Missles for Raamen

I ate at a raamen shop the other day that had the biggest piece of gristle this side of Norway. I mean, it was huge. It sort of sat in the bowl of dashi and raamen like the proverbial 800-gorilla: I couldn't ignore it. Fortunately, the soup and the noodles were good so I could try to ignore it. But in the end I failed. I had to flip it unceremoniously into an overstuffed ashtray. The ambience of the place was one of hand-made two by fours so that might've been a clue as to the gristle to a more enquirying mind. But not mine. All-in-all the quantity was good, the quality was okay, but the gristle on the pork just, hmmm, tipped me over the edge. No more gristle, please.

Speaking of messing up your day by pretending not to see an 800-pound gorilla, what do Israel and Hizbullah (this is the Christian Science Monitor's spelling, not mine) think they're going to accomplish by killing babies? Does it help that the titular leader of the free world doesn't think Israel should stop? This is the same leader who taunted terrorists with "Bring it on." Of course Israel should stop! Of course Hizbullah should stop! They're killing children here. Children! And babies. I can't believe That Leader doesn't see the dead babies. Is he as isolated as Kim Il Jong?

By the way, I heard an Iranian woman talking about the time frame that some Islamic mullahs and others think. She said the West, especially the temporary leaders, think in terms of five to ten minutes. Maybe a year. But the past is the past. History, Henry Ford said, is bunk. She said some mullahs and other Moslems think in terms of centuries. For example, X happened in 1427, so I can't talk to you because your ancestors were on the other side. History, she said, is very much alive for these people. So, will our great-great grandchildren be sending their grandchildren off to Iraq and Afghanistan to protect democracy?

Raamen for Peace

Moving Raamen and Missiles

First, let me say that I was going to flash a few quicktime movies on this site about raamen and raamen-ya I have been to. Wow: lights, movement, excitement. But then I found this site and videocast:

Zero-Raamen

Which has not only movies but is updated, according to the person who made it, everyday. Everyday! A new one to two minute movie of a different raamen EVERYDAY! My goodness, who wants to compete with that. Also, his or her website and the iTunes link to his videocast is in Japanese but the few movies I have watched have no spoken language; just music and some writing which isn't important. Check this place out if you're interested in raamen.

Second, North Korea. What can I say? They test fire a few Scuds and a ICBM that blows itself up a half dozen seconds into flight. Everyone's worried. Everyone's upset.

My question is, what do the people of North Korea want? From what I've seen, they want food. And maybe some education and decent housing. But mostly food. How does Kim justify spending billions on missiles when his own people don't have even noodles to eat? If Kim even knows his people are hungry (Is this kept from him while he lounges in his compound?), how does he justify their hunger? Is it for the good of the fatherland? Is the money diverted from food, medicine, clothing, and housing to missile construction a good thing in his mind?

Do you think it would be possible for the powers of the world to send more food to North Korea now that Kim has launched his missiles? Doesn't he realize that Japan, China, the US, and Russia have to "punish" him for his missiles?

Noodles for Nukes. A fair trade.

Concentration

In the last couple of weeks I've had a vegetable raamen at the same place twice. Both times the noodles were too soft and the vegetables overcooked. Plus, the TV was too loud and obnoxious. However, it was showing the news of the hour and being depressed by the murders and war fatalities took my mind off of the food. Which is a pity. I think when we are giving nourishment to our bodies we should concentrate on the project at hand rather than allow our minds to wander off in uncharted and unproductive side streams. In fact, if you will.... Perhaps we should concentrate always on what we are doing at the moment. Concentrate on the now, rather than dwell on the past or contemplate the future.

That doesn't mean we ignore the travesties brought on other people; we can't ignore the war dead or innocent people being murdered in the streets. We should do what we can to help all that we can. We should do what we can to help the end of a war (Peace isn't always bad, is it? I mean, blessed at the peacemakers? Isn't that a quote from some book?). No, we can concentrate all of our efforts supporting and nourishing those around us and hope, by a ripple effect, that others will help and help and eventually killing and wars will not be all diplomats and and murderers can think of.

Support the Prince of Peace

Life Recycling

This isn't to make people concerned or anything, but I think vegetarian raamen without a pork base is better for the world than a pork-based soup. Am I wrong here? There are a gazillion sources online (some true) that show how a lot of grain is used to feed pigs so we can eat the pigs. But, of course, the pig farmers add a lot of chemical junk to the pig's feed. If we eat the grain instead of the pig, we get the health benefits of the grain and skip the chemical junk. Of course the pig will have to die of old age after watching Arnold on "Green Acres" in his declining years, but doesn't that beat gathering all the chemical junk in our bodies? Just wondering.

Which brings me to this week's post: A vegetarian/vegetable raamen I had for about $4.00. It was okay in that it didn't have pig flesh, but the noodles had been cooked too long. The ambience of the raamen shop was pretty bleak, too. Industrial lighting and institutional seats (plastic). All together, not a good place to eat good food. If they could upgrade the ambience, boil the noodles a little less I think they'd have a winner. And it's near a university. A winner all around.

Simple Life/Simple Raamen

There's a new trend called 'slow life' creeping around Japan on little cat-like feet ready to pounce and the gist of the movement is that people should, as Joni Mitchell sang all those years ago, "get back to the garden." This has resulted in lots of people doing things themselves (Do it yourself-ers) and moving to more isolated places in Japan instead of slaving through the rat race in a concrete oven that's jam-packed with other race-ratters. (Is that a word?) One other result? More people more aware of what they eat and that, my friends, leads us to 'healthier' raamen. Yes, there is a trend away from your college-crowd snack food and back to food that doesn't required a chemistry degree to make. I.e. buckwheat noodles, water, homegrown veggies, and a little soup stock. You can be it takes a lot longer to make than the boil-water-three-minutes-uncover-consume raamen, but it's definitely better. And that has resulted in more raamen shops with 'healthy' raamen (trying to compete with the homegrown breed, I guess.)

Raamen: The Last Bastion of Homegrown Peace

Going Unilingual

Ate raamen the other day that left a bit to be desired. It felt old and grumpy, if you know what I mean. I won't mention the name of the place because a) you may never be in the area and b) finding a bad raamen shop is half the joy of finding good raamen shops.

One reason it felt old was that the shop only sold one kind of raamen, which is getting to be more common. In the last oh, five - six years raamen shops have been 'specializing' in a single type of raamen: miso, shio, or Hakata raamen for example. This is making for pretty boring shops. No variety.

America is tilting in that direction: uni- everything. One language, one religion, one political thought. I live in a country that is all that plus one basic ethnic group. It can be, and this is a warning America, extremely booooooooooring. Whenever I trip back to the States I enjoy the cacophony of languages and ideas. It feels vibrant and alive. It feels great. It feels like a symphony of the world! But if your less-than open-minded politicians have their way we will all be humming the same tune at the same time of the day. They will consider this a 'good' thing. I consider it the death of America.

If you don't want a boring raamen shop specializing in miso raamen, then you've got to encourage diversity where and when you can. I, personally, like my miso mixed up with my shio raamen bowls. My Hakata nestled next to my Sapporo. My TopRaamen snuggling upagainst the Nissin.

Keep the Raamen Open

VIR (Vegetarian Instant Raamen)

I didn't keep the package or take a picture of it, but I had vegetarian instant raamen the other night in the confines of my little abode deep in the darkest recesses of the night (when hunger strikes). It was delicious. Tasty. Sparkling with briming-over taste. I didn't read the instructions, of course, so I neglected to add extra, my-choice, vegies. Ah, well, all was not lost. The noodles were done right - not too soft - and the soup was just this side of spicy. Near spicy, I guess you'd have to call them. Like near-beer only better.

On the other, third, hand, I have learned how to play for hours and not accomplish much with Audacity, GarageBand, and iWeb, for those who enjoy bashing their heads against a wall for no apparent reason other than to ease the pain of learning. No, seriously, I managed to make a small audio file using Audacity and GarageBand and then I uploaded it nicely to iWeb. Can't find the damn file now, but, hey, what's a learning curve if you can't lose control, careen like a madman, and wrap your head around the proverbial telephone pole of life?

Build Peace Through Raamen

Wooden Raamen

Went to a nice place the other day that seats about 30 people but comfortably could probably seat 20. The seats, counter, walls, and bookshelves all looked hand-made. Nice little feeling to the place except for the smokers. If only one person smoked, the whole place ended up with a layer of smog. And a table of four were smoking so I ate with my head just below a thick layer of second-hand carcinogens. Delightful, and I mean that in the worst way.

The place was called Raamen All Japan. Of course it was written in Japanese. ラーメン全日本.

The noodles were done perfectly. I ordered miso (味噌) raamen with extra bean sprouts and I got a ton of bean sprouts. A lot. And the soup was good, too, and I'm not really a miso fan. So why did I order it? Couldn't tell ya, mate. Haven't got a clue. The food overall was good. If there are no smokers, I'd probably eat there again. On a scale of 1 - 10, maybe a 6 ~ 6.5 for the food and a 2 for the ambience so a total of 8.5 overall.

Only problem was the time. Raamen is a fast food for some folks. It took me about 15 minutes to get my food. One reason the smokers were smoking was they had nothing to do with their hands for 15 minutes so they automatically poppled a rolled up stick of tobacco in their face. Fifteen minutes! People eat raamen in less time than it took them to make it.

There was only one waitress and two cooks. That doesn't explain the time problem, though, as both cooks delivered the noodles. Hmm. Next time I go there I'll go after lunch and see if it's quicker. All I can say, thank goodness I bought an iPod Nano.

Seize the Raamen!
(That doesn't sound right.)

Bankrupt Raamen

It had to happen eventually, I suppose, but it's always hard to see and one can only wonder why it happened. A raamen place featured a few decades ago on this site has gone belly-up. Came upon the building yesterday for the first time in a few months - maybe that's one reason, people forgot it was there. Another reason might have been because it was not so tasty, not so clean, and not so customer-friendly. Just guessing here. Here's a shot of the place before it went out of business – Maybe the owner just got tired of making raamen? Or moved to another location? In any case, you can't go here anymore.

On the positive side, if anyone wants to open their own raamen shop, a space is available and it has a parking lot, most of the equipment, and tables and chairs. You could practically move right in.

After I drove past the out-of-business shop I went to a shop that I go to not infrequently. Fortunately, many other people go there, too, so they're not in danger of going out of business. The raamen was good, as usual, and the quantity superb. I had the "Vegetable Raamen" which came with just a hint of pork. Fairly delicious and the noodles were done to perfection. Why don't I go to this place more often? Good question.

Cultivate Raamen Peace

Illegal Immigrants and Raamen

A minor post here. I'm traveling through the southern part of California, not too far from Indio, but, alas, I am raamenless. Lots of vegetarian food, especially Mexican with its bean burritos, but not a lot of Chinese-inspired noodle-based dishes. In fact, the Japanese place across the street has neither raamen nor udon nor any other noodly food. Hmmm. Maybe I have to get closer to LA, before I can find any. This is odd considering the number of Chinese workers who helped build the railroad that clatters past my sleeping arrangements.

It's not the trains that are loud, it's gas-guzzling cars running over the tracks. Then the tracks clank, click, rattle and roll. And I have yet to see a train; I've heard lots of train whistles bleating everytime they get to an intersection, but I have yet to see an actual moving train. You'd think the descendents of the workers who helped build this railroad would've stuck around long enough to build a raamen empire in the Inland Empire for the Empire Builder (name of a train). Come to think of it, this railroad was built by illegal aliens - immigrants - so maybe they split for the coast as soon as they were finished building our infrastructure.

A little historical exploitation:
Chinese workers on strike at the Donner Pass. (and US labor management.)
The Promise of Gold Mountain: Chinese workers in Tuscon, Arizona.

A little modern exploitation:
Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart.
Chinese Workers in Iraq (and the US government's response to them.)

Keep Immigrants Coming!

They Built this Country on Raamen!

Gatsunko

Returned to Gatsunko for a repeat visit. This time I tried the miso raamen while people with me tried the Gatsunko special. The special came with a hunk of meat that would've done any steak place proud: one big slap of pork complete with gristle and fat. My miso raamen was good. Even the noodles were good. I tried both dishes and can honestly say the noodles were good. Did I mention the fat and gristle? Not a problem. Just eat around it. It's big enough not to miss.

I still can't find if Gatsunko is a chain or not. No info on the web about it but I'm still looking. Next time I go, I'll ask. Wow, there's an idea.

Raamenize Your Life!

Vegetarian RaamenLinks

Here is a link to a vegan (no meat, no dairy) raamen: Link Me! You have to scroll down past the desserts and hot dogs.

There's another site I don't have the address for that talks about chicken raamen being the only raamen a vegetarian could eat until the discovery of vegetarian raamen. Uhm, chicken is meat. If you eat chicken, you're not a vegetarian. (Are you celibate if you have sex only once in awhile? Or married?)

Another site mentions baby raamen. Oh, no! They're serving baby raamen! (Is that raamen with babies or mini-portions?)

Yet another crunchy-style raamen for veggie people can be found Here! A really simple advertisement for Sunny Maid Mi Chay.

And here's a link (Click me, baby!) to an article about the kinds of instant crunchy raamen found in the world, including vegetarian curry-flavored raamen in India and halal raamen in Islamic countries (which isn't necessarily vegetarian, only that the meat in the raamen was killed according to Islamic law.)

Another link to another site (evidentally sponsored by the Superior Tofu Puff people) about how to make a vegetarian raamen using, wait for it: Superior Tofu Puffs. But that doesn't make the raamen any less vegie or good. Just with tofu. Sounds like something I should check out. You can, Here.

Stay with the Tao, move with the present.
And bring a good, hearty raamen.

The Costly Add-Ons

You walk into a raamen-ya and see a machine to your right and a poster of Lao Tsu, founder/writer of Tao, on your left (like the one on the left of this post). The machine has lots of buttons to push all with words related to raamen. You choose your favorite, you hope. You insert the money and start punching. Now, in the raamen shop I went to a couple of days ago, the basic miso raamen was 590 yen. About $6.00 (US). But if you want any toppings (green onions, more meat, bean sprouts) you have to pay extra. At this particular shop the extras were a buck each (about ¥100.) This adds up. If you want two toppings, your basic six buck raamen becomes eight.

This system seems to be new and spreading. I'm sure it's a good deal for the shop owner as it cuts down on required staff and a register.

Also, to be fair, the drinks were all ¥50; incredibly cheap.

The raamen-ya: Gatsunko. The raamen: Shoyu (soy sauce) with extra bean sprouts. The service: slow but not noticeably slow. The raamen: good. Not knock me out good, but good. The ambiance: functional and sporting menus on artistic hangings on the wall: like the menus were a work of art, inlcuding ambient lighting. Some wood but fixed stools. This raamen-ya is near an engineering university where the student body runs 90% male so ambiance wasn't a top priority. That said, the outside attracted me: A very nice, modern, woody exterior with plants.

On a scale of 0 - 10, about a 7.5 (Points off for the extra toppings charge but points on for the exterior.) I should come up with some criterion for this scale.

Peace Through Raamen, My Friends, Peace Through Raamen.

About The Shouting and a new Restuarant.

Drifted into a modernistic shop - modern in that it had etched glass for partitions and had a black/red wooden motif which seems to be the current rage for raamen shops in Japan. While the decor was modern, the serving style was not: Lots of shouting. As a cure, I've posted a calming Toaist photo with two swan-boats.

Let's talk about the shouting, shall we? First, you open the door and are met by a veritable avalanche of shouting: Irrashaimase! Yelled by the first eagle-eyed worker to spot you. Then all the other workers shout out in response. Irrashaimase!! You sit down, scan the menu, choose your poison and relay your choice to a server. This server shouts it out to the cooks who in turn repeat the order in nice loud voices. All the way down to the poor slob stuck washing the raamen bowls. Miso raamen Icho! Miso Icho! Miso Icho! Like an echo, if you know what I mean. Then, while you're eating, the shouting continues for each new customer who comes and goes. You leave: everyone shouts: Arigato-gozaimasu! Or Maido! (this being the first part of the phrase Maido Arigato-Gozaimasu!) A quiet little out of the way place for a romantic interlude a raamen-ya is not.

This new place was called Hokushin 北辰.
A chain but this particular place was put up about three months ago.

It had a vegetable raamen that I ordered that had slices of carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, corn, bean sprouts and four small hunks of an unidentifiable meat, more than likely pork. At first it tasted funny but I grew to like it. Lots of vegies. Lots and lots. And the noodles were al dente, perfect. In fact, the vegetables were not over-cooked, either. The carrot slivers were crunchy. And it was cheaper by about 100 yen than the place yesterday. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it about a 7.6 (points off for chain affiliation but points added for quantity and price.)

I promise to get pictures of these places soon, not just park photos passing as Taoist thought. Before it's too late.

Peace be Upon You; Share Your Raamen.

New Shop - No Pictures - But a Link

"Found," if that's the word for a chain-restuarant, a new raamen shop: Tomenbo or, in the lingua franca of the country: 東麺房 (East Noodle Factory?).

Here's a link: Tomenbo.

How was it? I'd give it an 7.5 on a scale of 1-10. The food was good (lots of vegies in the vegie raamen but it also came with tiny little chunks of what could be considered meat. Beef or chicken? Hard to tell, they were so small.), the service was okay but the decor was chain-restaurant average. Nothing too exciting. And, to make it even better, slightly above average in price. But it had a child's menu which most raamen shops don't have. On the other hand, the music was Japanese pops of the worst kind but thankfully not too loud.

A current trend in business in Japan seems to be the franchise. You can get a lot of different kinds of franchises from bookstores to, obviously, restaurants. (Although it should be added that McDonald's, up until recently, was one franchise owned by the late Fujita Den (藤田田), one of Forbes 100 richest people in the world.) The restaurant I was at today was a franchise run by what appeared to be a husband-wife team with the husband the cook and the wife the server. It would be interesting to find a raamen shop run by all women. I have found a shop that has female cooks and male servers, however.

Franchises are available, by the way. If you go to their website (address up there) you can find out all about it. If you and your computer can read Japanese, that is. And if you have the money. It costs about 2,000,000 yen plus a place to put it. (relatively cheap, really.)

Peace! Like Raamen, Should be Everywhere.

Tale of Two Vegetable Raamen Bowls

I ate at two different raamen places last week but didn't take any pictures. First, a hole-in-the-wall small dump run by a small family. (As opposed to a giant family? Very short people, at least.) They had a vegetable raamen and a bunch of other raamen choices. I chose the vegetable raamen.

Veggie Raamen Recipe

I swear to whomever it had more vegetables (carrots, onions, bean sprouts, cabbage, a mushroom) than noodles. Didn't mind, though, because it was delicious. And it had no pork! Truly a different approach. I asked the waitress why there wasn't any pork in my vegetable raamen and she said, "Because it's vegetable raamen." And I could see she was silently adding "Dummy." Good enough reason for this raamenhead.

Then, yesterday I ate at a chain raamen restaurant with a vegetable dish. It had cabbage and carrots. And two pieces of pork that was mostly fat. (Do you think people would protest in non-pork eating cultures if I ate it?) The taste was generic. Neither good nor bad nor indifferent. The price was slightly lower than the family raamen-ya.

Why is the hole-in-the-wall family-run raamen shop better than the chain restaurant? Why is the chain restaurant so... bland? I know it's trying to match the tastes of everyone, but why can't it be popular AND tasty? Lowest common denominator on the prowl. The smaller shop was just pleasing the owner and her family. Great.

Be Proud! Choose Raamen! Choose Peace!

Ramen Fueled

I've written about Fueled By Ramen Records before. A long, long time ago. In a Galaxy Ford far away. But since then they've added bands, the bands have released records and are going on tour all over the universe. Or at least the continental United States. For example, their group "The Academy is..." will be in Toronto (which, I know now, isn't in the CUS anymore. I guess they moved it.) in February. And "Paramore" will be in Hell's Kitchen in Tacoma, WA also in February. Busy busy. If you like lively music, check out Fueled by Raman's website by clicking on the link above. (No, I don't get a kickback from mentioning them.)

How is this all related to food The Raamen? Besides the name of the record company? It isn't. However. And However! Here's a review for a raamen restaurant in Toronto if you're alive in Toronto after attending or before attending or just hungry near the The Academy Is concert: Review Here. For another review of the same restaurant, click Here! Which one do you believe? I guess it's up to you to check out the place and report back.

I did a google search for Madison, WI and raamen restaurants (spelling it "ramen" like the rest of the unenlightened world) and the first zillion sites mentioned Fueled by Ramen Records and one of their bands who recorded in Madison, "Fall Out Boy." I guess Madison doesn't like raamen in restaurants. Who knows, eh?

Be Positive! Keep up the Life!

The Raamen Pie

Here is a link to something called a "ramen pie." It is in the Mainichi newspaper online. The pie comes in all the flavors of raamen you love (miso, salt, and shoyu) and like but instead of being in a bowl of soup, it comes in a pie. There's even a contact number if you'd like to make inquiries. In Japanese only at present but I'm sure after they start getting a flood of calls from around the world they will set up an English desk. Probably in India. Outsourcing in the pie business is rampant, you know.

These raamen pies seem not to have any preservatives and can't be frozen or re-heated so you'll have to buy and eat rather than stock up for the next millenium (like you can with a certain unnamed -cough Top cough - raamen.

Peace Be Upon You and Your Raamen!

For no particular reason I'm typing...

"tap-dancing lily-livered corporate bean counters." I did this because I read an article in the Sun Times of Chicago about Google and China. It isn't only Microsoft that listens to the Chinese government. What does this have to do with raamen? Nada, mi amigo. But I want to see if I can google "tap-dancing lily-livered corporate bean counters' and hit this blog.

Read Quicktakes at the Sun Times of Chicago here: Corporate bean counters.

And soon, the Tedorigawa Raamen podcast featuring the sound of water boiling, noodles being boiled, and noodles being slurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrped. Yummy.

Keep Up! Work Good!

The Movie I Forgot:

Tampopo!

I can't believe it! I can't believe I haven't provided a link to this movie! I mean, if you want to talk about raamen you are going to have to provide info about this movie! It is the Raamen Movie of the last Century! There's a link above - perhaps - to the Wikipedia entry on "Tampopo."

Below, too, are links to the Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com) entry on the same movie, starring Nobuko Miyamoto and Tsutomu Yamazaki (both of these links link to a Japanese language site that lists their movies.)

Tampopo starring, among others, Ken Watanabe of "The Last Samurababble" fame, has some great scenes about food, erotica and food, and the proper way to eat it. Great flick. Some people say it is the "Shane" of raamen shops.

Food reviews
Other food reviews from the LA (Los Angeles) area for those of you withing spitting distance of that area. First, go to the LA food blog (lafb) and check out this page. It has four reviews of ramenya in the LA area place thing.

Not in LA anymore, Toto.
A touching story about a raamen shop owner can be found here, along with a review of the food. (In Tokyo.)

A site here on how to make Pho Tai (Vietnamese raamen)

Keep Up the Good Life, Everyone!
(and rent "Tampopo.")

Random Raamen Photos

Here are a few pictures and a link to a vegan raamen.

Really Random Raamen
Originally uploaded by Tedori.

Linking The Raamen

Today we are going to bestow links (not sausages) to news and what nots concerned with raamen, sometimes spelled 'ramen' but never spelled 'Top Raamen.'

The raamen boom sweeping the islands of Japan continues. By the way, there is a TV show in Japan wherein two guys cruise around the entire archipelago tasting raamen hither and yon. I just watched a show where they went to the northern-most raamen shop in Japan and slurped the local specialty. Naturally and of course, the raamen was 'delicious' and 'wonderful' and 'extraordinarily unique.' That is what all television heads say when they try any food shoved into their mouths. I once saw a man taste a lightly fried scrambled egg and declare it 'delicious.' It was an EGG! How delicious could it be?

To the links (not golf).

The raamen boom and it's ensuing debate amongs purists and faddists.

A restaurant review that includes an organic raamen shop in the greater downtown West Los Angeles area, if you've got the urge and money, drop in.

A beef and broccoli recipe that demands crinkly-crisp ramen (those Top Ramen thingies) as one of the ingredients. Sort of like the hamburger helper of the new millenium.

Speaking of recipes, here's a how-to-raamen site for those with little imagination on what to do with a 16~20 cent pack of crispy-crunchy Top Ramen noodles. (i.e. boil them.)

Another raamen restaurant review from a Buddhist perspective is available for your zen-like mastery of the noodle.

Here lie some clothes (including a golf shirt and thong that says "I (picture of a heart) Ramen!"

If you like punk-ish rock, you might check out Fueled By Ramen records. I know it's on the list on the right, but this jushttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gift makes it easier to get to. They're getting a lot of notice recently, especially with the group: Panic! At the Disco. Yes, I know it has nothing to do with the lovely noodles we have come to enjoy, raamen. But! Music is also part of life, no?

Finally, to aid our knowledge of that which is raamen (and easily findable on the 'net) we have the wikipedia entry for said food: at Wiki.

Take Care, Everyone and Enjoy!

Nude Noodles?

Quick! Has anyone seen the 'sport' of eating sushi off the naked body of a woman? (Sometimes, rarely, a man.) There was a big stink about it when some Japanese businessmen did it with some Chinese women in China about a year ago. I was just wondering: Can anyone eat raamen off a naked body? Anyone ever try?

Conversely, why would you want to slurp raamen soup that's dribbling off someone's unwashed armpit? Or sweep in and suck up a noodle from a smelly toe - complete with toejam? (Well, there are a lot of sick puppies out there....)

Keep up the good work everyone!

Alive! It's Alive!

Yes! After incubating in relative holidaic splendor for months on end, your

手取川 Tedorigawa Raamen 手取川

blog has emerged, phoenix-like, and literally sparkles with anticipation! Ready to slurp the slurp! Ready to swirl the soup! Ready to nudge the noodles! Raamen! The Ultimate Post-Drinking/Pre-Breakfast Snack! (And yes, still, not the dried up captain crunchy packaged goobledegook most college students ignorantly claim to be raamen but the real raamen of soup and noodles and sometimes pork and sometimes vegetarian and sometimes spices and usually a big bowl with chopsticks to match and a low price especially if you whip it up yourself in the privacy of your own kitchen surrounded by either good friends or the SWAT team from Homeland Security.

Either way: Good Morning! Good Raamen!