A small slice of Japan has opened up near the Dunn Loring Metro station.
The team behind the Chantilly food hall Tilly Kitchen launched Japomen, their first full restaurant, in the Shops at Avenir Place (2767-J Avenir Place) on Oct. 12.
Initially anticipating a launch in May, the opening was a relief to Jason Kang, who co-owns the restaurant with Rockville’s Pike Kitchen owner James Park and sushi chef Peter Yoo.
“After we leased, it almost took one year to open,” Kang told FFXnow. “A lot of people in this area … they already know we’re going to finally open, so they’re all happy.”
Park and Yoo introduced Japomen as one of the concepts at Pike Kitchen, a food hall that serves different kinds of Asian cuisine. They later expanded with Tilly Kitchen, which includes the Japomen menu, and locations at EpiQ Food Hall in Woodbridge and Lotte Supermarket’s food court in Sterling.
Building on Yoo’s 30-plus years of experience with Japanese restaurants in the D.C. area, Japomen serves ramen, udon, rice bowls, teriyaki and katsu entrees, and a variety of sushi, including some more unique offerings like onigiri (triangular rice balls wrapped in seaweed) and hand rolls (labeled on the menu as “sushi tacos”).
To encourage customers to try the hand rolls, the restaurant is offering a free spicy salmon or truffle white soy salmon one with any ramen order. Kang says no end date for the promotion has been determined yet.
There are also specialty ramen bowls, such as halal chicken and lamb, kimchi and seared wagyu, along with the standard miso and shoyu options. The Japomen bowl puts noodles and chopped pork belly in “slightly spicy” miso broth with a citrusy kick from yuzu and jalapeno, according to the menu.
According to Kang, Japomen makes an effort to prepare and cook everything in-house, including the cha siu (pork) that’s marinated in a special sauce. The tuna comes from whole bluefin tuna that’s cut at the restaurant, rather than pre-cut slices.
Kang says that approach enables them to maintain slightly lower prices than other Japanese eateries in the area. A basic tonkatsu ramen, for instance, costs $14.95 compared to $19.80 at the nearby Jinya Ramen Bar in the Mosaic District.
“The customers can enjoy better quality Japanese food at a reasonable price. That’s our goal,” he said.
The team hopes to add alcoholic drinks to their offerings but is still waiting on a license from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. An inspection was scheduled for today (Tuesday), Kang said.
Japomen will be joined at Avenir Place, possibly in December, by Viet Corner, a Vietnamese restaurant that will represent the first expansion of Pho Viet Flare in Alexandria.