Chef Neha Mishra: India’s Ramen Royalty Reigning In Dubai

I’m a self-taught chef and during this period, I started feeling strongly about Japanese food. Although the cuisine is hyper-focused, I specifically started enjoying working with ramen. It is one of the few disciplines within Japanese cuisine that doesn’t have any rules, so I enjoy free flowing with it.  

Coming from India—a country known for its loud, colourful and bold flavours—I enjoyed the simplicity and purity of Japanese cuisine. The more I got into the depths of the cuisine, the more I wanted to learn about it. It was a rabbit hole! 

One of the identifying reasons why I wanted to make Japanese food is because I knew how different it is from Indian cuisine. I struggle with fusions. When I transitioned to Japanese, I knew that one [cuisine] and nothing to do with the other. And that is exactly what I loved about Japanese food – that is was the polar opposite of Indian. With this demarcation, it was easy for me to stick to the flavours of each cuisine.  

I started with a supper club. Over the span of three-and-a-half years, I had already hosted 7,000 people!  However, as I am self-taught, I had to build some level of confidence to get into that arena. It took me a while to get there but over time, I started realising that I could offer something special, at least in terms of Japanese cuisine. When the business felt viable and I felt confident, I decided to open a restaurant. It was all very organic.  

Being self-taught works for me and against me, both. On one hand, I’ll always be the chef that doesn’t have culinary training. As kind as my peers have been, I have my own imposter syndrome of whether I deserve to be on the same arena as them.  

I think you just need to believe in what you’re doing. I may not be trained in what [other chefs] do, but I have taught myself my skill very extensively over the years. You need to own that. When you start something and hone a skill, over time you get more confident.

It’s competitive. But Dubai has an amazing food community, so I had a lot of support from my peers. Many people were rooting for me. We make street food, but the complexity of it is laborious and knowledge heavy. It is an ongoing process for my peers to take me seriously for that. As a female chef, I was lucky as I opened my own restaurant. I didn’t face the same challenges as the women working for a kitchen. In some ways, I had a head start.  

Having said that, the industry is changing. Of course, this opinion comes from the fact that I run my own kitchen. At Kinoya for instance, 40 per cent of the kitchen staff is women. Often, women are not given this first chance. Once you get past that barrier, they have a better chance of getting to the same levels as their male counterparts.

To a certain extent, I have my blinkers on. While the divide exists; at this point, I’m competing with myself.  

People don’t know what they want to be given to them, and that applies even more to food. People tend to have preconceived notions about what they think they want. When you give diners something different, they can get pleasantly surprised by it.  

With ramen, specifically, people sort of knew what to expect. From our side, we were already communicating and educating audience. [We had to explain to people that] while this is street food, it is made with a lot of time and knowledge.  

[Having said that] we don’t alter the food in a way that pleases audiences. At Kinoya, no sushi has even a speck of mayonnaise – it’s not supposed to be there! It was a decision that was made early on that while we want to cook for the diners, it has to be done in a way that feels honest to us. 

We started building Kinoya during the pandemic. At the time, Japan was seeing a new wave of compartmentalised restaurants. Using that as an inspiration, we started creating something that was immersive depending on where you were seated. So, it didn’t matter if the rest of the restaurant was empty during COVID, because where you were sitting [in Kinoya], it would be a bit more atmospheric. It started out as practical thinking. 

However, as we offered more than just ramen, we had to think about what else we could create to make it more immersive. That’s how the rooms came to be. I firmly believe that ramen should be eaten at counters, so we created those. With this, we wanted to give guests the option of solo dining, much like it is the case in Japan. The main dining is more for families and groups of friends. I wanted to showcase sushi, so we set up a chef’s table too.  

It’s a gamble opening a restaurant anytime, anywhere – especially as a first-time chef opening a first-time restaurant! In a way, the pandemic helped us. We had a lot of negotiating power in terms of getting the best deals on rentals. We opened just as the world was opening, so people were just happy to be out and visit restaurants. It worked out really well!  

After featuring on the 50 Best List as One to Watch Out For, and winning the Michelin Bib Gourmand, there’s a little pressure about what to do next. It’s the chef’s responsibility to prevent stagnation and evolve for the better. At Kinoya, it gets a little tricky since we’re essentially a ramen-focussed restaurant. We have six permanent ramens on the menu, and another rotation of 10. We have to remind ourselves not to change too much because people are coming to enjoy these dishes and flavours. It’s important to have your finger on the pulse and think about what the customer wants. But we don’t change for the sake of it. In those cases, you’re changing out of fear instead of actual innovation.  

It’s explosive! You can go from cheap and average Joe-kind of spots to something that’s elevated and fine dining. Dubai has a lot to offer right now that you can get spoilt for choice.  

It’s very eclectic. People have come from all parts of the world, and that helps brings in so much flavour. The pandemic also made people pursue activities apart from their usual. As a result, people were pivoting, which brought in a lot of fresh ideas and innovations.

Dubai is still forming its identity since it’s not an old city or a new. In a space like that, it’s very easy disrupt and build identities. It’s amazing for growth!  

The day my husband and I landed in Japan, the two of us went to an izakaya. The menu was in Japanese, so we didn’t know what to order. We asked the waitress for recommendations, and she said it’s fish. We thought it sounded harmless so decided to order it. Upon tasting it, we found that it was fermented fish guts!  

The world is changing, and Japanese food is becoming more accessible. People are well-versed with the cuisine. There’s more to Japanese food than just sushi! The biggest myth is that ramen is an easy dish to make. It’s not! One bowl—from start to finish—can take a whole day to create. That’s why I call it slow food-fast, because it’s takes so long to make, and it’s wiped off clean in seconds. If your ramen does not evoke a different flavour from start to finish, then that bowl has not been thought of.  

Also, not everyone can—or should—make sushi! There are sacred principles around Japanese cuisine, and I wish people would not adulterate it.  

A broth so clear that you can see the bottom of the bowl. But the density of flavour in that is so complex that it makes you think.  

Mexico. If I wasn’t serving Japanese food, it would have been Mexican food instead.  

South Indian (I can live on idlis!) 

Veg Hut in Dubai Investment Park.  

We’re opening a branch in Harrods in October. We scale very carefully because we don’t want to dilute what we’re doing. After that, if any opportunities present itself, we’ll take it from there.  

The menu will be refreshed from time to time, but the staples will stay. I wouldn’t dream of changing that because that’s what people come for.  

Related: Himanshu Saini: The Michelin-starred Chef Serving India To Dubai