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Oodles of noodles

28 Comments

Under "noren" curtains, people slurp noodles at a soba and udon noodle restaurant in Tokyo. The Japanese noodles are very popular with a meal costing only about 500 yen.

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28 Comments
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The Japanese noodles are very popular with a meal costing only about 500 yen.

Lunch time.., add a mug of beer...becomes a dinner...and cost will go up 3 fold ?!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Do not like slurping. I know, Japanese noodles taste better blah blah but it sounds rude and gross.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

In the past days, I used to eat SOBA at stand-up-eating soba/udon noodle shops. I mean not in restaurants. At 立ち食い店(stand-up-eating soba/udon noodle shops), you don't have to shell out oodles to eat noodles. And to top it off, you can eat it up very quickly. Yes, it can be recommended when you're very busy.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Noodles restaurants are very popular but let's eat vegitables for our good health!!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

This is a photo of one of the restaurants of the Kanoya (かのや) chain that serve Sanuki udon (讃岐うどん) and nama soba (生そば), which is written on the blue noren shown in this photo.

Here are photos of the Shinbashi location posted on a blog of an udon aficionado: http://kazlog.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2015-02-21

Here are photos of Sanuki udon, which originates from Kawawa Prefecture: https://goo.gl/Tbkf5F

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Where is Kanawa prefecture ?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Where is Kanawa prefecture ?

@Kurobune

Typo, sorry. It should be Kagawa Prefecture.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I actually like to slurp now, but spaghetti sauce stains clothes.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Sodium Salt and carbs. Not the healthiest meal i can think of.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Though I pretty much like noodles, the sounds of a roomful of grown adults slurping their food is simply disgusting to me. I'll now only enter noodle shops if its spacious and empty.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

yum yum looks good

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I like soba better than udon. What about you?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@Meiyouwenti. In my opinion, "Ramen" (or chinese noodles) are better than both Udon and Soba. In the summer months, I prefer cold toro-Udon though.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

This is making me hungry...very hungry. I haven't had noodles or even pasta in a couple months. Now I want something noodle~y.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Not everyone slurps them, despite the caption above.

Many years ago my landlady in Kyoto became angry with me as I was enjoying her udon. "You obviously don't like them!" she said. I soon learned to break my silent European spaghetti-eating habits.

A month later I was in a Zen temple slurping away happily when the monk came over to thwack me hard with his baton. Ouch! "No slurping allowed!", he said firmly.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

If you can't handle the slurping of others eating noodles, Asia is not the place for you then. It does 2 things, it cools the noodles as they enter your mouth and is less likely to splash on your shirt. Try it both ways with a Curry Laksa for example and see which method creates less oil stains.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

If you can't handle the slurping of others eating noodles, Asia is not the place for you then. It does 2 things, it cools the noodles as they enter your mouth and is less likely to splash on your shirt. Try it both ways with a Curry Laksa for example and see which method creates less oil stains.

I'm from Malaysia, small country from South East Asia and I can testify to that !

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"Do not like slurping. I know, Japanese noodles taste better blah blah but it sounds rude and gross."

It does not.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Look at the unabashed joie de vivre on the diners' faces at enjoying such delightful food. They really know how to have a good time.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is basically Japanese fast food. I'll take it over a $7 combo at McDonald's any day.

And some more food for thought regarding slurping: Most Japanese don't like soggy noodles. They like their noodles "Al dente" (firm to the bite). That is another reason they slurp their noodles because if they waited even a couple of minutes for their noodles to cool, they will soak up the soup and become soft and soggy. Slurping allows you to eat your noodles while they are hot and firm.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Funny the cost to the shop for these meals is about 50-100 yen yet the flog it for 700 + Japanese price rigging as ever.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Funny the cost to the shop for these meals is about 50-100 yen yet the flog it for 700 + Japanese price rigging as ever.

Ohwell. 500 yen, who cares? As long as there aren't any cockroaches at those places. In the US, any establishment known to have a cockroach infestation problem are IMMEDIATELY shut down.

In Japan, they just look the other way. Ohhh my! Those hole n' the wall izakayas . . . if only I'd have known better.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I started the paleo diet recently so noodles, slurped or not, are no longer an option.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Slurping intensify the aromatic of the noodle and the dashi. Slurping has nothing to do with keeping your clothes clean or cooling the noodle, Wine tasters slurp wine, they are not doing this so they can keep their clothes clean or tempering the wine. I can understand why people find this slurping offensive in a Country were in common to bath with the community. When I first arrive in Japan the thought go bathing with a group of overweight old Japanese man was gross. Now it is a daily ritcutural, along with slurping.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Kobe White Bar Owner: And what do you think the cost of making a sandwich at Subway is? What about a cup of coffee at Starbuck's? Now that's ridiculous.

Wc626: It sounds like you only frequent really high-class establishments in the US, because I've been to many a shop in the US (Texas for example) where I'll see la cucaracha running around. My friend got served fried rice with a cockroach at a Chinese restaurant in TX and that place has been around for ages. In hot and/or humid regions of the world, it's nearly impossible to keep cockroaches out of an establishment. I think the key is if the food you serve is out of their reach or not.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Funny the cost to the shop for these meals is about 50-100 yen yet the flog it for 700 + Japanese price rigging as ever.

Tell us, what is the markup on alcohol at the bar you own? Knowing how much bars mark up alcohol, it seems like you should be the last one complaining about this. You can buy a bottle of cheap tequila for around 2000 yen, with ~26 shots in it. Sell each of those for 500 yen, and you are at ~12,500 yen. A markup of over 800%.

Markup is how businesses survive. It's not something to complain about - if they weren't marking up, the business would fail, and no one could use that business.

As for the taste changing by slurping, I don't buy it. I'm a noodle slurper, because that's how they are eaten, but I don't think it changes the taste or flavor at all, it's just a lot easier to eat that way, which makes it an appropriate way to eat noodles.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@ Tahoochi & Strange

Yes of course retailers have mark ups me included. I was referring to the these noodle store which are basically selling bowl of noodle in a soap and offers very little nutritional value, just sodium salt and carbs,Ill never understand it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Slurping is to enjoy special aroma of Soba, not for Udon and Ramen. Soba is better in East Japan and Udon is better in West Japan. The further you take distance from Tokyo, Ramen gets more delicious.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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