Ramen on a Sunday afternoon

a mug of colored pencils on our table

Of all the things we miss about NYC, the availability of a variety of insanely good food is high on that list.

It’s funny actually to think of where we both started in our marriage 17 years ago and our relationship to food. From attempting to cook passably well in the small townhouse kitchen of our first place, to watching many documentaries about food and health, to traveling and trying new dishes, to living in NYC with an abundance of everything available at crazy hours; it’s been quite a journey of growing and learning and tasting.

But it’s really not that there isn’t good food here in Hay… Wales… the UK. It’s how available it is, and especially the lack of variety.

We first noticed the issue of availability when we traveled to the UK as a family 7 years ago. Coming from NYC where something is always open and available 24 hours a day, it was a shock to have a terrible time finding somewhere to eat in London upon arrival late on a Sunday night. I don’t remember what solution we ended up finding, I just remember only pubs were open at that point and at least two of them turned us away because the kitchen was no longer open or because we had kids with us.

Perhaps London has changed over the years, but Hay follows the same pattern. We had an oddly similar experience on our first visit to Hay 2 years ago. While Hay has a lot more going for it than a lot of little towns and villages around, it is still a market town and thus it often feels like the carpets have been rolled up until the weekend. And by the weekend, I mean Thursday, Friday and Saturday in true market town form. Sunday is still quiet and likely only offering roasts until a certain time at the local pubs.

So what is the point of this long-winded intro… well, we had ramen on a Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago and it was glorious.

Romen pop-up poster on a pole

It all started with a sign like the one on the pole above. I spotted a similar poster a month or so before in town. It was pretty simple like this one, stating that Maneki Ramen was coming on two separate weekends – one in February and one in March. I took a picture of the poster to show Mark, and then promptly forgot about it. We happened to be away the first weekend it was on. But thankfully, I saw the sign again and… promptly forgot about it by the time I got home.

Until Saturday evening. I had a sudden memory of it and we quickly looked up Larchwood Studio where the ramen was to be on offer and were thrilled to realize we could catch it during its last few hours on Sunday afternoon. So we walked to Larchwood after church. None of us had been to it before, but it is a fairly short walk across the bridge towards Clyro and down a long gravel road past a field. You really start to question if you were just imagining the poster or if perhaps it was a trick. But at least the view was pretty while we walked. And there was the hope that the ramen pop-up would be worth it. Spoiler: it was. I wouldn’t be writing a ridiculously long post about it if not.

Hay Castle just peeking above Hay-on-Wye

When we arrived to Larchwood Studio, it was a surprisingly nice group of buildings. It is located on Racquety Farm which overlooks Hay and the River Wye. There is an outdoor commercial kitchen and a really beautiful space indoor and out for dining.

The buildings you finally come upon at the end of the long path.

Entrance to the Maneki Pop-up.

Beautiful light and space with long communal tables.

We all decided to get the classic ramen, as it is always best to start with at a new place. I was so excited to see they offered all the ramen with a gluten free option as well! Even our favorite ramen place in NYC never did that. I always had to get a rice dish, which I did adore; but actually getting to enjoy a bowl of ramen with my family is a rare treat. And it far exceeded our expectations. It was really well done with a plethora of bamboo, bean sprouts, greens, pork, and a perfect ramen egg.

Absolutely delicious.

Seriously so impressed by this Maneki Ramen pop-up. We are all hoping they come back, and often!

Once we were all sufficiently stuffed and satiated, we decided such a beautiful day and surprising meal needed to be finished with a lovely walk. So we did a little loop through a few fields and then walked back along the River Wye.

The girls attempting to decipher where we were headed on this supposedly “short” walk which started us in the opposite direction of home.

Lambing season is well under way and we all delight in the abundance of lambs spotted in nearly ever field.

A couple more lambs spying on us from a safe distance.

It was a surprisingly warm week harkening early spring for a March day.

We eventually joined up with the Offa’s Dyke path for a bit and walked through the By The Wye campgrounds where they have a fun natural playground. It has lots of fairy houses and play things made out of found objects and trees. A few figures appear like this reading lad on a felled tree.

I’m often amazed at the fun adventures we stumble upon here. We never expected to get something like such fantastic ramen near Hay. So glad we remembered about it and were able to try it. We can only hope they’ll come more or even set up shop in town!

Looking forward to many more spring days like this ahead.💚

Hay Castle peeking over the housetops. The River Wye is just beyond that hedge border.