KOBE JAPANESE RESTAURANT: HARMONY IN THE BOWL.

• Author: Sasich, Chris
• Position: READERS' CHOICE

Each month, we ask our social media followers to nominate their favorite Utah-owned businesses and select one to feature here. This month we asked fans to tell us their favorite local ramen. Want us to write about a business you love? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram @utahbusiness.

Salt Lake City--After 15 years of making sushi, Michael Fukumltsu wanted to explore another Japanese cuisine and found himself working in a ramen shop outside of Tokyo, Japan. Four years ago, Fukumitsu and his wife became the owners of KOBE JAPANESE RESTAURANT, bringing that experience from Japan to the taste buds of his Utah customers. "So many places are making sushi; we loved ramen," said Fukumitsu. "We saw an opening for something that we loved to make and that we thought other people would enjoy."

The ramen at Kobe is packed with so much flavor it's no surprise that it's the culmination of a lot of time and effort. All of the meat products are the highest possible grade, and Fukumitsu is very particular about what goes into his soup.

"The soup takes about 14 to 24 hours to come to fruition," said Fukumitsu. "It's a combination of pork bones, ears, back fat, back skin, hocks, snout and vegetables. We clean the bones, put in all those different ingredients and let it come to a rolling boil for about 14 to 24 hours, to bring all of the collagen and fat out in the soup."

The noodles are special ordered from a company in Los Angeles called Sun Noodle. "There's lots of different types of noodles, but the ones that we get, in particular, are made specifically for us, with specifications for a certain curliness, thickness and chewiness," said Fukumitsu.

This is all topped with...