Eating Habits

Pork and Wakame Ramen. We had ramen for lunch yesterday. This particular restaurant is supposed to be so good that even celebrities have eaten there. But it's not the small quaint Japanese shop that I have seen before on Japan hour. It's a rather big restaurant and apparently it's also something like a franchise. The main restaurant is located on Osaka central's food district, Dotombori.

Perhaps it's because the only ramen I've ever eaten are in Singapore so this being the 1st bowl of ramen in Japan, I have to say it is rather yummy. It doesn't taste like 'Maggi' noodles at all. The pork slices were generous and tender. The soup is also quite tasty, although a little on the salty side.

I have been trying for the passed few days to learn how to slurp my noodles or to eat with some slurping noise. But I just wasn't able to do it. Whenever I tried to slurp up the noodles, I always end up sucking in only air while the noodles remain dangling from my mouth!

Another thing that I have noticed while staying here is the speed at which they eat. The Japanese eat extremely quickly, especially lunch. I always find myself the last one to finish and it's getting somewhat embarrassing. I'm not used to eating my meals so quickly so it does get uncomfortable when I have to speed up so that I can at least finish only a few minutes after they are done. The only meal that they appear to eat a little slower is dinner.

Fukuda san explained that it's because since breakfast and lunch are eaten during the day, the Japanese eat faster at these meals so that they can get to work quickly (b'fast) and have more time to rest (lunch). But dinner they can take a little longer since it's the end of the day and they can relax. But I suppose when you form a habit of eating quickly for 2 out of 3 meals a day, it just becomes a natural way of eating.

Oh well, I suppose I will just have to continue trying to keep up as best as I can.