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The Illegal Ramen Vendors of Postwar Tokyo
- ggm 8y agoThere was an existing soup/noodle culture. There was a black market and structures to divert central planning into commerce. It was a marriage made in heaven. I think the best Ramen I've had was either down the end of the toden line or out Shinjuku by a jr station
- oceanman888 8y agocountless good Ramen in tokyo, if you can stand eating a lot of fat, try jiro Ramen.
- sk5t 8y agoJiro ramen--no truer test of the body's ability to process fat and sodium. But once in a while, it is worth it.
- sandebert 8y agoI've never heard of them, got curious and found this: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/i-tried-eating-at-japans-most-infamous-ramen-shop-and-this-i https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/i-tried-eating-at-jap...
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- inferiorhuman 8y ago> There was an existing soup/noodle culture. The article covers this. Wheat noodles and a rich broth were new. > I think the best Ramen I've had was either down the end of the toden line or out Shinjuku Menya Musashi and Fuunji are both generally very well regarded and about a 5-7 minute walk from the SW part of Shinjuku station.
- contingencies 8y agoWheat noodles and a rich broth were new. Interesting how many of the types listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_noodles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_noodles are at least partially wheat based (62.5%). It perhaps follows that prewar Japanese cuisine was substantially less varied and more regionally defined.
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- denimnerd 8y agowe went to menya musashi tonight
- inferiorhuman 8y agoThe wine-braised pork at Menya Musashi is amazing, but I don't recall thinking the rest was really that noteworthy. Fūunji is worth trying for the very different style of ramen -- the broth is chicken and fish based.
- denimnerd 8y agoThanks we went to Fu unji and it was great too. My wife got the dipping noodles and I got the regular. I did like the pork at menya musashi a lot and the overall flavor of Ichiran the most though. Can’t believe I got some random shinjuku advice when I just happened to be visiting. Annoyingly some other americans next to us at Fu unji were complaining about the pork in the ramen.
- inferiorhuman 8y agoSadly I've only spent a few days in Shinjuku, and those were the only two ramen joints I hit up. Fūunji is definitely known for their dipping noodles and that broth. If memory serves, Menya Musashi has a rotating menu so that can be fun. My favorite of that trip was actually the Kio chain in Osaka (cold noodles and beer on a warm summer day were perfect). There are a ton of great resources for sussing out good ramen in Japan, thankfully. What noticed though was that while all the ramen I tried was better than what I've had stateside, each ramen shop would typically nail one or two things and the rest would be good but not amazing. I never did find an egg as well cooked as I have in the Bay Area. Also right by Shinjuku, the French bakery was pretty darn good.
- mschuetz 8y agoThe 4 best Ramen I've ever had were Ippudos in Singapore, Singapore Airport, Taiwan and Hong Kong. I wish there was one in Austria.
- dmix 8y agoNice to see some proper research and citations from an internet article these days... Fascinating article too.
- throway32 8y agoJapan's turn from a predominantly vegetarian diet to one that is almost anti-vegetarian, is very interesting. Eating out in Japan is generally a nightmare.
- dzhiurgis 8y agoI love eating out in Japan. Matter of fact I am going there soon again and looking for HN’s recommendations.
- ur-whale 8y agoIf you're into small "hole in the wall" / foodstand type stuff: - Sushi places around Tsukiji market in the morning (much better than the market visit itself, these days) - Yurakucho Yakitori Alley - Eateries around Takadanobaba eki - The whole of Kabukicho (area in-between Shinjuku station and Shin-Okubo) - Seafood street south of Ueno eki - Akasaka area (N/E of Roppongi) The list is long ...
- ur-whale 8y ago"Eating out in Japan is generally a nightmare" My experience has been the exact opposite. Japan is (with Singapore) one of the best place on the planet to eat out. You might want to mention what kind of dietary restrictions you're subjecting yourself to before making such broad claims.
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- jpatokal 8y agoNot mentioned in the article, but Japan occupied/colonized large chunks of China before and during the war: there were close to a million settlers in Manchukuo alone, plus up to 1 million Japanese soldiers in the China Expeditionary Army. For those returning to Japan, wheat noodles and rich soups would not have been a new taste.
- rangibaby 8y agoRamen (Chinese noodles) were introduced and popularized by Chinese immigrants in Meiji-era Japan.
- kurthr 8y agoYes, they were popular as far back as 1860. I think the Kanji 拉麺 means pulled wheat (Chinese) noodles, but many of them are cut which confuses me. Modern Japanese Ramen comes from the early 20th century (~1912?) and is distinct because the broths were much lighter flavored (like miso, shoyu, or pork bone) and less funky than those traditionally from China. The latest trends in Tsukemen ramen challenge this tradition as they go for stronger flavors.
- rangibaby 8y agoAFAIK other than the name the Japanese dish ramen doesn’t have a whole lot in common with Chinese la mian. There is a ton of food around the world that has Chinese roots but isn’t a direct analog to any Chinese (country) dish. For example Tenshinhan in Japan or Chop suey in the US
- contingencies 8y agoIf anyone knows an expert on Japan (or other non-Chinese Asian nations') noodle typologies and preparation, please put them in touch. We aim to open 300 robotic service locations across three markets next year.
- krapp 8y agoYou're planning to disrupt noodles in Asia? Good luck.
- contingencies 8y agoNo, we're planning to feed hungry high density urban consumers noodle and soup cuisines in existing high demand with more availability, choice, consistency, time-efficiency and profit margin than manual competition, plus complete personalization support on every order. Think "take-away noodle restaurant minus overheads", 10-20x faster than delivery options, cheaper and closer to the consumer. We're located in the largest province of the largest market in the world, and on track for launch next year in HK/Macau/China. Currently raising Series A with commitments @ $125M pre and accepted in to YCSS advisor track.
- jpatokal 8y agoAt any tachigui (standing-only) soba shop in Tokyo, you can get a bowl of noodles made to order and customized to your liking from around 200 yen ($2) and delivered in approx 30 seconds: https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=11660 https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=11660 There are many opportunities for disruption in Japan; this does not seem like the easiest or most profitable one.
- contingencies 8y agoSure, there are high volume, low cost, single dish restaurants out there. Obviously that's not our focus, even though if they can do it at $2 we can do it cheaper and closer to the consumer, in their language, with full support for personalization, 24x7x365. Traditional food retail suffers from the following limitations: relatively high startup cost (real estate location, rental, renovation, fit-out, licensing), relatively high recurring overheads (staff, management, inventory management) and internal processes unsuitable for specific requirements (religious, medical, lifestyle or other specialist diets, plus other forms of personalization), typically limited hours due to reliance on staff, limited languages of service staff, food safety issues due to human preparation. In short we have enough USPs in enough areas that we don't have to compete on cost - the industry is vast - and if a single location fails to grow adequately we can literally move it within an hour or two.
- lovemenot 8y agoA few years ago I watched a street performance in Ochanomizu: a post-war Japanese spiv, wearing a wide pin-stripe was selling bananas. Apparently in Japan now, banana-selling is one of the strongest stereotypes of post-war capitalism - for all its good and ill.
- Markoff 8y agointroduced by Chinese but it's interesting noodles (soup) as street fast food ain't THAT popular in China i don't think noodle dish would first come to mind when thinking about Chinese cuisine
- spekulatius2410 8y agoInteresting story. I didn't know about this.
- classichasclass 8y agoHokkaidō ramen. That's the stuff. Find a Santōka near you and thank me later. http://goinjapanesque.com/05425/ http://goinjapanesque.com/05425/ https://www.santouka.co.jp/en https://www.santouka.co.jp/en