Yoshiyuki Maruyama

Beginnings

At Orenchi Ramen in Santa Clara, the bowl tied to Yoshiyuki Maruyama is the one singled out as the ramen to order. It is a tonkotsu build with soft-boiled seasoned egg, pork, green onion, bamboo shoot, mushroom, sesame, and nori seaweed—a combination that shows how familiar parts can be arranged with enough control to make the dish feel settled in its form. Ramen is also Yoshiyuki Maruyama’s stated specialty, and the chapter is defined by a clear menu, a specific shop, and a bowl that earned recognition on its own terms. The detail sits in the assembly: broth, toppings, texture, and richness working together without excess.

The Rise

The later Santa Clara chapter shifted from ramen to fire, moving from ladle and noodle to charcoal, skewers, and timing. In robatayaki, Yoshiyuki Maruyama’s work changed register but kept the same discipline, with the cooking driven by heat, pace, and control rather than flourish. As he put it, "We try to make it as traditional as we can." One method from that period makes the approach plain. Yoshiyuki Maruyama sun-dried fish on the roof for about a day, then grilled it so the skin turned crisp while the inside stayed moist. The sequence is direct: drying first, then flame. That is the craft note that sits beside the ramen bowl—one side built on broth and assembly, the other on air, charcoal, and careful timing.

Today

Read against the earlier Santa Clara work, the title follows a practical path through ramen, skewers, charcoal, and fish dried in open air before service. Each step adds another application of the same trade logic: keep the technique close, keep the result legible. The most concrete signature remains Orenchi Ramen: soft-boiled seasoned egg, pork, green onion, bamboo shoot, mushroom, sesame, and nori seaweed. The companion note is just as exact: robatayaki kept as close to tradition as possible, with charcoal and sometimes hay doing the work that gas and electricity once did not. From the first bowl in Santa Clara to the later fire-driven chapter, the through line stays visible. For readers looking for the line between the places, it is not a slogan. It is a set of techniques and dishes: ramen in Santa Clara, former robatayaki work there, and a 2016 Executive Chef post in San Francisco.

Signature

Yoshiyuki's signature dishes include Orenchi Ramen.

In Their Words “Robatayaki goes back to the olden days where there was no gas or electricity in the house.” “We try to make it as traditional as we can.”