Nobu laid him off due to COVID-19. Now, he's opening a ramen restaurant in Phoenix

The coronavirus pandemic forced sushi chef Yusuke Kuroda out of his fine-dining job in Beverly Hills, but he's bouncing back with a new ramen concept in Phoenix.

Kuroda trained in Japan and crafted meals for the rich and famous at the Los Angeles flagship restaurant for Nobu, an upscale Japanese restaurant started by celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa. Kuroda said he was laid off when Nobu closed its dining room for Californa's mandatory closures, but used that time to think of his next move.

He decided to open a restaurant in Phoenix because he felt the dining scene has a lot of potential, Kuroda said. He described Nobu as a great place to hone his skills, but said he didn't want to open that kind of place in Phoenix.

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"I was working with Nobu for four years — a lot of celebrities, and VIP people, and musicians," Kuroda said. "But only certain people can go to it. I want to try a more reasonable approach where a lot of people can go, like young people and families."

What to expect at Origami Ramen

Origami Ramen opened for takeout on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the Foothills Park Place Shopping Center, an outdoor mall outside Ahwatukee.

While most ramen shops in the Valley use a tonkatsu, pork-based broth, Origami Sushi serves ramen with a paitan chicken-based broth that has a rich and creamy flavor, Kuroda said.

His personal favorite is the spicy tan-tan ramen with sesame base and curly noodles, topped with miso-flavored ground pork, spinach, red onion, crushed peanuts and chile oil. Origami Ramen will also have a vegan option with Beyond Beef and miso base, house-made egg, corn, spinach and chopped garlic.

Kuroda won't be abandoning the skills he honed as a sushi chef, however. The restaurant also offers hand rolled sushi, rice balls and a kid's meal.

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Along with classic rolls, such as salmon avocado, Origami Ramen serves specialty rolls including baked crab, karaage (fried chicken) and chashu (braised pork belly).

"Los Angeles has so many different Japanese restaurants," Kuroda said. "I want to add more great Japanese products to Arizona. But because of COVID-19, of course, maybe end of this year might be slow. I hope next year, I can get busy."

Details: Origami Ramen, located at Foothills Park Place Shopping Center at

4810 E. Ray Road, Suite A1, Phoenix. 480-940-4455, origamiramenbar.com.

Reach the reporter at Priscilla.Totiya@azcentral.com. Follow @priscillatotiya on Twitter and Instagram.

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