The idea behind the Nakamura.ke Mobile Kitchen seems like such a cool one. Start with one part glowing ramen, add a glass of luminescent cocktail, throw in a sprinkling of Japanese folklore, and finish with a dash of immersive entertainment. It’s unfortunate then, that the completed dish is missing a few of its components and the whole experience may leave you feeling empty.
The hook of the concept is, of course, the glowing ramen. It’s one that would naturally bring people in just for the novelty of it and does allow for some fun pictures. So, it was to my surprise that the website for Nakamura.ke, billed it as “totally immersive dining experience including theatrics, storytelling, art, and folklore.” There seemed to be a degree of thoughtfulness behind the enticing idea of glowing food. There’s even a lengthy backstory to the mobile kitchen and the yokai (supernatural spirits) running it based on Japanese folklore.
The early part of the experience does begin to live up to those ideas too. Located at Yamashiro in Hollywood, Nakamura.ke begins by leading participants into a normally off-limit part of the restaurant. As you descend, everything gets a little weirder. The bottles are now glowing, the lights are green and flickering, the evocative paintings on the wall are moving. It captures the feeling of passing through a barrier and into the realm of the yokai. It’s the only truly immersive moment of the whole thing.
Then the host explains the story (really just a shorter version of what’s on the website) and leads everyone outside to one of two areas depending on the ticket purchased: a highly modified shipping container made to look like a small Japanese kitchen or a darkened tent. For the VIP ticket, you’re taken into the dark Mobile Kitchen and then served up the bowl of ramen and the cocktail you selected at the time of purchase. Hot off the stove and direct from the chef, the ramen does indeed glow with a little help from the blacklights hidden in the dinner counter.
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While I half expected the food to lean more to the novelty side, it was a tasty bowl of ramen. I was able to try two of the three options the kitchen had on offer and they were both distinctive, glowing twists on the dish. The standard ramen has a salty broth that works in tandem with the BBQ pork and outstanding fish cakes. The other comes with a richer, more umami flavored broth and an exceptional shrimp dumpling that only glows once you’ve exposed the delightful filling.
And then when you’re done eating, you’re lead back outside. And that’s the end of the experience. (They do offer to take you up to Yomi’s Saloon, another part of the event with different glowing cocktails on order, but it’s even more barebones than the standard experience.)
Nakamura.ke takes its interesting premise, fantastic location, and strong set up and then does nothing with it. Even though the food and drinks are strong, the whole thing was disappointing. With something like this, I do try to temper my immersive expectations so I didn’t think there would be an elaborate performance. I was hoping to get at least some combination of food, theater, and folklore (especially given the marketing). Instead, it’s just food.
What can’t go unmentioned in all of this is the cost. While NoPro received comped tickets for the evening, the VIP experience will normally set you back $158 and the other option comes in at $83. In the immersive space, that’s either an extremely expensive ticket or just an expensive one, respectively. That price point is even more mystifying when compared to something like Drunken Devil’s To Live and Di(n)e in LA series which offers four courses with paired cocktails and a performance for just seven dollars more. If I had paid full price for two tickets to Nakamura.ke, I would have walked out angry at dropping over 300 bucks on what amounts to a bowl of ramen and a drink per person. This goes double in Los Angeles where you could toss a rock off the top of Yamashiro and hit an incredible ramen place that would come in at a fraction of the price. I’m also hard-pressed to explain the cost difference between the two because outside of whether you’re in a tent or the mobile kitchen and sitting or standing, the two seem to offer a similar experience.
The rich cultural history of food is a perfect pairing with immersive theater and one that hasn’t been explored much yet. I assume there are logistical reasons relating to food safety and locations that could get in the way of telling stories including food. So, when something like Nakamura.ke that has all of the components including that backstory, a natural tie in to Japanese culture and folklore, and an actual restaurant space, it’s hard to watch it not realize its potential. Maybe I wanted too much out of it, but the lack of follow through and the high cost make this an an unfulfilling meal.
Nakamura.ke runs July 3–21 on select days and times. Tickets are available here.
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