Karaoke, ramen, and sake are coming to the Square in early January
Karaoke nights, disco lights, sake and bowls of ramen will soon bring a taste of Japan to downtown Georgetown.
Haji Moto Ramen & Sake Bar will open in early January. Jerry Thompson, who owns the restaurant with Chef Yusuke Iwai, is putting the finishing touches on the menu and venue, which is located at the corner of Seventh and Church streets.
Mr. Thompson comes from a pizza background. His parents founded 600 Degrees Pizzeria in Georgetown, where he helped create the menu. He traveled to Japan years ago, with the idea of opening up a pizzeria in the country. Then, he tried a $3 bowl of Japanese ramen and it changed his life.
“I was thinking, I’m gonna make the best pizza in Japan. I want a Michelin star in Japan for pizza,” he recalled. “Then, I was like, I'm coming back home with the best noodles on the planet.
“I came [to Japan] for a whole different reason, and left with enlightenment.”
Mr. Thompson met Chef Iwai in Austin through a mutual friend at a Japanese meet up. Mr. Iwai was trained as a pastry chef in France and has worked in Asian restaurants in the Austin area.
The duo created a menu of authentic Japanese food. The ramen is made with housemade noodles and broth made with filtered natural spring water. The chicken Kaaraage is fried twice in beef tallow, just like they do in Japan. Their Deviled Ramen Eggs, however, are an original creation, combining Japanese flavors with an American classic.
Mr. Iwai said he hasn’t seen Japanese Parfaits — a layered dessert with mochi, icecream, fruit and pastries — on any dessert menus in the area, and decided he wanted to change that. Haji Moto will serve matcha, strawberry and chocolate flavored Japanese parfaits.
“It's almost like an ice cream sundae on steroids,” Mr. Thompson said, with earthy, yet sweet, matcha flavor and strawberry that “smacks you in the face” with each new layer.
The interior of Haji Moto Ramen & Sake Bar is based on a bar in Japan.
When Mr. Thompson was there, he completed a language program and trained under a pro ramen chef in Yokohama. After pulling eight to 10 hour shifts at the chef’s restaurant, they would go out to bars together.
“[There was a bar] decked out in red, then it was just a bunch of controlled chaos, [decor] everywhere,” he remembered. “It was beautiful. It was so pretty. All the lanterns, the chandeliers, all the stuff on the walls. It was a lot, but it made sense, and that was our inspiration.”
Mr. Thompson also wants to place emphasis on Haji Moto’s cocktail menu, which has traditional Japanese offerings.
“If you come here and you just want Margarita, I can make you Margarita, but our cocktail menu is going to be a Japanese cocktail menu,” Mr. Thompson said.
There are a variety of sakes, plumb wine and Shochu, a liquor made from sweet potatoes. Japanese Whiskey is also available.
Once the restaurant opens, Haji Moto Ramen & Sake Bar’s hours will stretch into the night. The goal is to be open until 10 p.m. most nights, with bar service Friday and Saturdays going to midnight. Visit www.haji-moto.com for more details as they’re finalized in the coming weeks.