Farragut's Two New Noodle Shops, Just in Time for Soup Weather

How many bowls of ramen can a kitchen serve when every pot of broth takes eight hours? At Tsukimi Ramen, the new restaurant at 133 Brooklawn St., the soft-opening answer was 60 a day, served from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 19, according to Knox News.

The new Angry Dumplings Farragut location on Kingston Pike is set up the other way. Owner Jason Chau told Knox News that the dining room is about the size of his South Knoxville restaurant but the kitchen is bigger, built for a longer menu.

So this fall Farragut got two bowls of noodle soup it didn't have in the summer, and they work very differently. One is limited by how much broth it can make. The other was built to serve more dishes. Which one fits a given cold night depends on when you're hungry and who's eating with you.

Tsukimi Ramen works on broth time

Knox News reported that Tsukimi opened the week of its Oct. 17 print edition. It describes the restaurant as Japanese-inspired, serving handmade ramen and milk tea, in the same stretch as CM Chicken and French Market Creperie. The restaurant's own words, which the paper quoted from Tsukimi's website, explain the small daily count:

"We believe great food does not need to feel complicated. It should be warm, satisfying, and made with care. Every recipe is refined with patience, every bowl prepared to order, and every detail thoughtfully considered. We believe great ramen is always worth the wait."

That waiting adds up in practice. A broth that takes eight hours can't be topped up halfway through dinner, and Tsukimi's 60-bowl soft-opening cap followed directly from that. The soft opening was scheduled to end Oct. 19. Tsukimi's map listing shows regular hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed on Tuesdays, but it doesn't say whether a daily bowl limit continues after that.

The broth itself matters too. One early review on the restaurant's map listing said all the ramen used pork-based broth, with no vegetarian, soy, or chicken-only option, and that the drinks were milk tea and regular tea. That's one diner's report from opening week, and menus at new restaurants often change. Still, it's useful to know before you bring someone who doesn't eat pork. The same listing notes a parking lot and high chairs, and says no alcohol is served.

Angry Dumplings brought a bigger kitchen

Angry Dumplings came to Farragut on a longer timeline. In August, Knox News photographed owner Jason Chau renovating 10943 Kingston Pike, the former Status Dough space, with Status Dough's chalk menu boards still on the wall. The paper's photo gallery said construction and building-code delays had pushed the opening back to September. The restaurant's site now lists the Farragut / West Knox location as open.

Jason and Vanessa Chau opened the original Angry Dumplings in 2023, and in a Knox News interview republished by AOL, Jason said he makes about 8,000 dumplings a week at that first Sevier Avenue shop. That interview also explains why the kitchen matters to him. "More and more people are coming to Knoxville," Chau told the paper. "I believe a lot of the palate will start changing, and a lot of uniqueness will come to Knoxville. We would love to be one that will slowly start exploring more of the Asian cuisine."

You can already see that on the Farragut menu. Its sections include buns, dumplings, noodles, curry, a vegan and vegetarian section, milk teas, fruit teas, slushes, coffee and brewed tea. The dish to know for soup weather is Grandpa's Noodles, which the menu calls a traditional Taiwanese noodle dish: beef broth, braised beef, bok choy and a dumpling, listed at $15.50. The signature ANGRY Pork Dumplings come three to an order for $7.50, with a spicy, tangy mayo and chili oil. The menu notes that the regular chili oil contains shrimp and the veggie oil doesn't.

The two bowls, side by side

Read down the columns and the two places sort out. Tsukimi is a ramen shop doing one thing on a fixed amount of broth. Angry Dumplings has the wider menu and is open seven days, including Tuesday. If your group mixes noodle fans with a vegetarian and someone who just wants a fruit tea, that wider menu settles it.

Planning a bowl around the pot

Tsukimi's limits come from how its broth is made, so a few habits will help in its first weeks.

• Check Tsukimi's own channels before you go. Knox News pulled the soft-opening hours from the restaurant's Instagram, and that's the first place changes will show up. The Tsukimi website links there.
• Go earlier if ramen is the whole plan. While Tsukimi is serving a set number of bowls a day, a late dinner risks finding the pot empty.
• Skip Tuesday for ramen. That's Tsukimi's listed day off, and Angry Dumplings is open that night.
• Ask about the chili oil at Angry Dumplings if someone at the table has a shellfish allergy, since the regular version contains shrimp.
• Plan around Sunday hours. Angry Dumplings opens at noon on weekends and closes at 8 p.m. on Sundays.

None of this is a reason to pick one over the other for good. The two places suit different nights.

What comes after the noodles

Something warm to drink is also on the way. Visit Farragut says Bestia Blooms Café will open in late 2026 inside Forte Fitness at 11124 Kingston Pike, serving coffee, matcha and chai with homemade syrups and locally made coffee. The Town's guide also says the café plans to host community events. For now, the newest bowls in town are a pork-broth ramen made in measured batches and a beef-noodle soup from a kitchen built to keep adding dishes.

Found a favorite between the two, or still deciding where to take out-of-town guests this fall? I'd love to hear what's on your table. If a conversation about Farragut ever turns to real estate, Jennifer Shuler is happy to help. Let's Connect.