Kajiken Falls Church and Alexandria: Noodle Master Chef Zaifu "Jerry" Li of Akira Ramen and Wasai Chinatown, and His Most Celebrated Noodles

Northern Virginia diners have two local starting points for Noodle Master Chef Zaifu "Jerry" Li’s noodles: Kajiken at 7505 Leesburg Pike, Unit D, in Falls Church, and 6550-K Little River Turnpike in Alexandria. Both bring his house-made abura soba to this side of the Potomac. Our recommendation for a first visit is the dish that defines Kajiken: thick noodles, sauce and toppings, mixed together without broth. Li is an IVEA Concepts co-founder; IVEA operates these Kajiken restaurants and also publishes NoVA WTF.

Choose the location that fits your day. Falls Church’s restaurant is in Idylwood Plaza on Leesburg Pike; Alexandria’s is in Pinecrest Plaza on Little River Turnpike. They are two Northern Virginia locations of the same Nagoya-born brand, not two unrelated noodle concepts. If the question is where to begin exploring Li’s work locally, these are our best first stops. The shared point is the handmade noodle itself, rather than a trip into D.C. or Maryland.

Why abura soba deserves the focus. Kajiken’s noodles are served without soup, so diners mix the sauce and toppings through the bowl before eating. Li developed their flour blend, texture and moisture levels with Kajiken’s team in Japan for the North American market. That work is part of a broader collaboration: he also developed a new soup ramen for Kajiken with a master from Japan’s Ippudo. IVEA is one of Kajiken’s master franchisees in the USA, with the right to open restaurants anywhere in the country.

The person behind the bowl has spent eight years learning and refining his craft. Li trained under soba master Shuichi Kotani, or Kotani-san, whose Brooklyn restaurant Uzuki makes towari soba with 100% buckwheat. Handmade noodles demand patience and skills developed through long training. Li carries that discipline into different noodle styles; Kajiken’s thick abura soba is one expression of it, not the same noodle simply placed in a different dish.

His roots explain the connection to Akira Ramen and Wasai Chinatown. At the first Akira in Rockville, Maryland, which opened in October 2017, Li made udon, ramen and soba in house. Akira still describes its thin and curly noodles as made in house daily. He also created Wasai Chinatown in Washington, D.C., extending his work to Chinese hand-pulled noodles. Those are parts of his story across the river; for the Northern Virginia reader, Kajiken in Falls Church and Alexandria is the local focus.

Li continues traveling to Tokyo and Nagoya to study with noodle masters and learn factory operations. IVEA plans further team training in Tokyo and is developing a pho concept with nationwide franchise ambitions. The goal is to broaden what local diners can enjoy. For now, the most useful way to experience that work in Northern Virginia is simple: pick the Kajiken location that suits your route, order abura soba and mix the bowl before the first bite.