Tokyo, Japan, April 2006.
Noodles, noodles, noodles. Italians have their spaghetti and meatballs, Americans eat them swimming in broth among hunks of chicken and celery, Thai people have what seems like a gazillion stir-fried variations; many cultures have a version of this comforting pile of carbs. In Japan, my favorite way to eat ramen was cold with a warm dipping sauce companion. The "soup" is usually shoyu (a dark soy sauce) based, and dotted with bits of tofu, scallions, bonito, bamboo shoots and nori. My dear friend, who was living in Tokyo at the time I visited, said she likes to drink the broth when all is said and done. After all that dunking, though, there shouldn't be much left, she instructed me. "It's just good to be a member of the clean plate club."
You'll find two more shots from my trip after the jump.
You'll find two more shots from my trip after the jump.
Unfortunately, you don't see a lot of kimono around Tokyo these days. These ladies stuck to tradition.
Octopus balls are a go-to street food in Tokyo. I was there in April, at the time of the sakura (cherry blossom) festival, and it seemed you could find these salty treats in every corner of every public space. Good news for those not traveling to Tokyo in the spring: There is always some festival going on in the city, meaning there are always octopus balls.
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