Newest bubble tea and ramen restaurant

KALAMAZOO, MI — Four years after finding success with Motea in Schererville, Indiana, Ding Lin came north to Kalamazoo to help his friends open their own restaurant, Motea House and Ramen.

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, his friends Yong Lin and Jiang-Xing Lin — who are of no relation to Ding Lin — opened the doors to their small, family establishment. The restaurant is located at 4426 W. Main St. in Kalamazoo’s Westwood Plaza, just northeast of the intersection at Drake Road and West Main.

Yong Lin, who has owned and operated a Chinese restaurant, Jade Garden, in Marshall since 2001, said the decision to open Motea House came at the encouragement of his friend.

“We’d been thinking about it for a while,” he said through his daughter, Jenny Lin, a Western Michigan University student, who manages at Motea House and translated the interview for her father. “There’s really nothing like it here in Kalamazoo.”

Capturing the trendiness of bubble teas — teas mixed with milk or fruit flavors known for their small tapioca and fruit jelly balls — as well the surging popularity of ramen, seemed a winning combination and one that has already proved fruitful for Ding Lin, he said.

“There’s a few places to get ramen in Portage, but there’s not really a ramen place here in the city,” he said.

The consistency of Motea House’s ramen noodles, as well as the variety of dishes, is what they hope will help them carve out a niche in the community, Jenny Lin said.

The ramen options include traditional shoyu ramen, a creamy vegan dish topped with broccoli, sesame, sweet corn, scallions, mushrooms and snow peas, as well as fried shrimp, pork, chicken and seafood options. All options can also have standard ingredients eliminated or additional toppings added.

Since opening, just over one week ago, they have already seen quite a few faces more than once and received a number of good reviews online.

“Business has been pretty good,” Jenny Lin said. “Most people have been telling us they have been waiting for us to open.”

All of the menu options are served made to order, she said.

Appetizers include the Taiwanese style crispy chicken, fried buns, shumai, dumplings served steamed or fried, seaweed salad, vegan vegetable spring rolls, as well as French fries and chicken wings. Value baskets also give patrons a choice of pairing one of a handful of select dishes with a select tea or other drink.

More than 50 drink offerings are highlighted by a variety of bubble milk teas, which are served hot or cold, fresh fruit teas, Yakult teas, Tea Lattes, milk foam caps, coffees and fruit smoothies.

Motea House offers traditional favorites such as brown sugar and rainbow jelly milk teas, Thai ice tea, Matcha mousse and honey green and black teas, as well as non-traditional specialties such as taro strawberry milk tea, caramel pudding milk tea, red bean milk tea, mocha Frappuccino and peach green lemonade.

All of the fruit used in the drinks is fresh, Yong Lin said.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. To place a carryout order, visit moteahouseramen.com or call 269-254-8897.

There is no delivery option available at this time, but there is a drive-through window available for carryout orders placed in advance.

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