the ramen blog & other goodies!

Chikin Ramen (and yes, that is the correct “Japanese” spelling) went on sale today, 50 years ago, in 1958. Chikin Ramen was the brainchild of Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant ramen and founder of Nissin Foods (maker of Cup Noodles). A moment of inspiration struck when Ando-san watched people lining up to buy black-market ramen during food shortages after World War II and he set out to create a food that would be easily accessible to everyone. After months of development, he sucessfully created and marketed Chikin Ramen, the world’s first “instant ramen.” Momofuku Ando, who passed away at the ripe old age of 96 last year in January, believed that “Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat.” Mr. Ando claimed to have eaten Chikin Ramen almost every day.

A few months ago, I tried and reviewed Marutai’s shoyu tonkotsu stick ramen. The next day, I tried this goma shoyu version. No, you didn’t wander into a time warp. This is simply laziness at work. On to the review! Read the rest of this entry →

While economists still debate about whether or not we’re in a recession, the White House claims that we’ve avoided a recession (yay! if it’s coming from the White House, it must be true!). Regardless of who you believe, things are tough all over and most, if not all of you have probably had to make some sacrifices. How are you getting by? Take the poll and tell us what you think in the comments below.

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Cup Noodles’ new distinct black and white package caught my eye on a recent grocery expedition…whoa…Cup Noodles Premium?! Beef Tomato flavor!? Maruchan Tomato Ramen fans just might have a reason to rejoice. I couldn’t wait to try this! Read the rest of this entry →

Click on to see the rest of the pictures in this series… Read the rest of this entry →

Love ramen? Check! Wanna be on TV? Check! Live in NYC? Doh! If you’re a ramen fan in New York, Nippon TV wants to interview you!

Instant ramen prices have already gone up in China and Korea. Japanese companies are getting ready for another round of price increase.

Ever seen flaming ramen? You might have to go to Kyoto.

If you’re a student in the Boulder Valley school district in Colorado, you might want to start BYOR (Bringing Your Own Ramen). They’re removing instant ramen from the school lunch menu.

Did you know you could make “hooch” with an instant ramen cup?

Another ramenya has opened in Vancouver, Canada. Motomachi Shokudo Ramen’s cold shoyu ramen sure looks good!