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Eating Ramen in the foot(stools) of Mt. Fuji

We did that (sort of) on a trip to Japan.  Not exactly foothills but close.  Ramen to those uninitiated in the fine art of eating food are noodles.

But this blog is about an event close to home. Here in California.  We tried out a new Ramen joint that opened up in the neighborhood.

Now noodles traditionally was a cheap food, to the point Japanese women did not want to eat it.  Process to make it was grimy, sweaty and back breaking.  It was made and consumed in the back alleys.  Some forward thinking chefs decided to give it a facelift some years ago in Japan and the noodle craze was born.

In India in the late eighties a large Swiss owned corporation called Nestle introduced an instant noodle brand called Maggi to time starved desis.  2 minute noodles the jingle went and a whole host of families adopted it as a foreign food that met with their taste preference.  The broth made by boiling water and hard cubes of solidified masala made the flavors come alive to stir the noodles in.

Today America is seeing an explosion of that theme in the form of fancy Ramen.  Ramen is basically a wheat noodle served in boiling broth made of chicken or fish stock.  Add to that other ingredients and voila.  Changing tastes and access to raw material coupled with generational demand on what is tasty and value has resulted in Ramen shops sprouting like dandelions in spring.

Below are pictures from the hole in the strip mall we went to... A large wall is adorned with a lack and white photo of Mt Fuji ..along which some hard wood benches and chairs are crammed next to wooden tables at which patrons might perch to slurp the wondrous preparations rushing out of the kitchen ...




Seafood Ramen showing the plump shrimp and a soft boiled egg


Ramen exposed after consuming large quantity of broth using ladle to slurp

Other popular styles of noodle are Soba (made from Buckwheat) and Udon also from wheat.  We tried all varieties over the past few years and occasionally enjoy a good hot bowl when its cold out.

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