From Cart to Brick-and-Mortar: Tatchan Noodle Opens Its First Storefront in Vancouver

Vancouver is no stranger to food trucks and carts, but one cart I make a point of tracking down each week is Tatchan Noodle. Operating out of a small cart (called yatai in Japanese), Tatchan Noodle has been serving hearty bowls of Okinawa soba across the city for the past two years. Now, the beloved cart has transitioned into a brick-and-mortar shop in Downtown Vancouver.

From teaching to cooking

Originally from Okinawa, owner Tatsuya Kuramori first arrived in Vancouver in 2006 to work as a Japanese language teacher. Over the years, he travelled across Canada to explore how Japanese cuisine was represented, only to be disappointed by the  limited offerings.

“Japanese food has a lot of variety, but you can only find ramen, sushi or tonkatsu here,” he explains. “There wasn’t anything like [Okinawan food] in Canada.”

With no prior experience in the food industry, the shift to open up a noodle cart can seem like a hefty task. But during the pandemic, Tatsuya felt the pangs of home more sharply than ever. Having grown up on his mother’s Okinawa soba, the absence of it in Vancouver became impossible to ignore. It felt like a calling: if no one else was bringing Okinawan culture to the city, then he would. And a small noodle cart was the perfect way to start in a city filled with foodies looking for their next meal.

From one generation to another

Unlike traditional soba, which is made with buckwheat, these noodles are crafted from wheat flour, water and egg, resulting in a wider, flatter shape and a chewier texture. The dish is typically served hot in a pork and katsuo (dried bonito) broth, topped with braised pork belly, fish cakes, green onions and red pickled ginger.

At Tatchan Noodle, however, the recipe takes a personal twist. Instead of the classic pork and fish base, Tatsuya prepares a lighter chicken and konbu (kelp) broth and swapped the fish cakes for sōki—tender braised pork spare ribs, another specialty of Okinawa cuisine. There isn’t a grand reason behind the change: it’s simply the way his family has always prepared Okinawa soba.

“Before I started, I called my mom,” he tells me. “I told her, ‘I want to make Okinawan soba here. Please tell me the recipe. What did you use?’”

I asked him the same question, hoping he might let me in on his mother’s recipe. But he only laughed, insisting it was a secret. What he did share, however, is that preparing the pork belly and spare ribs is the most time-intensive part of the process, second only to making the broth.

Both meats are cooked three times: first to skim off impurities, then simmered again to soak up his “secret sauce marinade”, and finally tossed in a pressure cooker to achieve that perfect, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. The meats are then stored in the pressure cooker and brought to the cart where they are kept warm before serving.

From cart to restaurant

On February 19, 2023, Tatchan Noodle officially opened for business. At 11 a.m., Tatsuya rolled his yatai up to Joyce-Collingwood Station, bracing against gusting winds and a biting –5°C chill.

“It was very cold that day—I don’t know how I managed it,” he recalls. “I was worried that no one would come, but a lot of my previous students came to visit, and suddenly there was a long line.”

The sight of steaming pots filled with chicken broth and simmering pork belly was enough to draw people in from the cold, and Tatsuya’s Okinawa soba quickly proved to be the perfect winter remedy. Since then, Tatchan Noodle has become a regular fixture around Vancouver, eventually settling into three consistent locations: the Nikkei Centre, the intersection of No. 3 Road and Saba Road, and the Centre for Digital Media.

Now, after two years of selling noodles from the yatai, Tatsuya has taken the leap into a permanent space. The new Tatchan Noodle storefront is tucked beneath a bridge and surrounded by ongoing construction—hardly the easiest spot to stumble upon. Still, that hasn’t deterred loyal customers from stopping by and its 15 seats are routinely packed during lunch service.

Besides Okinawa soba, Tatchan Noodle’s storefront also features new menu offerings like chashu don and curry, as well as an Okinawan brown sugar tiramisu made in collaboration with Rika Plant Kitchen, a Japanese cake shop that specializes in vegan cheesecakes. These new dishes were devised by Tatchan Noodle’s staff, most of whom have known Tatsuya since he was a teacher.

“The staff asked if we could make bento and feature desserts,” he says. “Since they wanted to do it, I let them. It feels like a family—we all work together to make Tatchan Noodle, Tatchan Noodle.”

From Okinawa to the world

Even though Tatchan Noodle now has a physical store, its yatai is still up and running from Wednesdays to Sundays. Tatsuya says that he feels more connected to customers when he’s running the cart, whereas working in the restaurant’s kitchen can feel isolating at times.

“I like talking to the customers,” he says. “I like having regular conversations and learning about them. But the restaurant means more customers can eat Okinawa soba whether it’s rainy, windy or snowy.”

It may seem like Tatsuya has achieved everything he’s ever wanted to achieve with Tatchan Noodle, but he admits that there’s still one more goal.

“I want to cross Canada and America with my cart,” he smiles. “I’ve never been to America and it will be challenging to get permits, but I want to do it. I want more people to know about Okinawa.”

For now, Vancouver gets to savour these hearty bowls of Okinawa soba, but perhaps one day we’ll see Tatsuya embark on a Tatchan Noodle North America tour, sharing Okinawa’s flavours with the world.

383 Raymur Ave.
Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
@tatchannoodle