You are reading

Two New Spots For Japanese Cuisine Open In Astoria

IMG_4304

Feb. 29, 2016 By Michael Florio

Two restaurants offering different flavors from Japanese cuisine opened in Astoria this month.

Shuya Café de Ramen opened at 42-13 Broadway on Feb. 3, according to owner and chef Shuya Miyawaki.

The restaurant, which specializes in ramen, has a unique menu, according to Miyawaki.

“Most ramen restaurants serve ramen in a pork broth,” he said. “Pork broth is good but it is very heavy and has a lot of calories.”

“People don’t eat it very often because of this,” he added.

Miyawaki’s ramen is served in a chicken and fish broth or in a clam soup. His specialty, the Shuya ramen, combines the two. It has been the restaurant’s most popular item.

Miyawaki, 37, has been a ramen chef for the past 20 years. He cooked with pork broth in the past, but decided to make the change so that his customers would come more often.

“Our broth is healthy,” he said. “People feel good after they eat it.”

The restaurant has a variety of vegetarian items such as the “Asazuke” which is Japanese style assorted vegetable pickles, as well as brussel sprout tempura, salads and a vegetable ramen, which is made in a vegan broth.

During the week the restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., but it is closed on Tuesdays. On the weekend, it is open for lunch from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Miyawaki is interested in opening for lunch on weekdays in the future.

The restaurant can seat 23 people. Miyawaki is in the process of applying for a wine and beer liquor license.

Miyawaki, who lives in Forest Hills, decided to open at this location after searching in Manhattan and Brooklyn for a year and a half.

“Rent was too high in Manhattan and we didn’t like the neighborhoods in Brooklyn,” he said. “Astoria was the best of both worlds.”

Miyawaki grew up in Japan. He moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago and has lived in New York for the past three years. This is the first restaurant that he owns.

His restaurant is not the only Japanese eatery to open in the neighborhood this month.

T-Swirl Crepe opened at 36-16 30th Ave. on Feb. 15, according to a store employee.

The shop serves crepes that are made from 100 percent gluten free rice flour batter. The crepes, which are hand rolled in the shop, are prepared similarly to a cone, to allow customers to eat them on the go.

The menu is made up of both sweet crepes, such as the blueberry NY cheesecake, banana chocolate and wild berry crepes and savory crepes, such as the chicken teriyaki, shrimp avocado and smoked salmon crepe.

T-Swirl Crepe has a number of shops around the country, including a shop in Texas, California and eight that are either open or coming soon in New York, including in Flushing, White Plains, Brooklyn and several in Manhattan.

The 30th Avenue location is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Catch the fall vibe at these western Queens breweries

Sep. 3, 2025 By Jessica Militello

September rings in the start of Oktoberfest from mid-September through October, featuring special brews, fun events and more fall fun. Western Queens is filled with breweries to enjoy seasonal brews, fall flavors and the start of cooler weather as Autumn approaches, making it a perfect time to meet up with friends at these local spaces.

Op-Ed | Four years after Hurricane Ida, Queens deserves real climate resilience

Sep. 2, 2025 By Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas

Four years ago, Hurricane Ida tore through our neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights, leaving behind devastation we will never forget. We lost neighbors to the floodwaters. Families saw their homes destroyed, their basements wiped out, their lives upended. Immigrant families—so many of them undocumented—were hit the hardest, often excluded from relief altogether. Ida was not just a storm; it was a wake-up call.

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

Astoria doctor sentenced to more than two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse: DA

An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.

Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.