A ramen shop in Vancouver will often have a vegan option on the menu, but this new roaming food cart only serves plant-based bowls.
Cofu Vegan Ramen is a new mobile food biz from the same people behind a local plant-based sushi restaurant, also called Cofu.
Cofu CEO Akiko Otsuka had been working on a ramen recipe for some time, and feedback from her initial taste-testers was so positive the next step was clear: Launch a food cart that serves only plant-based ramen.
With a vision to work in some fun 80s retro styling, the Cofu crew got their hands on a brand new food cart and kitted it out with a fully electric kitchen that allows them to have their two vegan broth bases (one is oat and almond, the other soy) along with their rice cooker and hot plate, so no open flame.
What's on Cofu's entirely vegan ramen menu?
From the cart's tiny kitchen you can order up steaming bowls of spicy ramen with chewy, snappy noodles, or you can go soup-less with a spicy mazeman-style ramen that finds you working in the umami (but totally vegan) sauce to coat your noodles. Additionally, Cofu's ramen cart does a rice bowl with "shortrib" (which, of course, is not beef, but a soy protein meat alternative).
Spice is prominent on the four-item menu, but for those leery of too much kick, as served, it is a mild spice. If you like to crank up the heat, you can help yourself to spoonfuls of Otsuka's own chili oil that's on the cart counter and dial up the spice level to your liking.
Right now Cofu's ramen is available in just one portion size, however, plans are in the works to soon offer a larger version as well, with about 50 per cent more noodles and much more broth.
The Cofu Vegan Ramen cart isn't fixed to one spot, so they go where there is demand (and so far, after just a couple of weeks, operators attest there has been significant demand once they're on-site). On Wednesdays you can find them parked at 577 Carolina St on the Emily Carr campus; they also make frequent stops in Olympic Village and outside of The Lido.
Follow @cofu_veganramen on Instagram or check the Street Food App site for location information.
Video: New roaming food cart in Vancouver serves plant-based ramen
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