r a m e n i a c: blatant self-hype vol. 2: thrills, soup spills, and bellyaches

blatant self-hype vol. 2: thrills, soup spills, and bellyaches

by rameniac | 03 Jan 2008

So our server went down today, apparently due to visitor overload. I'd always dreamt of that happening, and thanks to the Los Angeles Times, my dream has now become a reality! Haha... in all seriousness, when they asked to interview me last month, I didn't quite realize the scope of the article they had in mind. Big thanks to the Times, its photographers, and especially to Russ Parsons, who, in this ridiculously colossal feature in today's Food section, made me sound way more articulate and coherent than I really am. Thanks always to ビクター and now also to 方向音痴 for the technical assist and help in getting the site back up and running, the academy and the producers, and all the rameniac readers out there who made it all possible. I'll try not to disappoint, and to use my 15 minutes of fame wisely (^_^). I really do feel like a rock star! Now go buy da album, foo! Nah, just kidding. I just always wanted to say that.

* * * nano-update * * *

Apologies, looks like moving servers broke our anonymous comments feature temporarily. But it's fixed now!

* * * mini-update * * *

Seems like the LA times piece sparked a mini-ramen frenzy, as I've heard from more than a few people that several shops in West LA were running out of noodles last night, and that there was a line out the door at Asa. If anyone went out for ramen after reading the article or checking out this site, please, feel free to post in the comments or on the forum and tell us about your experience!

Honestly, i'm pretty overwhelmed by all this, and had no idea the article would inspire such ramen-love. Maybe the reaction is not all that huge, I can't quite tell. I normally get an email or two a week, mainly from very important Nigerian bankers. Anyway, thanks everyone, and have a happy noodling weekend!

tagged: news • random •

Comments

Hells yeah, Mondo.

Posted by dave on 01/03 at 03:19 PM

Hey! Congratulations! I didn’t know at the time that they were interviewing you (thats my stupid picture eating noodles in a yukata), or who you were, but I visited Asa because of your review. Funny.

Posted by on 01/03 at 04:10 PM

Congrats!!

Posted by on 01/03 at 05:43 PM

Almost forgot......All these time, I thought you were Japanese since you know so much about ramen, I am very surprised to find out that you are actually Cantonese........

I envy your upcoming ramen vacation to Japan.....

Hey, come to the OC and try some of our ramen houses.....I cannot wait to see how you rate them

Posted by on 01/03 at 05:47 PM

oh but you ARE a rock star. congrats on the article--very well deserved. hey, when we gonna go eat?

Posted by on 01/03 at 09:51 PM

heard about you from the article...awesome site.

would you have anything to do with some sort of ramen shortage that plagued the west side today?? we went to chabuya tonight around 6:30pm, and a sign on the door said it was closed due to some sort of shortage. so we drove all the way to santouka to check out your #1 pick because we’ve never been there, and they ran out of ramen too, right as we got there! so did your ramen article spark a massive ramen shortage across the city?

Posted by on 01/03 at 10:08 PM

haha thanks dave!

akasha - lol yea that was me. aren’t you glad you wore a yukata that night!

cutie - yea i’m cantonese, but i might as well be japanese by now XD. j/k… i haven’t forgotten my roots, i still eat roast duck won ton noodles at sam woo =P

dg - soon! eddie’s still in town too from what i hear. it’s high time we all get together again.

steve - thanks! as for the shortage, are you serious???! o.0

Posted by rameniac on 01/03 at 10:54 PM

I’ve been a troll on your site, but finally decided to comment to say “Congrats!”

...and to ask you a question? Why bother blacking out your eyes when your picture is already splashed all over the LA TIMES?

HAHA! I guess EDBM did the same when he appeared with Bourdain.

Food bloggers are shy!

Posted by elmomonster on 01/04 at 11:45 AM

Hellsss...yeah!!!!!

Posted by Esther on 01/04 at 03:17 PM

Thanks for freeing my husband and me from the ridiculousness of waiting for a table at Daikokuya. The in-laws live near Torrance, and I can’t wait to indoctrinate them to the joys of ramen.

Posted by on 01/04 at 07:38 PM

Thanks, Elmo! You know, I discovered the Boiling Crab through your blog, so I’m happy to return the favor with something I hope you find useful!

As for blacking out my eyes, haha… not really shy I guess. I just didn’t want to see myself staring back at me all the time lol.

E*star - Thanks a bunch!

Christine - With family in Torrance, you’ve no excuse for eating ramen anywhere else =). Nah, Daikokuya does have its merits. But yea, the wait there can be ridiculous sometimes

Posted by rameniac on 01/06 at 04:09 AM

congrats on all the press...it’s well deserved, the site is really well-written and informative.

I live right near Mitsuwa in West L.A., and had eaten there, but had never had the ramen at Santouka—my places had been first Asahi Ramen and now Ramen-ya on Olympic. So I read the Times piece, saw the #1 ranking and hustled down with my son—of course, to see the line of people who’d also read the Times.

We had the Shio, and you’re right: it was FANTASTIC. Love at first taste. Felt like a fool for not knowing about this before.

Here’s the fun part: right after we got ours, they had to announce that they were out of the Shio ramen. The next evening we went back for more, stood in a long line—but before we were able to order they were out of ramen NOODLES, period!

I think Santouka owes you free noodles for life.

Posted by on 01/06 at 07:41 PM

Hey Rockstar! This is great publicity for ramen. Who needs Jonathan Gold! I don’t mind being a groupie, but how can I join your band? Anyway, keep up the good work. I’ll be in Tokyo in a couple of weeks tearin up the ramen scene.

Posted by keizo on 01/07 at 08:37 AM

Thanks to you it is now impossible for me to get my ramen fix at work(mitsuwa). I tried waiting for the line to die down at Santouka today so that I could enjoy some shio ramen, but before I could they had run out completely.

Posted by on 01/09 at 01:00 AM

love Ramen --
wish you luck --
look forward to read your books --
God bless- alice -from usa.

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/yumeume-1105

Posted by alice on 01/09 at 12:09 PM

love Ramen - good luck --
wishing you all the best --
from alice.usa.

Posted by alice on 01/09 at 12:11 PM

Wong Dude…

What about Atch-Kotch in Hollywood… we would very much like to hear your august musings regarding Yoshi’s cuisine and how it fares compared to the Rameniac top 10…

Your site rules!! It’s like noodle porno..ahhh..

Barking Spleen

Posted by on 01/10 at 12:42 PM

I keep seeing your website everywhere! {a late} Congratulations for the much deserved fame and success. From Andy Warhol to you: “Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.” woo woo!

Posted by on 02/01 at 12:44 PM

Thanks for the suggestion.