Aswang Noodle Club has been popping up with craft ramen and izakaya-style snacks throughout Charleston for a little more than two years. Beginning Sept. 17, they will team up with local pop-up Oyster Dumpling Bar for a monthlong residency at Estadio on Spring Street downtown.
Chefs Joel Carnright of Aswang Noodle Club and Jackson Hubble of Oyster Dumpling Bar share a common goal: to bring a handmade touch to everything they do. Ramen noodles are made from scratch using specific recipes to pair with different ramen styles. Dumplings also get the bespoke treatment. In addition to handmade fillings, the wrappers are mixed, sheeted, cut and folded by hand.
“Everything takes more time and energy, but the end product is worth it,” Carnright said. “You expect a pizza shop to make their own dough. Why wouldn’t you expect the same for a ramen shop?”
Both pop-ups have hosted one-off events at Kultura, Babas, Sissy Bar and Stems and Skins, but the residency at Estadio allows them to focus on locally sourced ingredients from purveyors such as Storey Farms and Peculiar Pig Farm. Estadio’s drink program will remain largely unchanged apart from a few thematic additions, including cocktails using a shiso tonic from Sweatman’s Garden Sodary made specially for the residency…