Ichifuji is the newest spot from the kitchen behind Ramen Fuji and Oppa Chicken, and it sits at the intersection of two of the most exciting menu categories in the city — ramen and Korean fried chicken — with one of the most under-rated street-food formats running alongside them: Korean corn dogs. 1609 East 10th, on the east side, with 122 reviews at 4.7 stars across a review pool that reflects the spot being newer than its sibling restaurants. Closed Mondays.
The reason Ichifuji deserves a place near the top of this list is the corn dogs. Cheese-filled. Hot-Cheeto-crusted. Sometimes with a sausage-and-cheese combo. Sometimes coated in french fries and fried again. This is the kind of menu item that turned Korean street food into a global phenomenon — it's specifically designed to be photogenic, hand-held, and obviously good — and Ichifuji is doing it the right way. The cheese pulls. The crust crunches. The whole thing eats like a state-fair invention conceived by a kitchen with actual technique.
The crispy chicken ramen is the bowl to order if you're choosing one entree. It pairs the kitchen's ramen pedigree from Ramen Fuji with Korean fried chicken, and the combination works better than the description sounds. The chicken stays crispy on top of the broth (the kitchen serves it on the side, you add it as you eat), and the bowl ends up being a full Korean-Japanese fusion expression that no other room in the city is doing.
Korean wings — soy garlic, honey garlic, the classics. The same recipe family runs at Oppa Chicken on South Western, but Ichifuji's wings are paired with the ramen menu rather than the bibimbap-and-tteokbokki menu. If you specifically want Korean fried chicken with rice and Korean sides, go to Oppa Chicken. If you want it with ramen and corn dogs, come here.
Steamed buns are the supporting cast — bao with various fillings, soft, slightly sweet, the kind of side that rounds out a meal without competing with the headliner.
Hours. Closed Mondays. The schedule is similar to Ramen Fuji's. The kitchen runs lunch through dinner without a midday closure. Get there at 11:45 for an empty room and a fast turn, or at 6:30 for the post-work rush.
The room itself is small and brightly lit. Casual seating, communal-table feel. You're here for the food, the food is the event, the room is incidental. Same operator philosophy as Ramen Fuji.
The price point is the second reason Ichifuji belongs on this list near the top. Cheap eats. A bowl of ramen plus a corn dog plus a side of wings will run you under $25 a head. That's a per-dollar value play that the more upscale rooms (Tokyo, Oshima) can't match, not because they're overpriced but because they're solving for a different mission.
Korean fried chicken in particular: the texture you get from a real KFC kitchen — Korean-Fried-Chicken kitchen, the original meaning of those initials in this category — is not something you reproduce in a home fryer. The double-fry technique produces a thinner, crispier, less greasy result than American-style fried chicken, and getting it right requires a fryer setup most home cooks don't have. Ichifuji has it. The chicken is the proof.
The corn dogs are the differentiator from every other Asian room in the city. No one else is making them. If you've seen the viral videos of Korean corn dogs on Instagram and wondered where to try them in Sioux Falls — this is the answer, and there is no second answer, because nobody else is doing this.
For takeout: corn dogs travel reasonably well if you eat them within fifteen minutes of pickup. Ramen does not travel. Wings travel fine. Steamed buns travel fine. If you're getting takeout, plan around the ramen — drink the ramen at the restaurant, take everything else home.
Cards and cash. The phone is (605) 274-1788. There is no standalone website. The Facebook page is the operating presence. Hours can shift; call ahead if you're driving across town.
For groups: the room is small and not ideal for parties over six. The takeout option is the workaround for larger groups — pick up the food, eat at home or a friend's place, and order corn dogs separately.
Compared to Ramen Fuji: same kitchen, different menu emphasis. Ramen Fuji is the dedicated ramen room. Ichifuji is the Korean-Japanese fusion play with the corn dogs as the headline. If you only have one ramen meal in you on a given week, Ramen Fuji. If you want to expand the cuisine envelope, Ichifuji.
Compared to Oppa Chicken: same kitchen again. Oppa is the dedicated Korean-fried-chicken-and-rice-bowl room. Ichifuji is the ramen-and-corn-dogs room. The wings exist on both menus. If you're choosing between them for wings specifically, Oppa is the slightly more focused execution; Ichifuji is the wings-with-a-side-of-ramen choice.
Compared to KPOT (the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ chain on South Louise): Ichifuji is the kitchen-driven, focused, owner-operated Korean experience. KPOT is the buffet-format chain experience. They're not really competitors. Different missions. Both have their place.
If you've never been: order the crispy chicken ramen, one cheese-filled corn dog, and a small order of soy-garlic wings. About $22 a head. That's the introduction.
If you're a corn dog skeptic: order one, eat one, decide. There are very few skeptics on the other side.
The bottom line. Ichifuji is the most exciting menu in the city right now — the kitchen is sharp, the menu is tight, the per-dollar value is the best in the Korean category, and the corn dogs alone are worth a specific drive across town. If you're following the operator's portfolio (Ramen Fuji + Ichifuji + Oppa Chicken), this is the spot to start. If you're a Korean street food obsessive, this is also the spot to start. Same answer either way.