the ramen blog & other goodies!

…at least according to the National Pasta Association.

I couldn’t find much more about this, and it seems more geared toward pasta appreciation than ramen appreciation, but does anyone really *need* a good reason to celebrate ramen? Eat up, folks!

I reviewed the shoyu version a while ago. Time for the tonkotsu version! Well, the noodles are the same thin kind with a decent chewy texture. The soup isn’t exactly filled with with pork flavor and is a bit “msg-y” but decent…only decent. The soup is actually a tiny bit spicy for a tiny kick and there are small slivers of garlic to liven up the flavor. Bits of cabbage, green onions, some corn, and maybe 1 tiny piece of bamboo garnish the noodles.

Overall, it’s not bad, but nothing special. The lovely feeling of a msg and garlic coated tongue afterwards is a nice touch. It gets a middle-of-the-road 6.

As most of you already know, the inventor of instant ramen and founder of Nissin Food Products Co., maker of Cup Noodles and other instant ramen delights passed away in January. Now Nissin is planning a corporate funeral, complete with an outer space theme, as a tribute to Mr. Ando’s dream of ramen in space.

(And I never realized that Mr. Ando was born in a year when Haley’s Comet was visible. Interesting.)

More details at the Daily Yomiuri

I received an e-mail from Ms. Mariko Daicho of TV Tokyo. Let’s help Ms. Daicho out!

Hello. I am a producer at TV Tokyo, a Japanese television network. We are producing a special program about ramen in America, and I am searching for things that show how deeply ramen has penetrated into American life. In reading your blog, I see there are many recipes, poems and haiku related to ramen. I would like to discuss with you other ways in which ramen is used or appreciated
here in the U.S. For example, is ramen available at sporting events along with hot dogs, etc.? Is instant ramen stocked in vending machines alongside other snacks? Whatever is out there, I’d like to learn about it. Please feel free to post this letter on your blog. Readers and you can feel free to contact me at daicho at tv-tokyo-america.com .

Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mariko Daicho
Producer, TV Tokyo America
New York, NY

A short while ago, one of our readers asked “how many feet of ramen are in each pack (of instant noodles)?”

The helpful people at cockeyed.com, purveyors of truths to the question “How Much is Inside?” has the answer!

Excuse me? Click on the picture above to see the wacky 30 second Nissin commercial that gives you a taste of what ramen-making would be like as an Olympic sport!

via tvinjapan