"When will you start serving Hiyashi again?"
"Hiyashi?, no, no Hiyashi."
"I know, I know, only during the summer months. But when will you start? It seems nice and warm outside, perfect weather for a bowl of Hiyashi."
"Hmm. May, maybe June."
"Yey, great. One Menma ramen please. And gyoza and some tea, please..."
Looking forward to the Hiyashi time at Sapporo on 49th street. Their Hiyashi might not be as good as at the place down by the World Trade Center, before the planes hit, but at least they serve it.
There is a little place on 46th Street that also offers a whole cold noodle menue, but their creations are really out there and a bit too experimental to handle. The thing I ordered last time was just impossible to eat. (Tiny little mushrooms in cold slimy sauce on a flat plate, why, oh why?.)
I wondered today if it is okay of me to just lift the large bowl and drink the soup as if it were a little cup of miso-shiro. Can somebody please reassure me that what what Suzuki San taught me in Frankfurt is valid around the world? I do not really want to be "the slurping gaigin who lifts the big bowls and drinks the entire soup." I saw it being done in Tampopo, one of my favorite movies, but is it still okay, is it still groovy? Or is it not the way to go. I am willing to learn.
Small bowls, large bowls....it's all good! The general rule here in Japan is that if it's Japanese cuisine, and there's soup in it, then go ahead and drink directly from the side of the bowl! If there are noodles (ramen/udon/soba), then eat those only with chopsticks. And if you're feeling bold, then slurp as loudly as you can while drinking, and you'll be in good company with assorted oyajisan (middle-aged men) and obasan (middle-aged women)...and salarymen of all ages ;-) Then again....a gaijin slurping? Personally, that's where I draw the line. I just can't undo a lifetime of manners instilled into me.
Posted by: lil on April 22, 2003 02:13 AMAm I glad! : D
Yes, the slurping part is a bit much. But I will feel much better lifting that bowl... maybe again today. (Somehow these Ramen soups seem to protect me from this cold that everybody around me seems to be getting. (Including Captn Tremble. (I am knocking on wood... and wish all of those who are currently not feeling well a quick return to their full health.)
Hit Soba-Ya and United Noodle in the Village this summer for a treat.
Posted by: David on April 22, 2003 02:29 PMi'm with you on the mushroom thing. we get them all the time, :-( but there's a different ... aesthetic about slimy over here
lil's right... drink out of the bowl (you know, aFTer you've eaten the noodles. not everybody slurps, though, *looking relieved* :) ...there's a great ramen shop around the corner from me [in tokyo] where you can get salty Hokkaido ramen with asparagus spears, bacon, corn and a big piece of butter in a thick broth. for winter, when you've been out in 6-foot snowdrifts (^o^)/~
Posted by: yolande on April 22, 2003 08:38 PM...which [guilty afterthought] we never have in tokyo...
Posted by: yolande on April 22, 2003 08:48 PMOh, Tampopo is one of my favourite movies, too! Mmm, a big bowl of noodle soup sounds great right now, especially on a cold, wet day in Montreal... maybe with a couple of pieces of BBQ duck laid on the top of its steamy goodness...
Posted by: matilda on April 23, 2003 09:34 AMtampopo! RAWK! :) love that film.
just catching up here. you write so much amazing stuff.
Posted by: shauny on April 23, 2003 03:08 PMYou can drink out of the bowl. It's actually quite polite and a compliment to the chef if you leave not the slightest drip to go to waste.
Looking forward to eating a good bowl with you in June like we did back in 2001 :)
Posted by: Flo on April 23, 2003 04:01 PMYeah, those were the times, Flo...
Posted by: witold on April 23, 2003 05:34 PMoh yea... slurp really loudly... and dribble some down your chin... and make sure you burp afterwards... one of those wet kinds... then rub yer tum tum after... the bow your head and say really loud and fast "arigato!"... they really like that... it's supposed to be a compliment.
:-p
Posted by: - s - on April 24, 2003 10:57 PM