restaurants
specialty chicken, she is using the
recipes and techniques she learned
from her mom. or the other. Not to mention, Luck
wanted to offer vegetarian plates
and a veggie ramen, which some
scoffed at.
At Ani Ramen, the veggie ramen
is vegan ($12), the chicken broth is
made with chicken only ($12), and
the pork broth, just pork ($12). The
all-important noodles are made by
Sun Noodle company in Carlstadt,
which Luck and many other noodle
aficionados say is the best in the biz.
Ani Ramen serves seven noodle
bowls. The most popular is the
eponymous “Ani Ramen” with
Berkshire pork bone broth, soy tare
with chashu pork, kakuni, spinach,
kikurage and scallions ($12).
The small plates include smoky
chili charred edamame that’s sea-
soned with sea salt and bursting with
flavor ($3) and can’t-miss bao buns
that are pillow-soft and filled with
tofu, pork or shrimp ($6).
“Ramen is comfort food,” Luck
said. “In Japan, there’s ramen, and
we have it in Thailand, too.”
Ani Ramen(s) Family ties
SLURP. SIP. REPEAT. With four locations and a fifth (in Maplewood) on the way, Luck
Sarabhayavanija ensures that you don’t have to go far to satisfy your ramen cravings.
“The key is to take a little bite
of everything,” Luck says, sitting in
front of the mountain of food and
digging into a fragrant pak mor, a
Thai dumpling made with a minced
chicken, peanut and sweet radish
filling in a steamed rice flour batter.
Here’s a closer look at the current
restaurants created by this multi-
generation family of restaurateurs.
Kai Yang
“The idea to open Kai Yang start-
ed from my son,” Sheree says of her
eye-catching Thai restaurant bursting
with floral patterns and tapestries
bearing mandalas. “I thought I should
be semi-retired already, not starting
from day-one again.”
“I convinced her to roll the dice,”
Luck says.
At Kai Yang, Sheree and her
partner in the kitchen, Peeraya
Kaboonyom, are cooking traditional
Thai dishes. And not just the quick
stir-fries whipped up on busy week-
days, but the slow-cooked delicacies
saved for Sundays. The signature kai
yang, for instance, is marinated with
spices such as garlic, lemongrass,
black peppercorn, palm sugar and
coriander root. In making this
36
MAY 2019 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
Luck’s introduction to the culinary
industry was by watching his mother
work the front of house at Spice II
and Boon Thai. Ani Ramen specializ-
es in ramen (of course) and Japanese
Izakaya-style small plates.
Luck, who is not a chef, runs the
business side of Ani Ramen and
is the founding partner of Eleven
Hospitality group. In the past, he
has managed restaurants including
Glowbal Bar & Grill in Vancouver
and Beauty & Essex in Manhattan.
He also helped open New York res-
taurants Stanton Social, TAO, Lavo,
Avenue and Marquee.
Working in New York inspired
him to open a ramen/small plates res-
taurant across the river. He partnered
with chef Julian Valencia, formerly of
Ganso Ramen in Brooklyn, to open
Ani Ramen.
There were naysayers at first —
purists who believed that the only
way a restaurant could do ramen or
small plates well was to focus on one
As Ani Ramen takes off and
expands, Sheree said she “couldn’t be
more proud” of her son. But, did she
think he would be a future restaura-
teur when he was growing up? “Not
at all,” she said. “But I knew he was
good in the front of house and he
loved food.”
Luck wasn’t initially keen on
working in the industry, seeing how
challenging it was for his parents. But
the restaurant biz was in his DNA.
“When you grow up as a restau-
rant brat you don’t realize how much
you love it,” Luck said. “It’s so cliché,
but I enjoy what I do every day.” ■
Ani Ramen, 427 Springfield Ave.,
Summit, (908) 679-8157;
401 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair,
(973) 744-3960; 218 Newark
Ave., Jersey City, (201) 408-9811;
Harborside Atrium, Jersey City,
aniramen.com; Kai Yang, 345
Bloomfield Ave., Montclair;
(973) 509-2110, kaiyangnj.com.