It's more than 40ºC on a hot summer's day in Dubai when I make my way down to Al Mina. The sweltering heat, I notice, does not deter true-blue foodies from queuing up outside a modest Japanese restaurant, a veritable hidden gem, in Wasl Port Views.
It's not a cold dessert these eager diners are lining up for, either, but rather a simmering bowl of ramen, sometimes even drizzled with spicy oil to up the ante.
IchiRyu credits its success – and that of its signature noodle soup – to social media.
“The response has been overwhelmingly good,” says co-owner Karl De Guzman.
However, he admits the “overnight fame” brought on by videos that quickly went viral posed a challenge, as the team had to cater for a higher number of diners and maintain quality and taste. The restaurant has been open for less than three months.
Thankfully, the Filipino entrepreneur hasn't been manning the ship alone. Instead, he works with his brothers, the restaurant's two other owners. Each brings his own expertise that keeps the ramen house running smoothly.
With his experience in events management, Karl is the brains of the operation and ensures smooth service on the floor.
Nicolai, the youngest of the three, is the creative eye, whose love of anime comes through in the restaurant's catchy design. His own collection of Gundam figurines and other Japanese pop culture artefacts dominate the venue.
“This is like a gallery of my own collection,” says Nicolai, who is wearing a stylish grey kimono accessorised with a wood-bead necklace on the day I visit.
At the heart of the restaurant is chef Raul, who speaks fluent Japanese and has mastered the art of ramen-making having spent 16 years in Japan immersing himself in its culture and solidifying his love of the country's food.
“When I had my first ramen in Makati in the Philippines, I knew I wanted to learn how to make it and have my own ramen shop one day,” says Raul, who named the restaurant after his son Ryu.
He moved to Japan in 1990, when he got a scholarship for an electrical engineering course. Despite being busy with his studies, his ramen dreams didn't fade away and he tried to wiggle his way into the local restaurant scene.
“I tried working at a ramen shop, but they weren't hiring Filipinos at the time,” he says. Then Raul met a Japanese chef who agreed to teach him how to make an authentic broth. Raul spent years mastering the art of cooking the noodle dish, then set about establishing a chain of 12 ramen restaurants in Cebu in the Philippines over the past decade.
On the menu
IchiRyu serves everything from small bites to desserts, but the main event is ramen. Variations include shiro paitan white broth; spicy tantanmen; and midori paitan with pesto.
I sample the tantanmen, and can attest that it justifies the long queues and the trip to Al Mina. The broth is packed with umami flavour and is a testament to the hours of simmering each soup goes through.
The restaurant also blends its own red iced tea infused with mint, which adds a refreshing kick to the otherwise saccharine drink.
What has also boosted the ramen house's popularity on social media is its solo dining area made up of bocchi seki or "lonely seats" in a sectioned-off booth. At first, the De Guzman brothers were hesitant about incorporating this popular Japanese concept because dining in Dubai is typically a “social thing”.
But the reception has been phenomenal, they say, and it has fuelled their plans of replicating the concept in other locations.
Love letter to Japan
There is something almost electric in the rapport the brothers share, and they all agree that IchiRyu is, first and foremost, a labour of love.
In many ways, their story is a reflection of the greater Filipino diaspora, a significant portion of whom are in the Middle East as well as Japan.
The trio's passion for Japanese culture is heavily reflected in the way they run IchiRyu, from the look of the place, which has a faux cherry blossom tree, to the attention to detail that chef Raul infuses in his culinary creations.
Being the sons of a Filipino migrant worker in Japan, the trio recall growing up with vibrant memories of their father's life in the East Asian country.
“I was only seven years old when I mastered the use of chopsticks,” says Nicolai with a chuckle. “My father would tell us stories about how beautiful Japan is – its culture, its people, its food.”
IchiRyu, then, is the trio's love letter to Japan, a country that has been generous to their family over the years. “Our Japanese diners are touched just seeing how a non-Japanese person can give so much respect and tribute to their culture,” says Nicolai.
“Designing the place came so easy to me because I was simply enjoying myself,” he adds.
When asked if they run into occasional disagreements, the three brothers unanimously shake their heads. Karl says their close-knit upbringing and collective struggles have never allowed them to seriously fall out. There is intermittent bickering, he says, but “at the end of the day, we all meet in the middle”.
“It's about the love and the respect we have for each other. We keep in mind that whatever decision one makes is for the ultimate good of the business.”
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Hamilton’s 2017
Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th
