Living The Ramen Dream® by Keizo Shimamoto
Day 574:
Or do they? Hiyashi ramen or cold ramen (sometimes called reimen), has been making a summer appearance at ramen shops for years. Today, we tested a new version of the cold slurp.
Although our version is delicious, I’m not really a fan of cold soup. But everyone knows I’m not normal either.
We also might add shumai to the menu.
shhh…UMAI!
Day 573:
It’s Monday. You know what that means…
It’s time to get pumped up for…
Arm wrestling tournament!!!
I ended up drawing number one. Or is that a seven?
They assured me it was number one.
Okay, it’s definitely a seven.
It didn’t work. The dude took me down, but he ended up taking everyone else down too. Even shuga. And I was just happy not to have re-injured my shoulder.
Yeah, we gotta have more of these nights.
“Tokyo has stopped crying, but your beauty is still missed…”
Day 572:
With a weakening typhoon approaching, the rainy season has made its grand entrance.
And the cool breeze that it brought with it has made it ideal for some miso ramen.
But the rain is an awkward acceptance.
For Tokyo may be crying for some time.
Day 571:
There’s nothing cheap about this.
But everything is cheap about this.
I tested another ramen burger today, but this one didn’t seem to want to stay together. I also learned that it’s better to use shoulder than belly.
Some new noodles arrived today. 233?
And we were back to testing.
Ahh supermarket sushi!
Cheap and delicious!
Day 570:
With summer fast approaching, we’ve been testing out some new recipes. This miso tan tan tsukemen may be the best candidate, but for now the testing will continue.
I thought it to be a little too sweet like peanut butter and jelly.
So it was time to wash it down with some shoyu.
Miso chahan?
Okay let’s forget about this one.
Basa!! This one’s for you…
It feels good to be a jouren (regular) again.
Right guys?
Brian was just getting back from a trip. And he had some crazy stories.
Day 569:
There’s nothing like waking up and heading to The Bush. I haven’t had much time to venture out of my hood lately, but I am fortunate to have some good local shops to soothe my lost soul.
Cha~ Ra~
And after a nice peaceful walk through Omiyahachimangu…
It was time to have dinner with mum. No, not my mom. Her mum. But hi mom!
It was a little strange.
With definitely something missing.
But it’s just the beginning.
Thanks mum.
Day 568:
I don’t know about these, but my shoulder is feeling a whole lot better than it used to.
Being that Wednesday’s are now our biggest shikomi (prep) days (since the shop is closed), Fujimatsu-san and I decided to take a break and hit up a nearby ramen shop. Leaving the choice up to him, we wound up at Seisyomaru in ViNAWALK. Perhaps you remember my visit to the honten in Kyodo.
Anyway, Fujimatsu-san got the tsukemen (what they are known for).
And I once again went with the chuukasoba. Honestly, it tasted better than the honten.
BUT, the onions diluted the soup and towards the end I couldn’t taste a thing. I tried adding more pepper but that didn’t work either.
SiO with chicken!
Hi pops!
Monday night arm wrestling tournament at Bassanova!! Are you game?
Or are you chicken?
…without you…
when u return, i may be gone. but my heart tells me we’ll be together again. the world is our playground. so please take care and good luck. emergency! 🙂
Day 567:
With the rain falling down our cheeks, it was a challenge to make it to the airport on time.
But we did. And it was soon time to say goodbye.
But not before I got the first copy of my girlfriends new book. I’m so proud of her.
We also needed to slurp one more bowl together. Don’t worry, this won’t be our last.
With Saori gone, I was already starting to feel lonely. But my little princesses knew how to fix that.
And after some green noodles…
Enter the Dragon!
It’s gonna be a tough road ahead.
But what else is new, right?
I never expected anything to be easy.
Did you?
Coincidentally, today was Yayo’s last day. Basa is changing, but it’s still the same.
Day 566:
We were testing new ramen again. But I was anxious to get home. For this would be my last night with my girlfriend for awhile.
So I finished all my work as fast as I could, ate this makanai-han, and was given the okay to leave.
It feels so good having her back at 100%.
I love this photo.
Anyway, what did we eat for our last dinner together? Yup, you guessed it.
Kagetsu is not the most romantic place, but the romance between us is all that matters.
I’m gonna miss her dearly, but such is life. Perfect is way too boring.
Go Ramen!® 