Finding noodles in a haystack

[dr4b]

You know, I really don't like instant noodles all that much; I got sick of ramen back in college and all. Also, most of the instant noodle bowls here have freeze-dried meat or other such things in them, which just sort of grosses me out. (I'm not vegetarian, I just don't like certain kinds of processed foods like that.) I've tried a few different types and I'm just not really into most of them.

But, a week or two after getting here I stumbled by random chance upon a kind of instant noodles that I actually really love. They're called "moyashi soba", which basically means "soba with bean sprouts"; it's vegetarian. The particular Yokohama brand I found is also just plain tasty; it comes with a really good sauce thickener. However... for some reason, it's been really hard to find more moyashi soba. The grocery across the street from me carried it at first, but then they stopped. Max Valu never did carry it. I remembered that Big A "discount", where everything was expensive, had some different moyashi soba though it had been like 200 yen per, instead of the 99 for the Yokohama brand.

Anyway, tonight I stopped by Big A on a whim and they had my moyashi soba. For 89 yen per, no less! I debated buying out their entire supply but instead settled on four bowls.

As for the rest of the day, eh. I was originally supposed to meet up with katharos at lunchtime but I sort of screwed that up by not explaining my schedule well enough, and also by forgetting that well, she can't get in and out of train stations very easily with a kid and a stroller. So instead I spent my hour of lunchish time getting kaitensushi and shopping at a bunch of 100-yen shops to get supplies for my kids' class.

I can't remember much else to say about the day. I got dinner at McDonald's, and they gave me a coupon book for the month of October, making it tempting to eat there more. Ugh. On the other hand, I weighed N this morning, where N is approximately 15 pounds less than I did when I left Seattle, and it's not even like I'm making an effort to lose weight or anything. The annoying thing is that while my clothes are becoming a bit baggy on me, I'm still about 25 pounds over where I'd like to be, and I'm too big to buy clothes in Japanese sizes. Sigh.

I'm a little sad that Microsoft Puzzle Hunt is this weekend and I won't be there for it. This is the first one I've missed in like, four years! Very sad. I got really homesick reading garzahd's entry about getting ready for it... I suddenly felt like I should be back in Seattle gathering stuff, ramping up my puzzle skills, etc... but instead, I'll be halfway around the planet. I wonder if the team (huh, it occurs to me I don't even know the team name for sure this time -- Go Blinking Liboncatipu?) will be done by the time I get home from Yokohama on Sunday night, since it'll be Sunday at 6-7am at that point in Seattle.

Comments

[kamendae.livejournal.com]

It kinda needed some punctuation, so:

Go Blinking, Liboncatipu!

:)

Instant Noodles

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

I usually go for anything that's kitsune udon/soba. Also vegetarian, if you like inari you might try it. Or miso-flavor anything.

On the other hand, after the soukenbicha incident, I'm not sure how appliable to you my taste in food is. :)

[cdinwood.livejournal.com]

My favorite instant ramen in Japan was called "九州ラーメン" or somesuch. It was maximally boring ramen with the creepy red ginger, thickener, kamaboko &c. But I would not be surprised if were limited to actually being found in Kyushu.

I kind of miss it.

[msde.livejournal.com]

I usually add an egg and some green onions when I still make ramen. I chop and freeze batches of those. Most of my instant ramen consumption came during a stretch of unemployment though, so it's been a while.

[teravell.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Moyashi Soba is a seasonal summer dish.
I'm obsessed with Hiyashi Chuuka -- it's not instant, really, but you get noodles and pour sauce on them, and it's got vegetables and sliced sandwich ham and egg and stuff you can put on top and it's delicious. I ate it practically every day in July. But now it's all going away again. ::sniffle::

[shandrew.livejournal.com]

I like instant noodles that use rice noodles or mung bean noodles. the typical ramen ones are usually pre-fried in nasty oil so they aren't all that good for you. The rice/bean noodles are just plain noodles.

Next time i go to japan i must find a 100-yen sushi place. Maybe springtime.