Erim Kriedel's interest in ramen began before he even set foot in Japan. When looking into a possible trip in 2018, he found himself fascinated by the local cuisine – watching video after video on YouTube about where to find the best noodles.

"Within minutes of checking into my first hotel in Tokyo, I was sitting in front of a steaming bowl of soup at Ichiran Ramen," he explains.

By the time he returned to Germany he was hooked and knew he had to learn how to make the dish himself. Starting with trial and error, the initial results were mixed, and he soon became frustrated. It was after one too many mediocre meals that took far longer to create than to eat that he decided to return to Japan and learn from the best.

Unfortunately, he never made it. He was booked onto a cooking course in spring 2020 and we all know what happened next.

Munich Bites Monaco Ramen — Photo credit: Monaco Ramen

And yet the pandemic wasn’t all bad news for his quest. With no one able to attend the course in Japan, the school went online and Erim was finally able to prepare the perfect dish from his home in Munich. His friends and family were impressed and soon word got out.

Monaco Ramen became a food staple for many people during the ongoing lockdowns. In March 2021, he opened a pop-up in Westend cafe Sehr Wohl, offering ramen kits to go, before later having a stand at the Kulturdachgarten.

In 2023, he became one of the vendors creating huge queues at the Munch Market Food court located on the ground floor of Gasteig building. Here Erim and his team served up Shoyu and Shio Tare based ramen, including a vegan version made with cashew nuts and oyster mushrooms, as well as soup-free dishes such as the Taiwan Mazesoba with thick temomi noodles, spicy pork mince and an Onsen egg.

Since April 2025, the business has returned to pop-up venues across the city - keep an eye on their Instagram to see what and where is next…

MORE INFO
Location: Look out for their next pop up!
Website: https://monacoramen.bigcartel.com/

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