Project X - Nissin Cup Noodle

TM2 Rampage

Has anyone read this? I saw it in my comic shop one time and I wanted to get it, but it was a couple bucks more expensive than the average manga book.
BEHOLD THE STORY OF CUP NOODLES
http://www.amazon.com/Project-X-Nissin-Cup-Noodle/dp/1569709599/sr=11-1/qid=1162953563/ref=sr_11_1/104-9338550-1111905

Furu

My sig?

It's from that.

The guys are working on creating cup ramen.

Munch

What's up with Japan and ramen? Like, I watch that Naruto show on and off, and in it those kids are all about their goddamn ramen. It'd be like if Batman and Robin stuffed hamburgers down their gullet every few pages. I mean, to me ramen is really unappetizing noodles in a cup that always boils over and tastes like stale hair.

Is authentic Japanese ramen some orgasm-inducing tastebud-fucker or is this just another one of those Japanese things, like tentacle porn and game shows where people get beaten and humiliated?

Synthetic Orange

Trying to reconstruct what Japan might be like through watching Naruto? Oh Munch.

That said, noodles are a staple food. Quality varies. 20c cup noodles will be bad of course. Decently prepared stuff is great.

TM2 Rampage

Authentic Japanese ramen (as in, the kind you would order from a restaurant... not the instant kind) is pretty good and flavorful. The problem is finding a good place that serves good-tasting ramen.

Also, even if you're just eating instant ramen at home, different brands and flavors taste better/have more stuff. American instant ramen kinda sucks... even the American version of Cup Noodle is kinda inferior compared to the Japanese version, if this picture on the internet is to be believed.

Go to a Japanese or Asian market or something (if they're available) and get some Asian instant ramen (as in, it has a language other than English on it...). It's a bit tricky... there are a lot of varieties, and the flavors/styles vary from ethnicity to ethnicity (popular Japanese instant ramen flavors seem to be shio (salt), miso (uhm... y'know.. that stuff), and shoyuu (soy sauce), whereas Korean ramen or "ramyun" has spicy flavors...).

I'm a bit turned off by Chinese and Indian brands, but they can be good sometimes.


Oh yeah, I guess it would be good to be a bit wary of the sodium levels in instant ramen (I have no idea what they are for restaurant ramen... maybe it's a bit high, too...). They're usually around 30-90% the daily recommended value, although the most frightening one I've seen was a Japanese salt-flavored one that was 440%. However, if you want good flavor, you'll have to eat those 30-90% ones at least, I believe... I'm just saying that while it tastes good, it might not be a healthy choice to eat it all the time (a la McDonald's... hrum).

EDIT: One more thing... it's a bit tricky if you can't decipher the instructions to make it, though. Mainly the most important thing is knowing how much water to boil, I think. The Japanese also have some crazy noodles that you don't eat with water (such as fried noodles [yakisoba], but also this noodle dish that is served cold with no broth, but there is sauce poured over it), so it'd suck to prepare that incorrectly...


Also, in Naruto, only the main character Naruto is obsessed with ramen. It's like how the old Sonic cartoons were with chili dogs.

So Furu, would you recommend that manga about the origin of cup ramen?

Furu

Yes, as long as you don't go into expecting a straight history lesson or anything other than vaugely historical hijinx blown out of proportion.

TM2 Rampage

Furu wrote:

Yes, as long as you don't go into expecting a straight history lesson or anything other than vaugely historical hijinx blown out of proportion.

Ah, thanks.
Man, that serious-looking cover and the book's description are a bit misleading... to an American, I suppose. Those zany Japanese.

Garlic Bread

TM2 Rampage wrote:

Furu wrote:

Yes, as long as you don't go into expecting a straight history lesson or anything other than vaugely historical hijinx blown out of proportion.

Ah, thanks.
Man, that serious-looking cover and the book's description are a bit misleading... to a geijin, I suppose. Those zany Japanese.

we know it's what you were thinking

jk