(Source)

Australian YouTuber Stanley Chen has tricked dozens of restaurant-goers and influencers by opening a fake ramen omakase restaurant. “Omakase” is a Japanese term meaning “I leave it up to you,” with the chef choosing the dish for diners. Chen uploaded the prank to his YouTube channel on August 1.

• The video: In the video, Chen recounts how he and his friends, including real-life chef Gabe, created the fake ramen restaurant by creating a fake website, promoting it on TikTok, stocking up on a huge supply of instant ramen and calling it Nise Jangara Ramen — “nise” means “fake” in English. Chen’s restaurant was packed on opening day, and dozens of people were still lined up later that evening. Some of the diners even gave Chen positive reviews, with one woman commenting, “The chef has to make me another bowl.”

• His inspiration: Speaking to News.com.au, Chen said he was inspired for his prank by his bad experience at a restaurant he staged in Sydney’s Surry Hills. In the interview, he recounted that the restaurant he worked for allegedly claimed the meals were fresh, but in reality they were prepared a week earlier. “They were charging $30 to $40 a plate of food and basically it was just microwave meals,” he said. Despite learning it was all fake, Chen told News.com.au he still received positive feedback and many people enjoyed it and thought it was a “pretty fun experience.”

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