the ramen blog & other goodies!

Some things are meant to be in a can, while others…maybe not so much. I’ve been looking forward to trying “ramen in a can” since I first heard about it last year, and thanks to fellow ramen blogger Keizo, who was nice enough to share his loot from his trip to Tokyo, I had my chance. (And yes, I should’ve finished writing this review months ago. I suck!)

Now, the ramen in canned ramen isn’t like the noodles you’re familiar with. Canned ramen is actually made of konjac, aka konnyaku, aka “devil’s tongue”. Konjac is a tuber and belongs to the yam family. It’s usually made into a flour or jelly for use in a variety of dishes and has a chewy texture, like a firm jello. The reason the noodles are made of konjac is to prevent them from becoming soggy. Can you imaging eating ramen noodles which have been soaking in soup for days or weeks? Mush city. (more…)

This ramen advertises that it takes only 90 seconds to make! Just imagine…if you eat this ramen every day for a year, you can save…multiply…divide…divide again…a whopping 9 hours a year! (Compared to the typical 180 seconds (3 mins) that other bowl ramen need.)

If that’s not enough to get you excited, what about the four packets of ramen accoutrements included in the bowl: there’s the obligatory soup pack, a packet of dry toppings, sesame seeds, and beni shoga. (more…)

this is the tonkotsu version of this. the soup was much better and the meat is just as yummy as the shoyu version. the noodles seem just a little better than before, or maybe it’s because i cooked it longer this time. i give it an 8!

The made-in-Taiwan Q-cup ramen is a “Kyushu garlic” flavor (read tonkotsu and garlic) and features pig-faced naruto. I’ve always been a sucker for instant ramen with “piggy naruto”, though I never could figure out the relationship between pigs and naruto, but I digress.

The bowl ramen is barely half the size of most other bowl ramen, and is for anyone looking for a quick, light snack. Toppings are typical: corn, bits of carrots, cabbage, and green onions. And, oh, I think I found one small corn-kernel-sized piece of meat. The meat actually has a distinct pork flavor to it, unlike a lot of the “mystery meat” slices you get with some of the cheaper bowl ramen, and it tasted like an itsy-bitsy piece of salted hard ham. (more…)

With packaging reminiscent of something out of a science fiction setting, this is one of the neatest forms of ramen packaging I’ve come across. Goramen’s Keizo was nice enough to share his spoils from the Yokohama Ramen Museum, and I expected quite a treat.

I spent some time opening the ramen cube and taking pictures. Hidden within two almost-secret compartments were two bags of noodles, myriad packs of toppings, and the biggest packet of soup base I’ve ever seen. (more…)

Rumor had it that Daikokuya was opening in “the OC” in the beginning of March. I happily went there two weeks ago only to find a Daikokuya sign and an empty store. Darn. Finally, after asking around, I found out that the official grand opening was set for “some time in April” (this was from two different Daikokuya employees, but neither could give me a firm date) and that the owner was currently in Japan buying decorations. The good news though? The location is already up and running and open for business!

The ramen shop does look a bit unfinished, with no real signage or posters; there’s only a little hand-written blackboard menu on the counter. The only items on the menu (so far?) are the Daikokuya ramen, a shredded pork bowl (a rice bowl with shredded pork), and the gyoza. (more…)