the ramen blog & other goodies!

Ok, maybe not. I have no idea. If you’re using Internet Explorer and wondering why there’s a big empty gap where the right sidebar should be, it’s because IE doesn’t like our new web site. To see the right sidebar, you’ll need to scroll alllllll the way down near the bottom of the page. Yes, after months of development and testing, we didn’t ever bother to test the new site in IE. Sorry about that, and we appreciate your patience as we sort out this mess.

Here’s what the web site should look like:

For more information on instant ramen than you can shake a chopstick at, check out the official web site of the Japan Convenience Foods Industry Association.

Some tidbits from the site: did you know…

The worldwide consumption of instant ramen is 91.6 billion meals annually (and that excludes Japan!)

There are almost 1000 brands of instant ramen in Japan alone.

via ampotan

Everyone eats ramen differently. Some people dig right in, mix in all the toppings, and slurp till there’s no tomorrow. Some people eat slowly, delicately sampling each ingredient, one by one (seriously, I know people like this!). According to the classic ramen movie Tampopo, there is a proper way to eat ramem, but I have to admit, I don’t quite follow all the “proper” steps prescribed by the movie.
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According to Businessweek’s Asia’s Hot Growth Companies: 2007, the #1 growth company in Asia isn’t an electronics company. It’s not a cell phone company, a bank, or any other type of company you would normally associate with a “hot growth” company. Give up? It’s Hong Kong based Ajisen Ramen!

Follow ‘big in japan’s’ quest as they search for the “perfect bowl of ramen” in Japan

Milk, seafood, and…ramen?! The folks at Nissin are as creative as ever. Introducing the Milk Seafood Cup Noodle!

Read all about instant ramen from a student perspective, featuring two, yes two quotes from yours truly, at the Florida International University’s student paper, the Beacon.

I’ve been to Japan over 15 times and not once have I ever set foot in a Denny’s. But then I never knew they served ramen! (…and…Chivas Regal?!?)

It seems like everyone’s making a pilgrimage to the Yokohama Ramen Museum in Japan lately. Check out the writeups, photos, and videos at Shanghai Toys and Go Ramen! And check back here soon for our own writeup and review.

The discontinued and hard-to-find maruchan tomato ramen has been found! Is anyone at Maruchan reading this? Please bring back the your tomato ramen!

Interested in making your nama ramen more than just “instant” ramen? See what the Tasty Island does with a pack of shio nama ramen.

Interested in knowing how global warming will affect the question of “What role should instant noodles play in 50 years time?” If you have an invitation to the 6th World Instant Noodles Summit in Osaka, you can find out! (No, we weren’t invited…sniff sniff…)

Three years ago today, ramenramenramen burst forth from our ramen bowl and onto the interwebs to share our love of ramen with you. To celebrate, we’ve completely remodeled our site and added new features!

If you’re new to the site, please click on our site guide for some explanation about how specific features work.

Let us know what you think! We love feedback, both good and bad. Like what you see? Disagree about something that we’ve said? Leave us a comment on a post and let us know! Prefer to send a private message? Simply click on the “Contact” link at the top of the page or on the right sidebar to send us a message.

A big thank you to all our loyal readers and fellow ramen fans!

And don’t forget to vote on whether or not you like the new look. The poll is on the right sidebar, below the Categories section.

P.S. If we managed to break anything with the remodeled web site, please let us know. Thanks!

10:10am: Wow, that was fast…apparently Internet Explorer doesn’t like our fancy new random-header-picture feature…the one that works with every other freaking browser we’ve tested. While we work on a fix, if you see a great big blank area in the header where the picture is supposed to be, just imagine a close-up of the lushiest, tastiest bowl of ramen you’ve ever seen, and picture it right there. Thanks!

Almost a year after we reported on Nissin’s new refillable Cup Noodles, environmental blog treehugger steps in with more details and pictures. I really like the fact that you can design your own cup liner, and as much as I’d have a blast designing my own “Cup”, since the liner is presumably made of paper…isn’t that like two steps forward, one step back? Still, it is a big step forward and we’re still eagerly forward to the day when these are available in the U.S. Nissin, are you listening?