Today’s Special: Angel’s Shoyu Chintan

Ramen noodles bathed in a clear chicken and dashi broth, topped with a gooey, soft-boiled ajitama egg, shiitake mushrooms, and torched char siu combined into a riot of flavor at Menya Gumi, a self-described ​“hole-in-the-wall” ramen restaurant on Orange Street.

The dish is known as ​“Shoyu Chintan,” and it is Head Chef and owner Angel Cheng’s favorite item on his menu.

Much like Menya Gumi itself, Shoyu Chintan is a fusion of tradition and modernity. It’s a twist on the traditional style of ramen that arrived in Japan from China.

Cheng adds his own sauces, produce, and meats to switch up the flavor profile.

“The core menu and the layout of my restaurant is minimalistic,” said Cheng. ​“Consistency is key for me and I keep everything simple to retain the quality.”

There are only four ramen dishes on Menya Gumi’s menu, with other options for entrees, appetizers, bi-weekly specials, and add-ons. For Cheng, that’s about giving people the opportunity to enjoy all of the dishes that are there.

The store is set up similarly. It features a Japanese wood tone color scheme but switches out traditional shoji sliding doors for sleek glass. Cheng chose the design because he wanted to retain elements of an authentic Japanese restaurant, without making Americans think the store was too mysterious or closed-off.

“I never side-track my own originality, but sometimes you have to make compromises,” Cheng said while torching a fresh piece of pork belly. ​“Here, I’m retaining a lot of that moisture [from the meat] but also the smokiness from the torch.”

Cheng opened Menya Gumi — which translates to ​“noodles” in Japanese — last year, right before the Covid-19 pandemic became widespread across the United States. On March 16, 2020, the restaurant’s opening day, Cheng received a message mandating a shutdown.

Despite the initial slow traction in the first four months of the pandemic, Menya Gumi remains busy even in the early afternoon, which Cheng described as the slowest part of the day. Part of the appeal might lie in Cheng’s unique style of combining his knowledge of Asian cuisine with the American market.

“Growing up here as an ​‘ABC’ — an American Born Chinese — I liked a lot of American food,” said Cheng. ​“But as I grew older, went to culinary school, and moved back to Hong Kong for four years, I noticed that my tastebuds changed over time and I [was] leaning more towards things that are typical Asian comfort foods.”

Cheng was born in Bridgeport and spent part of his childhood in Hong Kong. When he was young, he used to make cheesecakes and desserts to impress girls, before realizing that he truly enjoyed baking. After graduating with a degree in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales University, Cheng worked culinary jobs on the stateside and overseas in Hong Kong.

“During that time, I came to the realization that at late nights I would eat a lot of ramen — like five days a week when I would get out at 12 or 1 o clock,” said Cheng. ​“I really enjoyed eating ramen all the time.”

From then on, Cheng started experimenting with recipes and picking up jobs in ramen restaurants like Killer Noodle Tsujita in Los Angeles. Through his experimentation, he decided that he wanted to create a ramen restaurant that focuses specifically on chicken and fish broth, rather than the more well-known Tonkatsu pork broth. 

“When you eat [Shoyu Chintan], it never feels nauseating or like you’re going to go into a food coma after eating something so heavy,” said Cheng. ​“It has a really rich flavor and there are so many ways that you can switch up the flavor profile.”

Cheng is meticulous about his ingredients and preparation. He even heats his ramen bowls in a water bath to ensure that the soup retains its heat for longer. One by one, he adds thick, pre-salted bamboo shoots — or menma — to his Shoyu Chintan because he said it gives the dish a smoother texture.

Finally, he tops off his Shoyu Chintan with an Ajitama egg that overflows with a warm, runny yolk when pierced. Ultimately, Cheng said his dishes are really about the connections he makes with others while working at Menya Gumi, both with customers and his parents, who work alongside him in the store.

“We have the best Ajitama eggs throughout the town of New Haven,” said Cheng. ​“That’s what all my customers say.”