Ramen, (Oh) Boy!

If you’ve never had Ramen before, I feel sorry 4 u.

Let me take you on a virtual food journey to tell you what it’s like.

1) Ramen makes you feel better.

You know what they say, have soup for when you’re sick. After all, soups give comfort, duh. It is healing. It’s gonna mend you. 

It’s mending things you didn’t even KNOW you needed mending for in the first place! (Crazy, right?)

Sometimes, though, you know exactly what Ramen’s gonna heal for you. Ill? Have Ramen. Unhappy? Have Ramen. Bad day? Have Ramen.

Ramen puts a smile on your face. Your cheeks will hurt from smiling so much once you realize how much you enjoy that bowl of Ramen.

2) Ramen makes you feel unapologetic.

It makes you shamelessly yourself. Authentic.

How? By slurping it. You MUST slurp it.  It’s considered rude not to. 😡

You’re gonna slurp it without feeling embarrassed. Without an ounce of shame. 

Everyone else seems to be doing it too, so why won’t you?

It can’t be that hard. Go for it. Don’t just stare at it. SLURP. IT.

Just be yourself (Whatever THAT means). You’ll figure it out as you eat.

3) Ramen makes you feel comfortable.

It makes you warm. Gives you that fuzzy feeling inside. It’s tingly.

Ramen makes you full. So full. STUFFED, actually. Like a turkey on Thanksgiving. Stuffed with happiness, that is. 

Eating Ramen makes you content. To quote Marie Kondo, it sparks joy.

As you eat, you obviously can’t speak (I mean, technically you could if you’re an ill-bred sonuvabeetch) so Ramen makes you find comfort in silence. Enjoyable silence, WUUUUUT?!?!

It makes you wanna fall asleep, asap. Right then and there. And not worry about a single thing. That’s how comfortable it feels! Even if it’s your first ever bowl! (Feeling sleepy is a good indicator of comfort, ya know.)

It’s like there’s only this bowl of ramen and you, nothing else. The whole world slows down, moves rapidly and stops at the same time. It’s surreal. Like an orgazzzm in your mouth (and tummy). 🤯

4) Ngl, Ramen also makes you feel anxious.

The chopsticks may be the only tricky part. I know it’s not an issue for everyone, but it is for me!

I don’t know how to use them. How the f*ck are you supposed to eat soup with chopsticks? I guess I can pick up a noodle with them here and there, but how do you use them throughout the whole meal, srsly?

I may not look like it, but I’ve never used chopsticks before. I’m a chopstick newbie. A chopstick fraud. A chopstick virgin. 

Ok lol that’s a lie. I did use them before. But like, never the “correct” way. I told myself I was but really, I wasn’t.

I just kinda winged it. Convinced myself (and maybe everyone else?) that I knew how to handle them. But the truth is, I never did. It was all play and pretend. 

For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me! Like I was broken for not knowing how to use them! 

I felt unworthy of eating Asian cuisine. Like me and my taste buds were not deserving of it.*

I tried real hard to get that chopstick thing right, but I never learned how to do it. UGH.

How was I supposed to know how? My parents didn’t teach me. They can’t use chopsticks themselves!!! We never ate with chopsticks in our household! We never as much as uttered the word chopstick. I never had the chance to look up to them for guidance, or whatever. There was no foundation laid out for me.

Yeah, I know, no need to whine. mimimimimi. There’s other ways to learn it. I realized that the older I got.

There’s youtube videos, and probably books, on how to use chopsticks, right? Yeah, well, still unhelpful.

What else to do then, you ask? I had to give it a go myself, DUH.

It’s more of a learning-by-doing kinda thing. Trial and error. Like with everything else in life.

Still, it’s FRUSTRATING sometimes. Not knowing how to use chopsticks properly. It’s the only thing standing in the way of me enjoying my bowl of Ramen in its entirety. Because I always worry.

I’ll figure it out myself as I go, the longer I use it, though! I think. Idk. I hate not knowing things. (For example, I always have to google the menu of a restaurant, imagine how I feel when there’s NO menu to be found online?!). I hate not knowing the outcome. But I guess I’m just gonna embrace the anxiety-inducing unknown for once? 🥴 **

Did I convince you to try Ramen yet?

If so, ok kewl, but I’m not sharing my bowl with you, just saying.

To cut my food review short: Try Ramen, give it a try, even if, or ESPECIALLY if you’re unfamiliar with it. You may be surprised by its taste! (Plus, there’s a bunch of different flavors to choose from, so there’s probably something out there for everyone.) Also, if you’re anything like me and don’t know how to eat soup with chopsticks, just pray that whoever cooked that Ramen will understand your lack of food etiquette knowledge, respect the effort you put in, and most of all, show you plenty of patience regardless.

 

 

*I quit being so harsh eventually. What did I do for not being worthy of Asian cuisine? NOTHING. That’s silly. I am a lovely person with lovely taste buds. We are all worthy of tasting Asian cuisine, nom nom.

**I’m preeetty sure the first think you gotta do is to admit that you don’t know how to use chopsticks. Just get over yourself. Your ego. And your pride. And say it.