Can’t wait to have your very own copy of The Ramen King and I? Wouldn’t it be better if it was free? C’mon, everything’s better when it’s free! We’re giving away a free hardcover copy of Andy Raskin’s new book The Ramen King and I! All you have to do is leave a comment below with your story of how ramen has affected your life by Friday May 15. Feel free to leave multiple comments, but only 1 entry will be counted per person. Good luck!
5/16/09 update: We have a winner! Congratulations to zimmon for winning the book! Thanks to everyone for posting and sharing your ramen stories!
i remember the first time i had real ramen. ryowa in berkeley. though i have had many ramens since then, there is always something about having your first ramen. i heard about it and decided to go on my own.
the combination of reading manga, the large bowl of ramen, and the barley tea–what a soothing experience to a college student!
thank you so much for your ramen reviews. even though i can’t get out to as many ramen places as i’d like to, i can live through your experiences!
thank you!
–r
Ramen has provided a nice meal in these economically tough time by allowing the incorporation of leftovers to add to the diversity of meal choices. Each day you can have a new ramen meal. I eat it so much that my mom now eats it. I’m sure Ando-san would enjoy that fact that ramen is now part of everyday life in America for college students, folks eeking out a living.and fancy diners at places like Ippudo and David Chang’s Momofuku empire.
Thanks for the daily ramen updates and the occasional contests!
I met a girlfriend because she found my ramen blog when researching ramen for her company. Now that’s fate!
ah yes, real ramen, i’m down for a free book
I NEEDS this book. Yummy yummy, gimme gimme! Ramens is a comfort, and I am nowhere near to being Japanese, just a lonely WASP.
Two months ago I was laid off work and Ramen has helped me save some money. And it reminded me of my old college days when that was all I could afford to eat. Thanks Ramen!!!
ramen has always kinda reminded me of my childhood days when we would take packages of Lipton Cup-o-Soup to school or into town when mom took us to work with her.
Ramen is more filling and better tasting than my memories, though. (^_^)
i remember my dad telling me about ramen in japan. he would describe the little ramen-ya(s) he would visit as a kid and go into great detail about the firmness of the mein and the simple dashi with pork pieces marbled with fat.. my mouth would water and how i couldn’t wait for the day we would go to japan and have a bowl of “real” ramen. When i turned 13, we finally made the trip to japan and i am happy to say that i was not disappointed. in fact, it was even better than i had imagined.
About 8 years ago, I took a trip to japan and tried out several types of local ramen, I was instantly hooked and often tried to recreate the dish stateside. I have gotten close but it never is the same as the originals back in Japan. On my vacations, I make a point to visit local ramen shops if any.
While it hasn’t consumed me, ramen is definitely on the forefront of my mind especially after a hard night of drinking heavily.
I lived over a noodle shop for a few years in Boston. I got off of work at nine and always stopped in for my daily noodles before I went upstairs. The elderly man that owned the shop always had a special bowl for me.
It was great comfort food.
I miss my little noodle shop.
Ramen has taken many roles over the course of my life.
As a kid growing up in Hawaii, one of my grandmother’s favorite Ramen bars was Goma Ichi, a place of rich, sesame broth.
In elementary school, it was very popular to bring uncooked Maruchan ramen, smash it up in the bag, and eat it dry with the powdered soup base all over. Food was our small kid currency, and we would trade noodles as signs of friendship.
After graduating from high school, I went to Japan for the first time and had a culinary experience unmatched! I loved buying my ticket from the machine and huddling over a crowded table and steaming bowl of fresh soup and noodles.
In college, I was in the Midwest. A lot of the Asian kids missed Asian food so much–ramen was our closest substitute and dearest friend.
Today, on difficult days or lonely nights, I still gravitate toward the fridge and pull out a cold pack of ramen noodles and stir together the soup base with a little bit of vinegar and Korean hot sauce. Yum!
I love you, Ramen!
When I was around 9 or so, packaged ramen was my favorite after-school treat–usually “Oriental” or chicken flavor. It was one of the only “junk foods” we were allowed, and my brother and I would often share a pot of it in the afternoons. I had this whole method of eating it that required reading a spooky kid’s book at the same time. The spooky kid’s book was completely crucial. The John Bellairs books were perfect–I loved them so much but really believed that they were so much better over a steaming bowl of ramen than just read on their own.
I remember one time my mom suggested a crack an egg in the ramen or put some scallions in it, and I looked at her in horror and thought she was a barbarian. But then on a trip to Tokyo recently I discovered “real” ramen and I’ve been hooked ever since. I can’t get enough of stuff.
A friend suggested it one time when I was over at their house looking for a snack. They told me it was sorta like chicken noodle soup but 10 times better since it was the ‘spicy’ kind. I tried it and fell in love at first bite. 🙂 I knew I would never grow tired of something so good… and haven’t yet even 10+yrs later. I live in a small town and have yet to taste “real” ramen, but look forward to the day when I’ll be able to. In the mean time, I check you’re site every so often in the hopes of finding new ramen flavors to try. Keep up the good work.
Growing up in Japan, I had access to wonderful ramen. Later in life in the States, I always wondered why ramen never tasted as good as when I was younger. I went through the university days when eating instant ramen was the the way to survive. Later, living in Korea, ramen was ubiquitous and cheap. Finding a good ramen shop in Northern California requires waiting in looong lines. It shouild be easier.
Wow, such great stories. Thanks for sharing, everyone, and thanks for reading our humble little blog. 🙂