the ramen blog & other goodies!

Start your infant’s life of ramen happiness right, with this pair of baby booties, made from recycled shrimp ramen packaging.

Interested in non-Japanese versions of ramen? Here’s the low-down on 7 types of Korean ramyeon.

According to a recent survey, what is the #1 thing Japanese men would wait in line for? Why, ramen, of course. (It’s even #2 on the women’s list!)

Convinced that instant ramen is bad for you?, Here’s one person’s defense of instant ramen.

Best title for a ramen post ever: Ramen Noodles: The International Symbol of Struggle.

Ramen in the news: Top 7 restaurants for big portions in Southern California, Chicago Restaurant focuses on Japanese soup

UK ramen chain Wagamama is expanding their ramen empire…in Turkey of all places!

Orange county residents: if you haven’t gone to the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa Ramen Festival yet, you have one more day to go, unless you want to go to Torrance or San Diego. Fellow ramen blogger Keizo has already covered all three locations, but was nice enough to join me today (thanks for the ramen souvenirs!).

First of all, you need to know that Asameshi Maeda Honten has taken over Sanuki Udon’s location during this four day event. There are no English signs, so just look for the line of people in front of the banner shown above. Can’t find the menu? Don’t worry, they serve exactly one item: the ramen. One size only. No side dishes. One authentic specialty. That’s all you need. Read the rest of this entry →

Here at ramen ramen ramen, we don’t really pay attention to nutrition values or what goes into making our ramen as long as it’s delicious. On the other hand, a few healthy individuals have written us, asking for nutritional info. Apparently some people don’t want to go out with a bang of gluttonous ramenosity (no, that’s not a word, so no need to look it up). So how about it? Should we start showing some nutritional info with our reviews? Or should we keep it clean?

(If you’re reading this through an rss reader, you might need to click through to vote.)

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For the uninitiated, Dr. Noodle is a Taiwanese brand of healthy “steam” ramen noodles, with exotic flavors such as shiitake spinach and this beef tomato.

Like the previously reviewed Dr Noodle shiitake spinach, I have to admit that these beef tomato noodles aren’t bad. Again, this is more of a flat Chinese-style instant noodle than Japanese ramen, but they have a nice, chewy texture. You would think that “steam” noodles would be relatively bland compared to the usually-fried instant ramen, but they actual have a decent flavor and soak up the soup nicely. And for those die hard fans of Maruchan’s Tomato Ramen, this just might your ticket to tomato ramen nirvana! I’ve never had the pleasure of having the Maruchan version, but the Dr Noodle beef tomato soup is exactly as it’s described: the beef stock is light (imagine a light chicken soup, but…err…with beef instead) with a strong tomato aroma and flavor. It’s a surprisingly good combination of flavors and has become one of our favorites.

If you’re looking for something different, or you’re a ramen fan who’s trying to eat more healthy, this is for you. (Remember that since it’s a Taiwanese brand, you’ll have a better chance of finding it at a Chinese supermarket than a Japanese market.) Even though this isn’t a “true” ramen, it gets an honorary rating of 7 out of 10.

It seems like no good news comes out of China these days. A Chinese brand of gyoza linked to a series of illnesses in Japan has been found to contain high levels of insecticide, and has sparked panic across the country. There are speculations that the dumplings were deliberated tainted, since no traces of the insecticide were found in the Tianyang Food factory that produced the gyoza. The incident seems isolated to Japan so far, but I would still pass on this brand of gyoza, at least until more details about the problem surfaces.

via Mainichi Daily News and the UK Guardian.

Jealous that Japan has all the ramen events? Southern California, our time has come! Japanese supermarket chain Mitsuwa is having a “Legendary Ramen Festival” featuring 3, count ‘em, 3 famous ramenyas from Japan. And yes, the link is in Japanese. I can’t find an English link. But you’re in luck! Here’s the info:

Asameshi Maeda Honten will be featuring a tonkotsu-shoyu ramen at the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa 2/15 through 2/18, the Torrance Mitsuwa 2/22 through 2/25, and the San Diego Mitsu 2/29 to 3/3.

Chibakiya will be serving an interesting-sounding chicken-tonkotsu-fish blend of ramen soup goodness. As an added bonus, you’ll be able to experience a hanjuku “half-boiled” egg. This will only be available at the San Diego Mitsuwa from 2/15 through 2/18.

And last, but not least, Sumire will be cooking up their famous miso ramen, available at the Torrance Mitsuwa from 2/15 through 2/18, and then at the San Diego Mitsuwa 2/22 through 2/25.

A big thanks to Keizo at goramen.com for the tip!