maid in culver city

Posted by rameniac at 03:12 PM | 16 Apr 2008

Okay, this isn’t precisely ramen-related, but I figured it would appeal to a fair segment of the rameniac readership. After all, ramen, anime, and cosplay go together like beans, eggs, and blood pudding in an English breakfast. So last Saturday, I had the good fortune to attend the opening of Royal T in Culver City, Los Angeles. Touted as America’s first-ever “maid cafe,” Royal T featured an exhibit of superflat artwork from the likes of Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara and cosplay French maids making like it was Akihabara Electric Town during a Yodobashi Camera fire sale.

canal city raumen stadium: battle bowl royale

Posted by rameniac at 02:10 PM | 26 Mar 2008

When it comes to tonkotsu ramen, Kyushu is truly king. And a rameniac in southern Japan would do well to visit Canal City, a gloriously overwrought, crescent-shaped shopping mall designed by architect Jon Jerde to invoke the American west. I couldn’t even begin to imagine why. But though ramen lovers are not necessarily modernist architecture freaks, this Fukuoka landmark houses the Canal City Raumen Stadium, also known as “Raumen Stadium 2,” kid sibling to Yokohama’s famed Raumen Museum and home to an ever-rotating assortment of top-tier ramen shops.

southern all stars: the yatai of tenjin and nakasu, hakata

Posted by rameniac at 05:32 PM | 03 Mar 2008

It should come as no surprise, to any close reader of this site, that I am completely enamored with not just Japan, but more specifically, southern Japan. Yes, the rameniac does play favorites, but it’d be pretty hard not to, not when historically speaking, the world’s best tonkotsu ramen is served at literally thousands of yatai food carts scattered across Fukuoka city’s Hakata district. What the taco truck is to Los Angeles, the yatai is to Hakata, and I wear my heart proudly on my sleeve when I say that I root for the Softbank Hawks and count among my favorite people on earth my tomodachi in Northern Kyushu, whose residents are often friendly to a fault and exude the warmth of oden simmering past two am on a wintry morning.

tin men

Posted by rameniac at 01:23 PM | 05 Feb 2008

So I recently managed to hijack a shipment of Japan's hottest product since Riyo Mori, canned ramen! Actually, I received them as gifts from abroad, but the whole hijacking thing sounds much sexier. Campbell's has been canning soup noodles since chimney sweeps first got the black lung, so what took Japan so long? The noodles would get too mushy, a problem which has only recently been overcome with the use of konyaku instead of wheat flour. Imagine my surprise when I opened my gift bag to find not only canned ramen, but also, canned oden (which is now available at Japanese grocery stores in the States) and a can of... yakitori skewers?! Apparently these are self-heating; once you pop the top, the can heats up automatically. Should I crack one open yet?

how to disappear completely (from store shelves)

Posted by rameniac at 03:45 PM | 14 Jan 2008

Many of you may have noticed a dearth of top notch instant ramen selections at your local Japanese supermarket. After asking around, I discovered the sordid truth behind this. Japan's ban on U.S. beef has apparently led to a retaliatory embargo on certain meat products from the J-motherland! It hadn't occurred to me before, but my suspicions were confirmed when I checked out the shelves at Mitsuwa Marketplace. None of the available ramen featured chashu or meat toppings! This means all the top-end favorites like Goota and Raoh and shop-signature lines like Kurume Taiho and Kujirakei are certified contraband for the time being. What a disaster.

I'll try to compile a list of the best among the slim pickings on offer these days, but granted, stuff like UFO Yakisoba and Myojo Chukazanmai are reliable standbys in these dire times.