Day 336:
A perfect world doesn't exist. Nor does a perfect bowl of ramen. But that doesn't keep us from striving to find perfection in every sense of the word. One who is satisfied is usually one who has had enough. Are you satisfied? I'm not.
I spent the late morning trying to figure out how to get done what I needed to get done. I will be leaving for LA in a couple days (oh did I not tell you?) and I still needed to go to the ward office, the pension office, and the department store to buy gifts. On my way to the ward office, I stopped by Cique to use the free toppings that nobody ever claimed, but they're not open for lunch on Monday's and stupid me thought it was Thursday. haha. So of course I had to find a backup. And that backup was the Suginami Taishoken (青梅街道 大勝軒 杉並).
Mind you, not all Taishoken's are alike. Most just bear the name and people seem to think that there is a relation. Anyway, this Taishoken might actually be somewhat related to the Ikebukuro Taishoken that invented morisoba a.k.a. tsukemen.
This Taishoken Morisoba jam-packed with chashu, menma, egg, and wontons, expensively priced at 1,140 yen, was actually pretty decent and good. But was I satisfied? Nope.
On my way to the pension office I stumbled upon this parked yatai (ramen cart) and instantly became beyond excited. I want one of these!!
At work, I tried experimenting some more with my version of shoyu ramen. Was I satisfied? Well, yes and no. I can do better.
Shuga's friend stopped by and dropped off some okashi (sweets).
These were not sweet at all. Satisfied? Hell no!
Then Shuga's friend Mozya stopped by to hang out after we closed. Mozya is a cool dude who owns a jeans shop in Shimokitazawa. If you want some cool denim, check out his website!
Although I continue to live this ramen dream of mine and consider myself very lucky, there may come a day where I've decided I've had enough. But that day is definitely not today and nor will it be tomorrow. Satisfaction is not the goal. I strive for what can't be attained only to believe that it can.
:) really really liked this entry.
ReplyDeleteHa! That rickety cart reminds me of this crazy fantacy I've been having lately of starting a ramen food truck and taking it to Mammoth for the winter. Snowboarding and ramen would make a great combo! I just need to learn to make ramen....Of course, if someone wants to take this idea and run with it, I'd be just as happy buying ramen in Mammoth as making it.
ReplyDeleteIs that an active yatai?
ReplyDelete