the ramen blog & other goodies!

For those of you in the Bay Area next week, what’re you doing Wednesday night? If you’re a ramen fan, the answer should be “I’m gonna be at the For the Love of Ramen event! Duh!” That’s right, next Wednesday the 24th, the Asian Culinary Forum is hosting a panel of “noodle experts who will explore how a dish born of extreme need after World War II was transformed into a meal of luxury, endless regional specialties, and then, finally, an iconic convenience food that so many of us crave.”

Join panelists Eric Nakamura, publisher and co-editor of Giant Robot magazine, Andy Raskin, author of the Ramen King and I, George Solt, assistant professor of history at New York University, and Thy Tran, director of the Asian Culinary Forum, at the San Francisco Ferry Building for a night of fun, education, and Japanese nibbles and drinks.

You can register online for the forum. Admission is $20, or $15 for full-time students with an ID. Over 70 people have already registered, so get there early to get the best seat in the house!

Among the unique logistical nightmares I face when traveling with a group of people is: 1. how do I trick–I mean convince everyone to eat ramen with me, and 2. how far out of the way can I coerce everyone into going for ramen? Recently, I was excited to be able to try another bay area ramenya. Santa Ramen was not my first choice, but between one ramenya being closed when we wanted to go (damn you Ramen Club!) and one ramenya being too out of the way for us (damn you Kahoo Ramen!), Santa Ramen was the next best compromise (yay Santa Ramen!).

We arrived at Santa Ramen a little bit after noon, and braced for a long wait. The line was almost out the door, but at least it moved pretty quickly. Be aware that, like some “true” ramen shops, Santa Ramen only serves ramen at lunch (sorry “D”!). There’s no fried rice. There’s no gyoza. There’s no curry anything. Santa Ramen serves only three different types of ramen: a shoyu-tonkotsu ramen, tonkotsu ramen, and a miso ramen. (more…)

In case you missed the previous ramen festival in February, Mitsuwa japanese supermarket is having a Hokkaido Fair, featuring two of the previously featured ramenyas and apparently introducing highly rated Santouka Ramen to the San Jose Store.

Shoyu ramen specialist Asameshi Maeda Honpo will be at the Costa Mesa store from Thursday thru Sunday (9/11 to 9/14) and the New Jersey store next week from Thursday thru Sunday (9/18 to 9/21).

Sumire Ramen will be offering their Miso ramen and Miso Butter Corn ramen at the Torrance store Thursday thru Sunday (9/11 to 9/14), and the Chicago store next Thursday thru Sunday (9/18 to 9/21).

And last, but certainly not least, shio ramen fans can try Santouka ramen at the San Jose store next Thursday thru Sunday (9/18 to 9/21).

Remember to go early, as they tend to sell out of ramen early!

Mental Floss has some ramen trivia. How much do you know?

Craving ramen in the Bay area? Check out Melanie Wong’s prolific posts on the Bay Area ramen scene

I’m just a sucker for a cute ramen girl.

Speaking of Ramen Girl, meet the “Ramen Boy“.

And to finish off this batch of links…are you ready for the “perfect ramen”? Rameniac gives Ramen Jiro in Tokyo a perfect score! Ramen Tokyo also has an in depth guide.

Feeling a bit hungry after that bowl of instant ramen? Maybe it’s because there’s a bit less ramen in that bowl.

Even gourmet chefs like ramen. Here’s a gourmet ramen recipe from 20 year veteran chef chefRob.

If sumo champions recommend a ramenya, it’s gotta be good, right? Sumo great Konishiki and yokozuna (grand champion) Musashimaru both rave about Tenkaippin Ramen in Kapahulu, Hawaii.

Ma Ru Yu’s kurogama (black sesame) ramen: what lurks beneath its murky surface? No less than three brave souls weigh in on this ramen’s darkest (get it? get it?) secrets.

If black sesame ramen isn’t special enough for you, you can make your own buttermilk ramen!

If anyone’s in China for the Olympics next week and finds that special someone, remember to take them out for ice cream, not ramen. Ramen was rated the least popular place to take a date. Least?! Whaa–?!?     (Oops, sorry folks, I’ve had this link since March and it looks like the article is subscriber-only now.)

Garlic ramen at Minca, in New York City. Need I say more?

It seems like Santouka Ramen is everywhere now. Here’s a review of San Diego’s Santouka, and two takes on one in Singapore.

The SF Chronicle has a great guide to cold noodles for a hot summer in the Bay Area (including recipes!).

Heading out to Japan? Arm yourself with the Washington Post’s guide to ramen in Tokyo.

Recent ramen reviews and tidbits:

There’ve been a lot of reviews and news about Ippudo in New York City. Walking-ixus goes one step further and gives a behind-the-scenes look.

Join a “local girl” as she goes to Yotteko-Ya Ramen/Kyoto Ramen in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Have you ever wanted to combine ramen and sushi? Now, you can!

AsianWeek goes to Katana-Ya in upscale Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Is Kintaro the best ramen in Vancouver? Read Eat, Snap, Repeat for the details.

Everyone’s so focused on Ippudo in NYC. What about Ramen Setagawa?

Even the Associated Press knows that “Ramen noodles are hotter than ever”. Read what they, and AP darling Rameniac has to say about our favorite food!