Serving Sake to a (Hungover) Serb: Samurai Noodle
Click here to read the introduction to the new weekly Voracious column: Serving Sake to a Serb.
Behold, the Samurai Armour Bowl.
The morning after St. Patrick's Day, my boyfriend Slavko woke up hungover and hungry as hell. I suggested a big bowl of ramen as a remedy.
"Top Ramen?"
"No. Just... ramen. Real ramen."
The blank expression on his face indicated that his ramen experience was limited to the pre-packaged noodles made with hot water. This was unacceptable.
I decided to take him to Samurai Noodle (606 Fifth Ave S.), a small ramen shop hidden in the back of the Uwajimaya building. Enough people know about it however, that every table was taken when we walked in. They all sat elbow to elbow, hunched over steaming bowls of soup.
"It must be good," Slavko said in a pleased tone. He didn't complain about waiting in line. Instead, he used the time to observe everyone's food, ramen with thick slices of pork, mushrooms, green onions, roasted seaweed, and a flavored hard-boiled egg. It made his Top Ramen look absolutely pathetic.
Slavko's previous experience with ramen.
Slavko decided on the tonkotsu ramen, noodles in a pork bone simmered broth. He made sure to get all the extra toppings, too. He admired the fancy presentation before picking up his chopsticks. "Nice," he said approvingly.
He slurped down some noodles, then picked up a slice of roasted pork from the plate of extra toppings. Back and forth he went. I realized he thought the latter was intended as a side dish.
"Um, those are actually toppings for your ramen," I informed him.
"Are you sure?" Slavko asked dubiously.
"Positive."
He hesitated, then dumped everything but the seaweed into his bowl. "It smells too fishy," he explained. "If it has a fishy smell, I'm gonna have to pass." (Perhaps a good rule of thumb in other situations, as well.)
Slavko loved everything about Samurai Noodle sans the seaweed. He enjoyed the generous amount of noodles, the tender slices of pork, the array of miscellaneous ingredients. "It even comes with a hard boiled egg!" he enthused. "I love hard boiled eggs."
His only misgiving was the hangover. "Right now, I need something greasy, like a cheeseburger." he said. "I want to come here again. But not after a night like last night."
Understandable. I just wanted him to recognize the potential of real ramen. Slavko said he was impressed. But, being a loyal customer for so many years, he was also quick to come to Top Ramen's defense.
"Top Ramen has its benefits, too," he reminded me. "It's easy to make, it's super cheap. It isn't fair for you to compare a $10 dish with a $1 dish."
Then go back to Top Ramen, I told him.
"No, thanks."
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
