Some people may have different associations when they think of Japan, but I had two things in mind upon receiving the invitation of the Japan National Tourism Organization (www.jnto.go.jp/philippines) and the Japan Tourism Agency (www.visitjapan.jp) to a familiarization tour of Tokyo last June: Hachiko and sushi. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
In the past few years, traveling to Japan has become affordable, with more flights on low-cost carriers and the rise in popularity of Airbnb.
In the past, any claim that a specialty food or cuisine was authentic—whether pizza, pasta, shawarma, roast beef, Vietnamese, Thai—was accepted as truth.
For a rarified experience and a respite from the usual fare, check out Rikuseki An in Legazpi Village
The Korea International Noodle Expo 2018, the nation’s biggest celebration of instant noodles, has announced it will specially create a zone for products from North Korea.
IN SINGAPORE I always try to have my fill of hawker food, although I usually switch to pure comfort in a bowl of ramen especially in Uma Uma at the Forum Mall.
“How can people eat ramen more deliciously? How can people enjoy it more? That’s something I’m always thinking of,” said Ippudo founder and Ramen King Shigemi Kawahara, who has devoted 30 years of his life to raising ramen standards.
You can’t go wrong with a cuisine that has evolved through 2,000 years. If anyone has truly mastered the culinary arts—fancy as the French may be—I’d have to place my bet on the Japanese, who have mastered the art not only of cooking but also of developing ingredients from their source, taking freshness and flavor to a different level.
Don’t be put off by Yushoken’s dining rules, because the ramen is excellent
There was a time, when I was working at Rogue Magazine, that there were few places to eat along Chino Roces Avenue Extension (formerly Pasong Tamo).
