Great minds think alike! 8 Apr 2020, 9:00 pm

Bullet time with the Insta360 One 6 Nov 2017, 12:00 pm

Airboat fun near New Orleans 8 Sep 2017, 3:17 pm

NYC vs Chicago – Noodle fight 28 Jun 2017, 12:27 am

NYC : Hide-Chan Ramen

The entrance to the restaurant is very reminiscent of the queuing process at a “fun” park! The stairs that leads up to the restaurant has signs indicating the estimated wait time given your distance from the ramen! Luckily for, there’s no queue on a Monday afternoon at 5pm. However, within 10 mins the place begins to fill up.

The layout is a reasonably conventional arrangement a mixture of table to accommodate groups and a bar area with stools for the loners! The menu covers most of the usual except that you can choose the type of noodles; straight or wavy and then firm to soft. As it’s happy hour I start off with a sake and spicy pork bun.

I plum for the wavy firm noodles with spicy garlic broth which are delivered moments after finishing the delicious pork bun. The noodles were indeed wavy and firm – a good chewy consistency with a very nice spicy broth. Given the ample overpour, the noodle/ sake combination is a winner!

Chicago : Ramen-san

Ramen-san is in the “River North” area of downtown Chicago.  A stones throw from the shops of the magnificent mile, Ramen-san is a more modern interpretation of a Japanese Noodle house.  The staff were courteous and very willing to help but it’s not the warm welcome of Hide-Chan Ramen. The menu is very similar which makes comparisons much easier!  So, pork bun to start followed by Tonkotsu Ramen with Sesame Chilli oil and accompanied by an aragoshi yuzu sake. No overpour here, but none the less, the yuzu sake is a very refreshing drink!.

To the ramen; the difference between the Ramen-san and Hide-Chan Ramen is immediately noticeable.  The chashu from the Chicago contender is thicker, mroe juicy and much more tasty! The broth is deep, smooth and nicely hot given the sesame chilli oil.  The noodles are wavy and properly chewy!  The molten egg (as described by the menu) is really molten – an amazing trick to pull that one-off!

WINNER : Ramen-san Chicago

Over all, Ramen-san wins this fight hands down.  The only disappointment was the setting – whilst nice and clean it lacks a more Japanese feel to it.

DAISHO Hakata Ramen 23 Jun 2017, 10:34 am

So, it’s Friday and the turn of the DAISHO Hakata Ramen.  Hakata ramen is supposed to be similar in nature to Tonkotsu; as in they’re both supposed to soup that is made from pork bones.  The Daisho noodles are much thinner that those you’d normally get with a Tonkotsu dish but complement the soup base.  However, it’s the noodles that drop the Daisho offering down the list!

So re-ordering the list from the original post (Build or Buy – the ramen noodle paradox!)

1. OTTOGI Jin Ramen
2. NONGSHIM Shin Ramyun
3. NONGSHIM Kimchi Ramyun
4. NISSIN Raoh Tonkostu
5. DAISHO Hakata Ramen
6. YUMYUM TomYum Shrimp

Those of you who looked at the original post will see that the order hasn’t changed (pure chance!) and that the Ottogi Jin Ramen are top.

So, while I’m currently waiting on a delivery of Nissin Demae Ramen Tonkotsu with Black Garlic Oil to arrive (and a business trip to NYC), the best noodle isn’t a single noodle – I would recommend combining the noodles from the Ottogi Jin Ramen with the soup broth from the Nissan Raoh Tonkostu.

Summer lightning 23 Jun 2017, 9:42 am

After a barmy hot day in Prague (38° C/ 101° F), along came the inevitable lightning and downpour.  Luckily, my Canon 7D had miraculously risen from the dead so I was able to capture a few of the good lightning strikes over the Church of Mother of God before Týn.

The photos were taken with a stock Canon EFS 18-55mm at f5.6, ISO 100 for around 13″.

Packet noodles – round two with NONGSHIM Kimchi Ramyun 22 Jun 2017, 10:31 am

NONGSHIM Kimchi Ramyun

Continuing on from the last noodle tasting post (Build or Buy – the ramen noodle paradox!), next up was the Nongshim Kimchi Ramyun.  The noodles are a little thicker and chewier than the Nissin Raoh variety.  However, the soup base is unsurprisingly kimchi in flavour.  There’s a good kick from the spice and overall a good balance to the larger noodles.  A good option but still not the tonkotsu I’m looking for!

Build or Buy – the ramen noodle paradox! 21 Jun 2017, 4:12 pm

On returning from a recent trip to the US, I decided to research a little more about 1) making home made ramen noodles & broth, and 2) what would be the best packet ramen noodle as a substitute!

So, a quick search on the web and I came across the recipe from luckypeach.com – a quick and easy method to make fresh alkaline noodles.  Following the recipe is easy until you get to the kneading part!   Having never been into baking, kneading the dough turned out to be a skill I was clearly missing (and had no real interest in acquiring!). Suffice to say the noodles were less than perfect (or edible)….

What’s the best packet ramen noodle?

Option 2 then….. Living in the Czech capital doesn’t bode well for an abundance of Japanese/ Korean noodle providers.  Referencing the amazing ramenrater.com, the best performing ramen noodle turned out to be the “Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle”.  A quick search on both local and EU based companies yielded an out of stock response.  That left the local supermarkets and niche Japanese market.

One bonus from this little shopping excursion was the purchase of some very nice, authentic Japanese noodle bowls from Japa Foods (https://www.japafoods.cz).  Anyway, the assembled collection included the following:

• OTTOGI Jin Ramen
• NONGSHIM Shin Ramyun
• NONGSHIM Kimchi Ramyun
• NISSIN Raoh Tonkostu
• DAISHO Hakata Ramen
• YUMYUM TomYum Shrimp

Notice!

Now, the yumyum noodles were included as a baseline to compare the cheapest variety with the increasingly more expensive specialist noodles. Also, when cooking the noodles I’ve normally added an egg, spring onion, a splash of seasame oil and chicken to complete the meal – these do not come in the packets!

OTTOGI Jin Ramen

The Jin Ramen were the first ones I tried and were surprisingly good! The noodle consistency was almost perfect and the soup base very tasty but not quite that creamy tonkotsu flavour I’m looking for.

NONGSHIM Shin Ramyun

Second up was the Shin Ramyun flavour noodles from Nongshim.  Ok, now these had a bit more of a kick to them (Spicy version) and had a similar consistency to the Ottogi Jin Ramen.  Still not the tonkotsu flavour but a good ramen choice.

NISSIN Raoh Tonkotsu

Next up was the very promisingly named Nissin Raoh Tonkotsu – the king noodles!  Straight away, the flavour of the soup broth put this to the top.  However, the noodles lack the girth and consistency of the Ottogi and Nongshim noodles.  So, top marks for taste but slips to nearly bottom due to the noodles (YumYum are bottom and won’t get a review!)

That’s as far as I’ve got on the tasting, the rest will be consumed over the next few days…

Good eats and sights in Chicago, IL 1 Jun 2017, 12:13 am

Sights

A short trip to Chicago is always fun – not quite as busy as New York but it’s got a charm of its own.   Staying at the historic Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Ave is very handy for easy access to all the key sights.  Firstly, the lakeside view from the hotel is amazing and secondly access to the foreshore is easy.

Food

There are plenty of options on the Hotel’s doorstep (including the in-hotel options!).  A great Ramen place is Niu B on the corner of E 9th    Street. Another must have is the hotdog served at the White Sox stadium.

Sights

River ride to Zámky-Podhoří. 18 May 2017, 12:01 pm

When the tourist number swell in the centre of Praha it’s time to get out along the less well beaten river path to Zámky-Podhoří. The route takes you out of town past the White Water Sport centre, the Praha Zoo and a significant number of riverside bars.