YouTuber Stanley Chen sets up fake ramen restaurant in Sydney

Hundreds of people lined up for four hours in order to get a glimpse inside a five star ramen restaurant — but the entire thing wasn’t as it seemed.

Hundreds of people lined up for four hours in order to get a glimpse inside a five star ramen restaurant — but the entire thing wasn’t as it seemed.

YouTuber Stanley Chen wanted to see if he could dupe people into believing that a man’s living room in Sydney’s Surry Hills and instant noodles were actually a five-star restaurant.

Mr Chen got to work setting up a website by taking photographs and a name — Nise Janagaru Ramen. Nise means fake.

He sent emails to influencers claiming to be “bold, fancy restaurant that nobody has ever heard of” and offered them a free dining experience.

Mr Chen told news.com.au that he’d had a sour experience working for a restaurant, saying they claimed everything was fresh but in fact things were made offsite a week earlier.

“They were charging like $30 to $40 per plate of food, and what they were essentially doing was just microwave meals,” he said, adding it almost felt like a “scam”.

That led him to the idea of seeing if he could dupe people into believing a fake ramen restaurant.

“So we’re about to find out whether food influencers will post about a restaurant that doesn’t exist,” Mr Chen said in a nine-minute YouTube video detailing his plan.

YouTuber Stanley Chen sets up fake ramen restaurant in Sydney. Picture: YouTube/Stanley Chen

He then did some TikTok marketing, with Mr Chen predicting he could have “never predicted” what would happen next.

He received calls from a handful of influencers claiming to have seen Nise Janagaru Ramen’s email and video and would like to attend. These influencers had between 120,000 and 500,000 followers.

By the time the day rolled around, 10 influencers were guaranteed to appear on opening night.

Mr Chen enlisted the help of his friends to set up the space, get a DJ, become waiters and prepare the instant ramen noodles as guests stood outside more than two hours before opening time.

“Here are all our waiters … for a restaurant that did not exist six days ago,” he said

He served instant ramen. Picture: YouTube/Stanley Chen

“We’re a bold, experimental ramen restaurant and we don’t serve a traditional menu. It’s all omakase and we determine what you eat based on your aura.”

When one of his friends questioned if everyone would be eating the same thing, Mr Chen was quick to laughter and said yes everyone would be getting the exact same thing.

As he talked to guests he spun tales about his grandfather building it from the ground up, and telling people they were getting a “Japanese Italian” ramen that was creamier based on the fact the guest had an earring.

It wasn’t drama-free — one guest had an egg allergy that obviously could not be catered to and another guest was given one portion split between two bowls as they had a “bad aura”.

People queued up for four hours. Picture: YouTube/Stanley Chen

But, many were fooled.

“It’s worth lining up for; I really liked it,” one guest raved, while another said the chef needed to give her another bowl she enjoyed it so much.

“All ramen places, they all sort of taste the same. you can tell this one is unique,” another guest praised.

Mr Chen asked people how much they would be willing to fork out if it had been a paid experience. One person said $50. Another said they’d be willing to hand over as much as $80.

People were disappointed after Mr Chen’s operation ran out of its designated 70 packets of ramen, with one complaining they had lined up for four hours to get it.

He asked friends to be waiters and chefs. Picture: YouTube/Stanley Chen

“It turns out you don’t need much to trick people into believing you’re Australia’s best ramen restaurant,” Mr Chen said.

“Some plastic plant pots, some instant ramen and you’re sorted. It just goes how easy it is for restaurants to sell you the sizzle and serve you sh*t.”

Once it was all revealed to be a fake, social media erupted with shock and admiration for Mr Chen’s plan.

“Great social experiment. It speaks volumes about this generation. Branding and marketing is everything. Critical thinking and analysis of what’s actually before them zero,” one said.

Another joked that they needed to think of a scam right now.

“It’s just proves that most people have no idea what’s real or fake and that perception of reality is incredibly malleable,” one said.

Mr Chen told news.com.au that most of the feedback he got from people who attended was positive, with many “enjoying it” and thinking it was a “pretty funny experience”.

Originally published as YouTuber Stanley Chen sets up fake ramen restaurant in Sydney