Ramen

I love ramen. Ramen is noodles. I wasn't so keen on it while I was in New Zealand but I discovered that that was only because New Zealanders can't make ramen. When New Zealanders think of noodles, we think of the instant packet stuff that students survive on. In Japan, ramen is delicious and awesome. I love the fact that practically every city that you go to in Japan will probably have their own style of ramen (Tokyo style ramen, Hakata ramen...).

Yuto took us to one of his favourite ramen places. Even though it's a pain, you know it's a good restaurant when you have to stand in line. This particular restaurant only served one type of ramen that you can customise. While you wait in line, you check your preferences and additional bits and pieces on a piece of paper.

This place has a big difference from other ramen restaurants. It only has one line of tables for customers and each customer gets their own little 'cubby'. Other than being great for people who eat out alone, according to Yuto the restaurant's reasoning is that their ramen is really good and by boxing you in, you won't be distracted from the taste.

So you sit in your little cubby and they have a little blind where you can see the kitchen floor and the staff scuttling around. When they bring you your ramen, they put it through the hole and they bow really low so you can see the tops of their heads. Then they close the blind and from that point, all your concentration should be funneled into eating ramen.

I love this idea. I mean, when I am eating good food it's such a hassle having to talk. And this ramen was really good. But then, I'm not a connoisseur and I find ramen delicious most of the time. Ramen is definitely one of the foods I will miss the most when I leave.