Two powerhouses of the Welsh food scene are teaming up; Matsudai Ramen, Wales’ cult ramen joint, and Halen Môn, the Anglesey Sea Salt company, are to launch a new collaborative ramen kit next month.
The new shio (salt) ramen kit has been created by the Matsudai team to showcase Halen Môn’s salt products – and particularly its smoked salt and smoked water.
Welsh Foodie Heavyweights
Halen Môn has built an international reputation for its iconic hand-harvested, organic-approved Welsh sea salt made from Anglesey sea water, and its range of seasonings and condiments that celebrate the best natural ingredients. It launched its artisan smokery business in 2008 with smoked sea salt, and has since developed a range of ingredients, popular with top restaurants and chefs, including a Great Taste award-winning Oak Smoked Water.
Meanwhile, Matsudai Ramen has delivered tens of thousands of ramen kits to every corner of the UK, receiving praise from such culinary heroes as Tim Anderson, Andi Oliver, Big Has, and Melissa Thompson – and appearing in articles in the Observer, Daily Mail, Independent, BBC Good Food and many more. In early August 2022 they opened Wales’ first dedicated ramen shop – a flagship restaurant in Grangetown, Cardiff. Respected Guardian critic Jay Rayner visited the restaurant soon after, calling it ‘inventive, geeky and superb’. You can read the full review here.
Their new collab ramen kit features a light, golden Fosse Meadows chicken and seafood soup, a new Halen Môn shio (salt) tare – a secret seasoning sauce, wild garlic oil, hand-pressed noodles and pork loin chashu cured in Halen Môn smoked salt.
Pop up Ramen lunch & dinner club in Anglesey
To launch the new kit collaboration, Matsudai will also be hosting a pop-up lunch and dinner club at Halen Môn’s Tide cafe on Anglesey on 10th July. The pop-up will showcase the recipe from the new kit, alongside a richer soup alternative and a vegan version. The ticket price includes a bowl of ramen and a selection of additional small plates and desserts, which also showcase Halen Môn products, will also be available to buy on the day.
The Matsudai x Halen Môn ramen kits are available for delivery between 18th July and 16th August – you can grab yours here.
Tickets for the pop-up event at Halen Môn are available to book now online.
James Chant, founder of Matsudai Ramen said:
“We’ve been using Halen Môn products in our cooking for years – salt-based shio ramen is a fundamental style in Japanese ramen – so, with Halen Môn’s products being so untouchably brilliant, it felt like a perfect fit for us to collaborate. We’ve made good use of Halen Môn’s smoked salt and water, to accentuate the depth of the flavours that we bring from our long-cooked soups and marinated meats and vegetables. We’ve wanted to do this for ages and I’m really pleased to bring this idea to life.
“As a business that was founded on running pop-ups, we’re looking forward to the experience of cooking on the beautiful Anglesey coast. It’s an opportunity for North Walian fans of our kits to taste what we do in-person, and to bring something a bit different to the menu at Tide.”
For more information and to order one of the collab ramen kits, visit: matsudai.co.uk.
