When Crowded House Hospitality first opened Hai Hai Ramen on Latrobe Terrace back in 2016, they captured the attention of foodies by blending authentic touches with non-traditional twists, blurring the line between a lively ramen joint and experimental izakaya. 

But, as its popularity grew, Hai Hai’s small footprint made it difficult for the team to juggle its twin interests. Over time, the venue began to put aside some of its more experimental tendencies and settled into a ramen-centric rhythm.

At Hai Hai’s new outpost on Boundary Street in West End, which officially opened to the public on Anzac Day, the Crowded House crew is relishing the chance to resurrect its R&D methodology and expand its offering into exciting new territory.

“When we opened the original Hai Hai nine years ago, it did lean into some aspects of Japanese culture that people weren’t as exposed to here at the time,” says Reinna. “As that level of exposure and understanding has changed, we’re able to reintroduce some things and do more of that experimentation again.”

Hai Hai West End is described as the flagship and testing ground for a lot of the new ideas, with menu additions and refinements gradually being brought over to Paddington. The space itself is markedly different from its Paddington sibling. 

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The site – previously home to Chop Chop Chang’s – is a spacious, high-ceilinged food hall-style venue, with seating for 100 spread across four lengthy communal tables, a curtained off nook for group dining in the corner and a banquette strip near the entry. The bar stretches almost the entirety of one wall, linking up with the kitchen at the back.

Hai Hai West End blends Japanese design sensibilities with Scandinavian influences, boasting a colour scheme that blends charcoal black (an aesthetic reference to shou sugi ban-style charring) with vibrant yellow and crisp whites. The walls are adorned with vintage Japanese movie posters produced for Europe in the 60s, 70s and 80s, while Hai Hai’s signature ‘Noodzilla’ neon sign illuminates the space from the rear.

“It’s interesting, when you come into a space and it’s not fit out at all, you have lots of ideas about things, but then you never know how it’s actually going to evolve,” says Reianna. “But it has naturally worked out that all of the things that we hoped would be available to us in this space are there.”

Spearheading Hai Hai’s culinary evolution is newly appointed executive chef Benjamin Chow, who joins the team with a wealth of experience in fine dining. Ben has wasted no time applying his well-rounded palate to developing and executing a menu that is broadly Japanese in inspiration, but with a few creative wrinkles. 

Naturally, it all starts with ramen. The team has invested time into punching up its broth recipes, with an eye towards offering ten ready-to-go options headlined by its classic tonkotsu, chashu-men tonkotsu, miso spicy tonkotsu and chicken shio ramen. Hai Hai’s menu also features vegetarian and vegan-friendly options, with a veg shoyu and mushroom shoyu. 

But where Paddington’s ramen offering affords customers a high level of customisation, West End is paring back its ramen range in order to give equal shine to the izakaya-style menu. A trio of bao buns – filled with pork belly, tofu katsu and karaage – segue into a short selection of snacks, including a chashu plate, loaded karaage chicken, miso-coated sweetcorn, fried Brussels sprouts on a bed of whipped tofu and edamame. 

The range of izakaya plates will soon expand further, with items like scallop ceviche, tataki-style dishes, chargrilled morsels and a Japanese take on a potato scallop. As Hai Hai West End will open regularly for lunch, the team will soon offer bento boxes and egg sandos. 

On the drinks front, Hai Hai’s new front-of-house lead William Keltner is overseeing the venue’s enhanced beverage offering. While the venue is still awaiting its liquor licence, the Hai Hai crew says to expect a solid list of big-name Japanese beers (Ibisu, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Orion), highballs and cocktails infused with sake, shochu and whisky.

Hai Hai West End is now open to the public – operating hours and other important details can be found in The Directory.