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Get disco-friendly ramen and snacks at Chapel Street's new late-night izakaya

Get disco-friendly ramen and snacks at Chapel Street's new late-night izakaya

Whenever Manato Hikawa went partying on Chapel Street, he noticed there were no late-night places serving the Japanese drinking snacks he had become used to in Tokyo. 'It was only kebabs,' he says. 'I saw a gap in the market for an izakaya that stays open after midnight.'
He opened Umami Tokyo in May close to bars and clubs that push through to dawn, serving street dishes such as takoyaki (fried octopus balls), chicken skewers and pork gyoza, as well as ramen, until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Hikawa is a founder of Parco Ramen in Collingwood and Moonee Ponds, but he moved on last year to launch Umami Tokyo as a takeaway business, popping up at Queen Victoria Market and music festivals.
'I want to deliver my ramen to as many people as possible,' he says. 'I've devoted myself to being a good ramen chef.'
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