soapy tonkotsu flavor

Posted by rameniac at 07:22 PM | 02 Feb 2010

Yet another product to file under "zany stuff from Japan," ramen-shaped soap is now available for dorks everywhere who want to keep clean whilst scrubbing with a fake cake of instant Charumera ramen or UFO yakisoba soap. This is the sort of thing that would be good for a laugh, then wind up being white elephant, secret Santa re-gifted come Christmas even if you did wind up scoring a bar, er, I mean cup.

via Akihabara News

mitsuwa autumn fair 2009

Posted by rameniac at 04:46 AM | 22 Oct 2009

Why am I starting to feel like this space is basically an advertisement for Mitsuwa? They keep having these festivals. By now everyone should have subscribed to their flyers and you all should know the drill. Mitsuwa is now having an Autumn Fair featuring that old standby Chibakiya and Goma-Ichi, a tan-tan men shop from Hawaii. I doubt Chiba-san will be doing his shark fin ramen this time around though as it's a bit too posh for these recessionary times.

mitsuwa hokkaido fair 2009

Posted by rameniac at 12:48 PM | 10 Sep 2009

Yep, it's time again for Mitsuwa's Hokkaido Fair. The 2009 event starts today, and this time around, your favorite stateside Japanese supermarket chain will be all about the shio. There's Ishikari's Ramen Shingen in Torrance and also Ezo-Fukuro in Costa Mesa doing a couple of versions of the stuff; next week the festival moves on across the U.S., as usual. Go here for all the details and the tour dates. These ramen shops should all just hurry up and open permanent North American branches already.

got beef? bring it! (ok not literally, but yea…)

Posted by rameniac at 12:05 PM | 05 Aug 2009

This has nothing to do with ramen, but a dearly loved friend of mine is involved in organizing the first ever Korean BBQ Cook-Off in Los Angeles this Saturday, August 8th. Presented by the Korean American Coalition, the event will feature notable restaurants from around town battling to determine the best bulgogi and kalbi this side of Seoul. A panel of gastronomic luminaries will be judging the contest, and smokey marinated fun in the summer sun will most surely be had by all. I'll be there wandering around in a drunken stupor by the way; just look for the Asian guy.

mitsuwa marketplace’s kyushu & okinawa fair 2009

Posted by rameniac at 03:26 PM | 16 Jul 2009

For those of you lucky enough to be living near a Mitsuwa Marketplace in the States, it's time once again for their Kyushu & Okinawa Fair. Ramen-wise, tonkotsu ramen specialist Tatsunoya (龍の家) from Kurume will be setting up shop 7/16 - 7/19 in Torrance and 7/23 - 7/26 in New Jersey. There's also Yamachan Nagasaki Sara Udon and Okinawa Soba doing the rounds at several locations. I'm lazy in this heat; check their schedule for details.