Si Aku Ramen Brings Café and Market to Barre 

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• Courtesy Of Si Aku Ramen
• Si Aku Ramen

Things are about to get noodle-y in Barre. Marlyn and Peter Brown — partners in life and business — plan to open an 18-seat ramen café and Asian market called Si Aku Ramen at 237 North Main Street, next to Paramount Twin Cinema, this Saturday, April 21.

Peter Brown is a South Royalton native who met his wife in 1991 while doing missionary work in the Philippines. He told Seven Days that Marlyn — a cook by trade and Filipino by birth — will offer three or four classic ramen bowls at the petite Barre storefront. They include tonkatsu, made with rich, long-simmered pork broth; kimchi-tofu ramen with miso broth; and a chicken option.

Among a smattering of small plates will be handmade Filipino empanadas and lumpia (spring rolls), dumplings stuffed with pork or shrimp, and kimchi fried rice. Marlyn also plans to offer weekly changing additions such as coconut curries and other pan-Asian specialties.

While the broth and proteins for ramen will be prepared in-house, the noodles aren't homemade, Brown said. However, they're the next best thing, hailing from Hawaii-based Sun Noodle, which supplies most of the nation's leading ramen shops through its factories in California and New Jersey.

To drink? Traditional Japanese teas, imported Asian juices and soft drinks, iced tea and lemonade.

On the market side of the wall, Brown said, visitors will find Asian dry goods: noodles, sauces, seasonings, preserved fish and more. Starting next week, the market-café will be open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.