shinshu. This is a sect originating in Japan. Most of the temple members are of Japanese heritage. Because of this, I spend a lot of time around Japanese food. However, with the exception of those salty little packets, I have never truly enjoyed ramen. As the ramen trend seems to be booming in Denver, I was overjoyed to discover a food truck offering vegan ramen. I absolutely had to reach out to mu Denver for an interview.  

I found the Facebook page and shot over a private message. The response was quick and efficient. I had an appointment the following week. We would meet at the Denver Commissary in the early afternoon.

As I drove to my appointment, my nerves started kicking in. I never know what to expect. Heck, I wasn’t even sure exactly who I was meeting. I was a little panicky because I hadn’t written down any questions. My arrogance in thinking I could just wing it. I tried frantically to think of some clever witticisms, but the drive went too quickly and I was out of time.  I pulled into the lot, got out of my car and took a picture of the building. The front door opened and a gentleman looked my way. It was on.

I walked over and introduced myself. I was met by Yuki Ishikawa. He invited me in to one of the meeting rooms and I turned my phone on to record.

We began talking about the food truck. They call it Vegetarian Street Food Reimagined, so I wanted to clarify if the food is vegetarian or vegan. Totally vegan, Yuki told me. He initially planned to run a vegetarian food truck but transitioned to vegan to adapt to the marketplace (which is pretty dang cool, if you ask me). Yuki is not totally vegan, but he considers himself 97% vegan. His wife, who also happens to be his partner, is more vegan, he tells me. Maybe 98-99%.

Ishikawa started cooking about 20 years ago when he was working as a freelance writer. His wife was working full time, so he took over cooking for the family. As it turns out, one of his children was vegan, so he had to learn how to make vegan meals.  Then, over time, it just became easier making one meal for the whole family. I wonder aloud if he prefers to cook Japanese food? “No,” he says. His wife is from New York and likes Indian food. His goal is to offer food from all over the Asian continent. He already cooks Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. He would like to add more Indian and Middle Eastern options. It is such a large land mass that encompasses so many different cuisines. Lots of beans, veggies and wonderful spices… and mostly vegetarian. His ultimate goal is to open a restaurant offering all the foods of Asia. For now, the truck is focusing on Eastern Asia and Japan with ramen and manju.

Yuki Ishikawa was born in Japan…way back (his words). He first came to America for grad school whereupon he met his wife. They married and, after he finished his degree, they moved back to Japan. He wrote articles in English for outlets such as the Associated Press and Time Magazine. One of his children was born in Japan. Then, they moved back to the states. They lived in Philadelphia for about 5 years, and then moved to New Jersey for a job.  

He wrote 5 or 6 books, in Japanese (for Japanese), all about US politics. However, the book culture in Japan, like everywhere else, had changed. It is all internet now. So, he spent more and more time cooking. He began taking it very seriously. He began thinking about opening a restaurant, but he knew NYC was just not realistic. So expensive. Denver became a good option for a combination of reasons. When they moved here in January of 2017, he was still thinking he would open a restaurant. However, with no practical experience in a commercial kitchen, that was going to be a challenge. So, for a year he worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant. He also took a 6-week class at Emily Griffith Technical College . An intensive course that attempts to prepare people, with no previous experience, to go into the restaurant business. He was getting himself ready. This was a total culture change from his previous job as a freelance writer, where he spent most of his time at a desk and making phone calls. This was a huge adjustment. He really wanted to make sure he was up for it physically.

After all this, Yuki and his wife decided they would start their journey with a food truck. They were fortunate to find Nooch Vegan Market through a friend of the family. Vanessa, the owner of Nooch, could be described as the engine that drives this vegan community. She insisted that the truck only serve vegan food and there be no cross contamination, if they wanted to park in front of Nooch. Mu Denver agreed and they have been at it for about 6 months now. Business is improving and they are hopeful to expand to locations further away, such as Boulder.

I thanked Yuki for his time and let him know I would be at the truck the following Saturday to try his ramen.

On a brisk Saturday afternoon, my oldest son, Milo, and I ventured downtown to Nooch Vegan Market. There, parked in front, was the mu Denver food truck. We said hello to Yuki and placed our order.

1 Popcorn Tofu Ramen

1 Gyoza Ramen

1 Manju Combo

Yuki let me know it would be 10-15 minutes and gave me a pager, so Milo and I decided to pick up a few things at Nooch. We love meandering around in there. As soon as we were finished shopping, we went back outside to wait.

Our wait was rewarded. We took our piping hot food into Nooch to sit down and eat. Wow! The Popcorn Tofu ramen was so delicious. Hot flavorful broth with crispy bok choy, perfectly cooked noodles and mushrooms. The tofu crispy and wonderful. Milo wondered out loud how on earth they cooked it?

Then, we popped open the manju. Three pillowy balls of dough steamed to perfection. I bit into the Asian BBQ seitan. OMG! I could eat this every day. The texture and seasoning were just right. The other two flavors (chick pea with Indian spices and sweet red bean paste) were equally delicious and satisfying.

I am really excited that I finally got to try authentic ramen. The warmth and the flavors are are wonderful. The portion size is just right. I can’t wait to meet up with the mu Denver food truck again and try another flavor. I am also encouraging all vegans and ramen lovers to give this truck a chance. You will not be disappointed.. To find out where they will be, check out their Facebook page or website www.mudenver.com.

Please stop by and visit Yuki at his Mu Denver food truck.