· 3 min read
House-made ramen in Business Bay: why our broth takes two days
How Sfumato makes ramen in-house — noodles, broths and toppings — and the three bowls we serve in Business Bay, Dubai, at AED 85.
Ramen was never in the plan. Sfumato opened as a gastro atelier with a European-leaning menu and a Slavic heart. Then the kitchen started experimenting with noodles on quiet afternoons, a few guests tasted the results, and they kept asking for them. Eventually the experiment earned its own menu.
What makes ramen ramen
A bowl of ramen has four parts that have to work together: the broth, the tare (the concentrated seasoning that gives each style its character), the noodles and the toppings. Shoyu ramen is seasoned with soy sauce; miso ramen with fermented soybean paste; there are countless regional styles across Japan, from the rich pork-bone tonkotsu of Fukuoka to the lighter chicken broths of Tokyo.
Shortcuts are tempting in all four parts. Many places buy their noodles, use powdered broth bases and assemble bowls from packets. The result can taste fine, but it does not taste of anyone’s kitchen.
How we make ours
At Sfumato the noodles are made in our kitchen every day — you can see them being cut through the open pass. The broths simmer slowly for hours, and from start to finish a bowl takes about two days of preparation. Each one is assembled to order, and every topping is chosen for a reason rather than added because ramen usually has it.
This is the same approach we take with everything else: in-house fermentation, baking and prep. Ramen simply makes it more visible, because a bowl with nothing to hide is the hardest thing to get right.
Our three bowls
- Chicken Shoyu — a soy-based broth of slow-simmered chicken bones, chicken chashu, a marinated soft egg, sweet corn, scallions and nori.
- Beef Miso — a deep miso broth with slices of beef, tare-glazed mushrooms, a soft egg, bean sprouts and green onion.
- Shrimp & Coconut Milk — a fragrant coconut broth with poached shrimp, a soy-marinated egg, bok choy, chilli oil and nori; rich, savoury and gently spicy.
Every bowl is AED 85. Allergen information — gluten, dairy, nuts, soy and shellfish — is marked on the menu, and the team can guide you if you have specific requirements.
When to come
Ramen runs on its own hours, separate from breakfast and the business lunch. The simplest way to check today’s service is to send us a WhatsApp message. No booking is needed: walk in, sit at the counter or at a table, and watch the kitchen work.
If you work in Business Bay, a bowl of ramen is one of the fastest proper lunches you can have. If you live nearby, it is a very good reason to come out on a cooler evening. Either way, it is one experiment we are glad we did not stop.
