Ijji Noodle House celebrated its fifth anniversary in June. While April technically marked five years in business, the anniversary party took place when the weather was a bit warmer, and the team felt they could truly celebrate between themselves and with their best customers.
For any restaurant, reaching five years is a feat – and that feat was made even more impressive by the fact that Kurtis Tan took over the original Ijji 3 space and transformed it into Ijji Noodle House at the Damonte Ranch location in 2019. By the time word spread of the new concept, Asian fusion with inspiration pulled from Vietnam, Korea, China and Japan, the pandemic forced the Noodle House into survival mode.
Despite the challenges, Tan has come out on the other side, showing off his continued dedication to Asian fusion cuisine with a line-up of dishes ranging from udon and ramen to bibimbap and Korean short ribs.
His food isn’t authentic in the sense that everything starts with a favorite Asian dish but gets Tan’s special stamp. The ramen broth, for example, is thinner and healthier than you’ll eat in Japan, with much of the oil strained out to create this effect.
“I don’t want to do just one kind of cuisine,” Tan said. “Our restaurant is really diverse.”
Tan keeps it fresh by unveiling a new menu every year (along with a new t-shirt design). While he keeps many popular items like the standout Bulgogi Ramen and the Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich, there’s always a smattering of new dishes Tan, as both the owner and head chef, has dreamed up.
This year, he unveiled several new appetizers, including tempura oysters, miso-garlic shishito peppers and soft-shell crab. The tempura oysters are breaded and fried until they are golden brown, offering a different presentation than more traditional oyster dishes. The shishito peppers are a standout. These delicious, charred green peppers have a bit of a kick, but it’s lessened by the additional flavors of miso and garlic.
The Tempura Shrimp Udon and Karaage Don (Japanese fried chicken drizzled with spicy mayo and unagi sauce before it’s topped with Furikake and green onion) are two other new items that are customer favorites.
Remember to try the ramen when you visit. The Bulgogi Ribeye Ramen is easily the category’s best-seller, featuring Shoyu beef broth with thinly sliced (but not too thin) ribeye bulgogi beef topped with a soft-boiled egg, bean sprouts, bok choy and green onion. And if you want Tan’s personal recommendation, he suggests adding a habanero lime paste to the dish (or any ramen or poke) for a satisfying and tingly sensation without overwhelming heat.
Perhaps my personal favorite on the menu is the Korean Short Rib, marinated Korean style and served with a side of house-made fish sauce, rice, pickled cucumbers and carrots. The pickled vegetables offer the perfect tangy companion to the sweet Korean beef cooked so tender the meat practically falls off the bone. I can barely get enough of the unique flavors of this dish, a favorite of Tan’s, too.
The pho on the menu is all made in a traditional Vietnamese style. There are many variations, including the classic No. 1, which combines rare steak, brisket, beef ball, tendon and tripe into a rich and clear beef broth. The delicious, almost-clear rice noodles (flown in from San Francisco) offer a delicious base before the dish is topped with onions and cilantro for added flavor.
Tan’s philosophy about cooking bibimbap, a traditional Korean rice bowl dish, is that it’s not bibimbap unless it’s made in a stone bowl. He says the dish gets its name from the sound the rice makes as the stone cooks it, creating a crispy base layer, and so without it, even if others call it bibimbap, he insists it’s not the same. At Ijji, not only is the dish served in a stone bowl but also atop a wooden box.
It’s important to note that presentation is a well-thought-out part of every dish on the menu, so everything looks as good as it tastes. “You eat first with the eyes,” Tan said.
Tan has also kept his poke bowl station in the restaurant, which is a favorite for lunches or for sharing as an appetizer amongst friends. Inspired by his trips to Hawaii, poke bowls are a make-your-own endeavor, allowing customers to build a bowl from the available ingredients, including raw fish, rice or wonton chips, fresh toppings and plenty of sauces.
Also new this year is a familiar-looking cocktail menu, as Ijji Noodle House added some of the classics found on other Ijji cocktail menus, including the Jasmine Blossom, which uses fresh-brewed jasmine tea and Jameson and a Japanese Highball made from Japanese whiskey and soda water.
Tan’s knowledge of Asian cuisine comes mainly from his travels and growing up with families in the restaurant business in both America and Hong Kong. As mentioned, he isn’t recreating the dishes he grew up with or what he’s eaten in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Instead, he’s using those as a base for jumping off from, giving each menu item his special touch and quite often mixing techniques, including inspiration he finds from other chefs.
Tan describes his menu as a collection of his favorite dishes. “There’s not one thing I don’t like,” he said. And to ensure each dish meets his high standards, he’s flying in ingredients from all over. The other details are in the preparation, including slicing his bulgogi beef just right and training every chef in his restaurant to do the same. Interestingly enough, Tan also gravitates toward hiring chefs without professional experience so he can influence the final product regardless of who makes it, providing customers consistency every time they dine in (or take out).
In addition to changing his menu, Tan also changes the décor each year. The restaurant has many artistic pieces, including one designed by a local artist that depicts a timeline of his travels starting with Hong Kong and ending with Reno. This year, he added forest-y elements to the inside space, including hanging Japanese cherry blossoms, to give the restaurant a refresh that felt light and bright, a needed juxtaposition to the otherwise dimly lit space.
