Ramen Primer

Sooo, some people here ask me, “what’s the big deal about top ramen”? That question usually comes after they view pictures in the blog or gallery and see steaming bowls of ramen with the perfect soft boiled egg and tender cha siu…
Mmmm. Getting hungry and it’s 00:40 right now!
Anyhoo, after I beat them senseless with their own top ramen packages, I try to explain (briefly) the different styles and broths and it’s not instant noodles (which call themselves “ramen”, sacrilege!), but a category of noodle along with soba and udon. Then they run away right after I swoon over how smooth kyushu ramen is over shoyu.
Here’s a page that explains the whole ramen thing in Japan. (from QuirkyJapan).
Now if I could only find a good ramen shop in San Francisco! We have three for the entire city, all clustered within a block of each other and not that terrific…