Hong Kong. A ramen shop with a touch of Japanese lacquerware

A Work of Substance designed a restaurant that celebrates both Japanese Urushi craftsmanship and the shrimp recipe of a ramen food chain.

A Work of Substance, Ebisoba Ichigen, Hong Kong, 2018

Hong Kong-based communication and design firm A Work of Substance signed a new cult shop for ramen aficionados in the commercial area of the Wan Chai district, Hong Kong. Ebisoba Ichigen is a Japanese food chain whose success is based on the upgrade of an old ramen recipe that uses shrimp broth.

The 244 sqm interior reflects the brand’s identity through a red lacquered structure that mimics a shrimp’s shell within a dark space and tributes the Urushi, the ancient Japanese lacquerware. Wooden pine strips are bent together in a curved shape with thin ropes and laminated wooden frames, running from the street to the kitchen. The table tops in natural wooden tones recall the shops’ bamboo sticks.

  • Ebisoba Ichigen
  • restaurant
  • A Work of Substance
  • 244 sqm
  • 2018