Taro's Ramen Is Opening a Dedicated Vegan Eatery in the CBD

From its broth to its pork slices to its fish cakes, tucking into a hearty bowl of ramen is typically a meat-filled affair. While that's great news for lovers of tonkotsu, char sui and narutomaki, it robs vegans and vegetarians from slurping up soupy Japanese noodle concoctions. But come April, Taro's Ramen wants to change that.

Brisbane might already be home to one dedicated vegan ramen joint — but soon it'll soon boast a dedicated vegan Taro's Ramen as well. As the city's ramen lovers will know, that's a rather big deal. A firm favourite with stores in Edward Street and Queen Street in the CBD, Racecourse Road at Ascot and Melbourne Street at South Brisbane, Taro's is the local go-to for authentic-style dishes.

Taro's vegan and vegetarian-only eatery will take over its Edward Street site, with the existing Taro's Express closing on Saturday, March 20 and relaunching as Taro's Vegan Ramen on Monday, April 1. Chef and owner Taro Akimoto has no plans to change all of his stores, or to stop serving meat, or to take a stance on the topic. But he's eager to promote healthy, tasty ramen, and to show off a vegan ramen recipe that's the result of some serious trial and error.

Visitors to Taro's South Brisbane store since last April might've already slurped up the meat-free version — and with the dish proving popular, Taro felt it was time to give it its own home. He's still been tinkering with the ingredients too, so prepare to enjoy his latest and greatest version.

While the plan is to make Taro's Vegan Ramen a permanent venture, the Edward Street building housing the store is getting a revamp later this year. That means that sometime between July to September, the shop will be on the move — but if the dedicated vegan eatery is a hit, it'll retain the same all-veggie focus in a permanent location.

Find Taro's Vegan Ramen at 288 Edward St, Brisbane from Monday, April 1.