On January 21, Bishnu Pokhrel opened Instant House at 4 Pearl Street in Essex Junction. The business capitalizes on the South Korean trend of self-serve instant-ramen bars, where customers pick a packaged ramen and toppings to combine and heat on special induction burners and then eat on-site. Pokhrel also makes and sells milk teas with and without boba and stocks various Asian drinks, snacks and frozen treats.
The 24-year-old said she is a huge fan of K-pop and K-dramas, the cultural juggernauts from South Korea. When self-serve instant ramen bars in that country begat similar ones all over the U.S. that proceeded to fill her TikTok feed, Pokhrel saw an opportunity to bring one to her home state.
The young entrepreneur moved with her family to the U.S. from Nepal when she was 7 years old. She grew up in South Burlington and graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in biology and chemistry. Plans to become a dentist were put aside when Pokhrel concluded that the health care field “was not my cup of tea.”
So far, helping customers navigate the self-serve ramen concept and making them boba tea do seem to be her cup of tea. Pokhrel demonstrated how to fill a tray with a package of ramen plus small ramekins of toppings, such as corn kernels, diced Spam, shredded mozzarella and whole boiled eggs, and then prepare the noodle soup on the special cookers. She said she expects high school and college students to anchor her customer base.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Instant House Offers Self-Serve Ramen Bar in Essex Junction”
