the ramen blog & other goodies!

For those of you who’ve been complaining about the cost of some of Mizuki’s ramen dishes, this article is dedicated to you.

Shoichi Fujimaki, the owner/chef of Tokyo’s Fujimaki Gekijyo is planning to open a restaurant in L.A. by this August. The star of the restaurant? His “Five-Taste Imperial Blend,” a 10,000 yen bowl of ramen (appx $110 American dollars…or more like about 150 bucks come August, the way the yen’s been appreciating). The ramen has over 20 ingredients and takes over 3 days to prepare.

The Reuters article quotes one customer: “It’s certainly expensive, however, I think that it is sometimes better to come here and spend ten thousand yen than to go to another place and spend a thousand, ten times,” said Hideko Furusawa, a 49-year-old diner.

Since you put it that way…um…yeah…I totally agree…

I’m not sure if it’s the same ramen pictured here, but wow…that’s a small bowl.

Better start saving up, boys and girls!

via stick a fork in it

New York Times travel writer Matt Gross slurps his way through Tokyo “One Noodle at a Time.” Find out more about Tokyo’s ramen culture, and learn about the hottest Tokyo ramenyas in and Tokyo ramen blogs!

The wife and I were driving around, doing some last minute shopping, when we heard some stunning news on the radio: Brittany Murphy passed away this morning. “What?!? Did we hear right? The Ramen Girl?” While no one on the radio, and probably no one in the news will ever mention the Ramen Girl as one of the movies Brittany starred in, that’s how she’ll be remembered in this household. Thank you for bringing ramen into the American consciousness and thank you for the hours of entertainment you’ve provided in all your movies. Rest in peace.

I’m sick so I’m literally copying-n-pasting this from Mitsuwa’s web site. Sorry for plagiarizing. And remember to wash your hands, kids! Cough…cough…thud…

First of all, an in dispensable master of our event, “Shina Soba” of “Chibakiya Ramen”.
The secret of soup “light yet rich” is a blend of chicken, pork bone, and seafood. The thin curly noodle topped with a soft-boiled egg, and other all ingredients are chef-d’oeuvre of his 20 years career. It is definitely authentic and excellent.
10/22(Thu) – 25(Sun) Torrance Store
10/29(Thu) – 11/1(Sun) New Jersey Store

Secondly, “Tan Tan Men”, “Sung Hon Men”, “Shoyu Ramen” of “Gomaichi Ramen” will make their first appearance for this event.
Gomaichi is a fine Japanese noodle shop in Honolulu founded in 1995. Gomaichi’s symphony of savory flavors will delight the locals’ and visitors’ palates. Specializing in authentic Japanese and Szechwan style noodles, Tantan Men. It has great sesame flavor. Tender char siu is simmered in soup for 12 hours. Healthy sesame seeds are imported from Japan and roasted everyday!
10/22(Thu) – 25(Sun) Costa Mesa Store

Also, an instant version of Chibakiya’s ramen will be available at the Torrance and Costa Mesa store this weekend. Have fun!

Momozono Robot Ramen isn’t just another ramenya in Japan. Shop owner Yoshihara Uchida had a dream, and 20 million yen and 7 years later, he’s got…a robot…that cooks ramen! The noodles are still cooked by a human, but the robot blends the customized soup (customers can choose from about 40 million different combinations of soy sauce, salt, soup strength, and other soup aspects) and puts the noodles, soup, and toppings together in about two minutes.

Looks like all I need is 20 million yen…oh, and handmade noodles…oh yeah, and maybe a soup recipe…sigh, guess I’ve got a ways to go before I can have a fresh bowl of ramen every day…

source: the mainichi daily news via the official ramen homepage and gizmodo

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!