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ramen happening links

edjusted — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:10:45 +0000

There’s been a lot of ramen happenings in Southern California lately, some exciting, some maybe not.

As the weather is starting to cool down, ramen is heating up!

Rameniac covers Studio City’s Ramen Jinya.

Ramen Mottainai in Gardena is tripled teamed by Exile Kiss, Go Ramen, and Rameniac!

Happy Cup jumps into the food truck craze with a ramen food truck. Has anyone tried this place yet?

Yours truly covers two new OC ramen shops: Shizuma Ramen in Irvine, and La-Men in Buena Park.

The OC Weekly reports on a soon-to-open Okazu Ramen House in Orange.

And finally, Santouka Ramen in Santa Monica will be serving a limited edition (20 per day) Spicy Miso Vegetable Ramen 8/5 to 8/8, and 8/12-8/15.

Tags: L.A. ramen, OC ramen

imitation noodles

edjusted — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:47:14 +0000

I’m not quite sure what it is that makes them imitations (the ingredients are “wheat flour, water”)…or wait! I got it! Since noodle is singular, only ONE of the noodles is an imitation, and you just gotta find it. Good fun.

Tags: ramen tidbits

reader question: 80′s ramen

edjusted — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:58:52 +0000

A reader from Autumn Heart writes:
I’m doing a painting of a Ramen package (I picked Maruchan chicken flavor.) �It looks pretty lonely sitting all by itself, however, so I’d like to surround it with rays extending from it like a sun, some related imagery.

When I was a kid in the 80s, I remember that one of the readily-available ramen packages had small icon cartoons on the packaging, to go along with the flavor (a small hen for chicken flavor, and I can only assume there was a pig for pork, and a shrimp for shrimp. �I was a big chicken nut, so that’s the one I remember.)

However, they’ve long since moved on from this packaging, and I cannot find a picture of ANYwhere.

You wouldn’t happen to have a photo of some vintage ramen packaging with the little chicken cartoon in place, would you?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

After some digging, we determined that it was not Nissin’s Chiken ramen, and she continues:

The image I’m thinking of is somewhat similar to this…

http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0703-2014-0439_Red_and_Gold_Hen_clipart_image.jpg

This is also going back to c.1983, so the possibility that it’s gone for good is quite real.

So can anyone out there help out? Show off your instant ramen knowledge! Leave your suggestions and/or questions in the comments below.

Tags: ramen tidbits

$5 ramen, one day only

edjusted — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:35:31 +0000

Mizuki ramen, judging by some of the comments, isn’t getting a whole lot o’ love. But if you’re not put off by that, and want some cheap grub, they’re offering $5 shoyu, miso, or tonkotsu ramen from 11am to 1pm on 6/24 as part of their World Cup celebration. Go (insert your favorite country here)!

“green” ramen

Tags: OC ramen

ramen alert: ippudo in OC!

edjusted — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:09:11 +0000

Ramen fans might’ve heard of Ippudo, Shigemi Kawahara’s (aka the “Ramen King“) famous hakata ramen chain in Japan. With one location in New York, West Coasters have been left out…until now. For 4 days only, Ippudo’s original Shiromaru Motoaji Ramen will be available at the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa supermarket during their Japanese Gourmet Foods Fair.

…I guess it’s about time I write my review of Ippudo NYC from my ramen escapades in New York…

Dates: 5/27 Thursday to 5/29 Sunday
Location: Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699

Tags: ramen tidbits, tonkotsu

instant ramen final four intermission

edjusted — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:20:11 +0000

Is there really an iPad at Ramen HQ? No…at least not yet. This teaser is just a pic of us goofing around with one at our local Apple store this morning. (Thanks for the free coffee and Krispy Kreme, Apple! Sorry we didn’t buy anything today!) It sure is purty…a bit heavier than I expected, and I had a lot of trouble typing with one hand while holding it with the other, especially with the space bar, which I kept missing. I guess you really need to hold it in your lap or set it on a desk. But it’s still very lust-worthy. We’re not a gadget blog, but if this was a ramen, it’d probably get a 9 out of 10!

Tags: ramen tidbits

vancouver roundup

edjusted — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:34:47 +0000

Well, we never were able to make it to Motomachi Shokudo, just a few doors down from Kintaro (and owned by the same people). There was just too much to see and eat, and too little time.

Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to award a gold, silver, and bronze ramen medal, seeing how we only managed to hit two ramenya this time around. Kintaro gets the gold medal by virtue of its Audacity of Pork and its superb pork-to-dollar ratio. This is a place more suited to serious eaters: get in, enjoy your ramen, get out. It’s like the former East Germany of ramen. The silver medal goes to Benkei. Even though I think Kintaro has a slight edge overall on their ramen, I enjoyed Benkei’s soup and overall dining experience a bit more. Even now, I’m still thinking about the sea-salt and grilled-pork flavor that lingered in my mouth after eating there. I’ve heard good things about Motomachi Shokudo, and with Santouka opening up just down the street, Vancouverite ramen fans have plenty of fine choices and reasons to be happy.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Vancouver, and leave a few less-ramen-related tips:

There is no ramen to be had in Whistler. None. Believe me. I looked.

Cactus Club, a chain restaurant run by Iron Chef Canada (he defeated Iron Chef Morimoto!) is fantastic. Highly recommended.

For good coffee, you can’t go wrong with Bean Around the World or Agro Cafe.

Holy cow! Vancouver has good bagels! Siegel’s Bagels at the Granville Island Public Market blew my mind, while my wife fell in love with Solly’s, near the Olympic Village.

And last but not least…Japadog!!! Wow, oh wow! The Oroshi hotdog is heaven on a bun! It lives up to the hype!

Signing off from Vancouver…Go Canada!

Tags: vancouver ramen

vancouver ramen zone

edjusted — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:33:17 +0000

Most Vancouver ramen fans will probably agree that the top 3 ramenya are Benkei Ramen, Kintaro Ramen Noodle, and Motomachi Shokudo. There is no official Vancouver “ramen zone” or “ramen central,” but by concidence or by design, all three ramenya are located within a block of each other, near the corner of Robson and Denman Sts in Vancouver’s West End. (There’s even a Gyoza King a couple of blocks SE on Robson, which has an unspecified “ramen comma udon” on their menu.)

If you’re in Vancouver for the Olympics, Robson and Denman are a bit far from all the Olympic excitement happening on Howe, Granville, and Seymour, but even from the GE Ice Plaza/Robson Square, it only takes about a 30 min walk to satisfy your ramen craving.

And what’s this I spy…about half a block from and across the street Benkei’s Robson’s location…

Yes, it looks like Santouka Ramen will be jumping into the fray with their first Vancouver location! Vancouverites will soon be able to judge for themselves whether or not this popular ramen chain is worthy of all the hype they seem to generate wherever they go.

No word yet on when they’re going to be open, but it looks like they already have an interested customer looking in. I also couldn’t resist taking a peek. It doesn’t look like much is set up yet, so it might be a while before the Denman/Robson ramen central gets a 4th choice.

Tags: vancouver ramen

the ramenbox

edjusted — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:05:50 +0000

I don’t often shill for web sites that sell instant ramen (though there are links off on the side for anyone in need), but this is a neat idea. It’s simple…and the picture above is pretty self-explanatory: you choose the size of the “Ramenbox,” fill it with your choice of instant ramen, pay a flat fee based on the Ramenbox size, and wait for the delivery guy! It looks like you can even earn free ramen by writing reviews and submitting pictures and videos.

To be honest, this might be less appealing to anyone who lives near an Asian supermarket. But if you don’t have any local sources for instant ramen, or you want to customize your own variety pack, or you just like the idea of coming home to a Ramenbox on your doorstep, check it out. Heck, this would be a great gift as well for any instant ramen fan.

I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet, but they were kind enough to offer our readers a 10% off coupon! Just use coupon code ramenramenramen when you check out.

Tags: ramen tidbits

ramen soap

edjusted — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:53:26 +0000

Remember the ramen bath? Now you can bring your ramen bath accessories on your next visit. Soap up with Ramen Soap and wash up with a Cup Noodles Ramen Sponge: Takara Tomy is coming out with soap and sponges packaged as instant and cup ramen! They’ll only be available in Japan, so those of us stateside will probably need to settle for using a brick of instant ramen as a loofah…um…if you do, let us know how that works out…

via Akihabara News

Tags: ramen tidbits