teamEggers

Ode to Noodle, Part 1

You’ve been waiting for it. Some of you have even asked me when we were going. And so. I give you an ode to the noodle.  Raumen Museum, 2009.  Woo.

Actually… I’m not sure that we would recommend it, or go again.  Sure, good to see.  And aside from a minor moment of me turning into a snatchface, we had a really great day.  But perhaps… the Raumen Museum was not all it was hyped up to be.

But first.  A gratuitous photo for all you mothers that are watching…

I should have expected this. The entire (very small) museum was in Japanese. This led to “the translation game” where I either will interpret what other people are saying, or interpret signs. I think i do a great job, though I suppose I have no point of reference to compare to. Entertaining at the very least. So as I give you descriptions, below, please note that these are all completely and utterly made up.

There are 12 kinds of ramen, which vary by region. It’s said that ramen may have originated from the Chinese word lamian, which means “hand pulled noodles”.

As you can clearly see below, the history of ramen is a long and treacherous one, marked by a several very important milestones. In episode 2, the cup-o-noodle was a big turning point in distribution to the masses, bringing ramen to the every man. Now you too can own a piece of the dream.

If you are among the best, your ramen restaurant can be immortalized in your very own ramen-drawer. Just think… ramen hall of fame.

Anyways. The Raumen Museum consisted of three parts – a giant gift shop, a small museum and a giant food court (downstairs).

Among other crazy ramen-related schwag were these cooking pots. I, for one, think it’s very important that your cookware be happy to boil your water.

And i just realized… I have a lot to say about ramen day. I’m going to break this up in two parts for your reading-pleasure. Tune in below for the details on our ramen-eating-adventure.

Ode to Noodle, Part 2

When we left off, Jon and I were just waking down the stairs into the eating portion of the museum. From this point on, it turned into more of a food-themed-amusement park, rather than anything of an educational sort. The food court was less exciting than expected. As is everything in Japan, it was a maze of people. so. many. people.

There were 9 of the top ramen restaurants in the country represented here, with each eatery offering regular and half sized portions. Going in, we planned to get a half bowl from 4 different places, grab a table and compare.

Once we got there, we had to make a game time decision. It turned out that these weren’t ramen *carts* but actual restaurants. After waiting in line for 30 minutes to get into one of them, we ordered from a vending machine and sat down for a tremendously filling lunch. In the battle of Ramen vs. teamEggers, ramen won this round. It was a lot of food.

You may be asking yourself “what are these vending machines Michelle’s been talking about?” Glad you asked! I took a picture of this one just for you, dear reader.

first, then push a button and out spits these little tickets (which you hand to the waitress/cook inside).

Now that we’ve mastered the vending machine, I love it. I think it’s an exciting, very casual way to have dinner.

I like cooks. They’re an odd breed but for whatever reason, I feel like I understand them. I find it really comforting to watch the hum and rhythm of a professional kitchen.

At the vending machine, we pushed three buttons. There are usually a few mystery side dishes on the menu and for a dollar, i think it’s an exciting adventure. This time… not so good. Pickled bamboo shoots. Meh.

This one was slimy (I think the green bits on top were okra.) and only medium-good.

After ramen-day it was back on the train for us and off to a different part of Yokohama to tour the Kirin brewery. Stay tuned for more on that.

Brewery Tours

The Kirin Brewery tour was next today. (Pronouced “kee-Ri-nn” long first syllable, flip the “r” and a really short last syllable. jon was corrected several times by helpful Japanese folk.)

Every half hour they led free tours that were ended with a quick beer tasting. I say quick because jon and I were literally kicked out after 20 minutes. Seriously, who can finish two full beers in 20 minutes!? Sheesh

Unfortunately, they had a strict no-camera policy which really stinks because they also had a lot of great visuals! They gave us a English brochure before the tour that talked a lot about their process and their social policies, etc. Very, very handy because the tour was all in japanese.

But that’s okay. It gave me an opportunity to play The Translation Game again!

Their brochure talked a lot about their environmental commitment, featuring Ecojiro, the environmental mascot who was created by the foam of beer. Personally, i think he looks like a cloud but i love that they tied him in to the whole theme. I also like that, despite being evil mega conglomerate, they made an effort to also be eco-conscious.

After that we went to another brewery that was on the same lot as Kirin (I believe it was the original location of the brewery) and had a quick dinner. Beer was so-so and seemed to follow that generic “I’m an asian beer” style.

On the way home we met some pandas.

And that’s all I’ve got for you. Jon just put his book away and turned off the light, so i suppose that means I should stop blogging and go to bed too.

Thanks for reading. Your comments really make my day.

Motomachi

At the end of our subway line is a neighborhood called Motomachi. It’s a neighborhood with a pretty standard-fare main street, and then an side street with a lot of character. Below is a picture of the gates, at night.  First impressions tell me this street will be rather nice – perhaps a good place for an after-work stroll.

Check out this cool whale i met!

Just off the main, street there were houses (not apartment buildings!) and neighborhoody shops. A barber and a flower shop. Of course the shop name is French – it seems to be fashionable to do that. I wonder why the Japanese love French names and Italian food so much.

Speaking of Italian food… Italian food, for whatever reason, is omnipresent. I think for every five noodle restaurants, there’s a spaghetti restaurant. Just as the Italian we eat back home is the american-take-on-italian, so is their asian counterpart. The Italian here is decidedly different than the spaghetti of the midwest.

I asked jon to take the local subway down to Motomachi after work. It worked out great – I got to spend an extra hour wandering around and scoping out the area before he met me, and then we had a really lovely stroll and settled into a wine bar run by some displaced Californians.

I had heard good things about Tomei’s, the Californian wine bar in Motomachi, and I was really excited that we found it without too much trouble (remember that there aren’t really addresses here).

We had some really good wines for a reasonable price (around $12/glass). and I even tried out a new grape! Syrah Noir, which contrary to my first thought was not a Syrah and a Pinot Noir blend. It was a very uncommon hybrid, characterized by bacon, smoke and mineral flavours. Very rich. Intoxicatingly complex for the price point. The location and the wine itself were great finds.

The Table Charge

One thing I find very odd about the Japanese society is the table-charge.  It’s kind of like a cover, but for both bars and restaurants, and it’s not outwardly apparent who does it and who doesn’t charge. I think it’s safe to say that if you have a waitress and someone’s grandmother is NOT the lead chef, there will be a $3, per person, table charge.

So. How do you know? What do you get?  What’s going on!

I’ve come to think of it as the mandatory pre-appetizer. Sometimes your waitress (or bartender) will bring you a little bite to eat, just after you ordered.  Once it was pretzels.  Once it was cabbage that you dip into a soy paste.  Once it was tuna salad on toast.  (see below)

But I still haven’t figured out why.  If anyone from japan happens to be reading this, and can shed some light on my mystery – please! let me know!

Beer lovers note: at an Italian (or is it j’italian?) restaurant in Motomachi , jon ordered the “Local Beer”.  What a find!  It was an official motomachi local brew.  These miniscule microbrews keep popping up all over.

We had once thought that Japan only had three beers – Sapporo, Asahi, & Kirin. Though these are certainly the most popular producers in Japan, there are quite a few more local brews than we expected.