the ramen blog & other goodies!

It’s not every day that I feel like…or at least pretend to be Jack Bauer. On a recent trip to New York, though, I had such a tight schedule that I constantly heard the “beep-clunk…beep-clunk…” of the advancing “24″ clock.

I had it all planned out. I would arrive in New York at 9:15pm. I only had carry-on luggage so I figured I could get out of the airport by 9:30. I should be able to get to my hotel by 10, check in, drop off my luggage, then go to Ippudo. According to Google Maps, I should be able to take the subway and get there in about 30 mins. Perfect. Ippudo closes at 11pm. Read the rest of this entry →

…to a new web host, that is. This should mean absolutely nothing to you and with any luck you won’t notice any difference except for slightly faster loading times. If you do run into any problems or notice anything wonky, please either leave a comment below or click on the “contact” button above so we can fix it. Thanks!

Apparently, some people are having problems leaving comments. If you’re having any technical difficulties, please feel free to click on the “contact” button on the menu bar above and let us know. Please include as much info as possible, including:

• what you were doing when the problem occurred
• what you expected to happen
• what happened instead
• your operating system (e.g. Windows XP) and browser

As soon as we finish our ramen, we’ll get right on it and try to clean out our interweb tubes.

Can’t wait to have your very own copy of The Ramen King and I? Wouldn’t it be better if it was free? C’mon, everything’s better when it’s free! We’re giving away a free hardcover copy of Andy Raskin’s new book The Ramen King and I! All you have to do is leave a comment below with your story of how ramen has affected your life by Friday May 15. Feel free to leave multiple comments, but only 1 entry will be counted per person. Good luck!

5/16/09 update: We have a winner! Congratulations to zimmon for winning the book! Thanks to everyone for posting and sharing your ramen stories!

Andy Raskin is a writer. That I knew. He is occasionally on NPR. I knew that too. He also has a quirky web site Ramen Advice that “offers spiritual guidance based on the life and wisdom of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen.” Got it. But why would he spend years of his life seeking answers to love and relationships from the inventor of Cup Noodles?

The Ramen King and I is the story of one person’s struggles through life and how ramen changed his life. No, really. Well…actually, not really. Sure you’ll learn a little bit about ramen. You’ll learn a lot more about sushi, though. You’ll see glimpses into a foreigner’s life in Japan, but you’ll also get an insider perspective. And interspersed throughout the book are vignettes and excerpts from the life of Momofuku Ando, which were surprisingly engrossing.

The book promises to reveal “how the inventor of instant noodles fixed my love life,” and it does, but Momofuku is only a bit player. The main character is Raskin himself. There’s a depth of humanity and humility in Raskin’s candidness, and there are plenty of life lessons to be learned. The memoir is not quite the breezy read that the blurbs would have you believe though. Pointing out that one of the symptoms of the Fundamental Misunderstanding of Humanity is that “you betray the people you love” puts a real damper on things, but there’s also a lot of lighthearted fun and sex (yes, really).

Raskin’s book is captivating, a bit silly, funny, touching, and highly recommended. It’s a story about the road to redemption: sometimes, you have give up your desires and embrace your limitations before you can start the climb up towards the light. The fact that it’s related to ramen life is just the icing on the cake…or is it the chashu on the ramen?

Those of you who missed out on the limited edition at Santouka last month now have another chance. The Santouka Ramen in the Torrance Mitsuwa is now offering the Awase Aji ramen. As with before, the ramen is limited to 20 bowls a day, and the event is going on from Friday 4/24 to Monday 4/27.

If you get the chance to try this ramen, leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Santouka Ramen
(inside Mitsuwa Supermarket)
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-0335
(Cash only)
Santouka opens at 11am.