a Chinese restaurant in Sendai. Restaurants in Japan Ramen is offered in various types of restaurants and locations including ramen shops, izakaya drinking establishments, lunch cafeterias, karaoke halls, and amusement parks. Many ramen restaurants only have a counter and a chef. In these shops, the meals are paid for in advance at a ticket machine to streamline the process. However, the best quality ramen is usually only available in specialist restaurants. Some restaurants also provide Halal ramen (using chicken) in Osaka and Kyoto. As restaurants offer mainly ramen dishes, they tend to lack variety in the menu. Besides ramen, some of the dishes generally available in a restaurant include other dishes from Japanese Chinese cuisine such as fried rice (called or ), gyoza (Chinese dumplings), and beer. interiors are often filled with Chinese-inspired decorations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many ramen restaurants were temporarily closed, with 34 chains filing for bankruptcy by September 2020. Ramen restaurants are typically narrow and seat customers closely, making social distancing difficult. Outside Japan Ramen became popular in China where it is known as (, ). Restaurant chains serve ramen alongside distinctly Japanese dishes, such as tempura and yakitori. Interestingly, in Japan, these dishes are not traditionally served with ramen, but gyoza, kara-age and others from Japanese Chinese cuisine. In Korea, ramen is called ramyeon (). There are different varieties, such as kimchi-flavored . While usually served with egg or vegetables such as carrots and scallions, some restaurants serve variations of containing additional ingredients such as dumplings, tteok, or cheese as toppings. Outside of Asia, particularly in areas with a large demand for Asian cuisine, there are restaurants specializing in Japanese-style foods such as ramen noodles. For example, Wagamama, a UK-based restaurant chain serving pan-Asian food, serves a ramen noodle soup and in the United States and Canada, Jinya Ramen Bar serves ramen. Instant ramen Instant ramen noodles were exported from Japan by Nissin Foods starting in 1971, bearing the name "Oodles of Noodles". One year later, it was re-branded "Nissin Cup Noodles", packaged in a foam food container (It is referred to as Cup Ramen in Japan), and subsequently saw a growth in international sales. Over time, the term ramen became used in North America to refer to other instant noodles. While some research has claimed that consuming instant ramen two or more times a week increases the likelihood of developing heart disease and other