Juzo Itami's Tampopo (1986) retails the search for the perfect bowl of noodles, and Tampopo's (the character) quest to become the perfect noodle purveyor.
A NY Times article describes one reporter's similar quest:
NOT far from Waseda University in Tokyo, around the corner from a 7-Eleven, down a tidy alley, lies a ramen shop that doesn’t look like a ramen shop. In fact, Ganko, as it’s called, doesn’t look like anything at all. There’s no sign, no windows, only a raggedy black tarp set like a tent against a tiled wall, with a white animal bone dangling from a chain to signal (somehow) what lies within.
Past the tarp and through a sliding glass door is Ganko proper. Five stools are lined up along a faux-wood counter, and above it a thin space opens like a proscenium onto a small kitchen, crusted black with age and smoke but hardly dirty. The lone performer is a ramen chef. With a week’s stubble on his chin, his eyeglasses fogged with steam and a towel wrapped around his neck, he certainly looks ganko, or stubborn, and he speaks hardly a word as he methodically fills bowls with careful dollops of flavorings and fats, ladles of rich broth, noodles cooked just al dente and shaken free of excess water, a slab of roast pork, a supple sheet of seaweed, a tangle of pickled bamboo shoots. All is silent until the final moment, when the chef drizzles hot oil on top and the shreds of pale-green scallion squeal and sizzle.
From then on there is only one sound — the slurping of noodles. Oh, it’s punctuated by the occasional happy hum of a diner chewing pork or guzzling the fat-flecked broth, or even by the faint chatter of the chef’s radio, but it’s the slurps that take center stage, long and loud and enthusiastic, showing appreciation for the chef’s métier even as they cool the noodles down to edible temperature.
(Continued)
Past the tarp and through a sliding glass door is Ganko proper. Five stools are lined up along a faux-wood counter, and above it a thin space opens like a proscenium onto a small kitchen, crusted black with age and smoke but hardly dirty. The lone performer is a ramen chef. With a week’s stubble on his chin, his eyeglasses fogged with steam and a towel wrapped around his neck, he certainly looks ganko, or stubborn, and he speaks hardly a word as he methodically fills bowls with careful dollops of flavorings and fats, ladles of rich broth, noodles cooked just al dente and shaken free of excess water, a slab of roast pork, a supple sheet of seaweed, a tangle of pickled bamboo shoots. All is silent until the final moment, when the chef drizzles hot oil on top and the shreds of pale-green scallion squeal and sizzle.
From then on there is only one sound — the slurping of noodles. Oh, it’s punctuated by the occasional happy hum of a diner chewing pork or guzzling the fat-flecked broth, or even by the faint chatter of the chef’s radio, but it’s the slurps that take center stage, long and loud and enthusiastic, showing appreciation for the chef’s métier even as they cool the noodles down to edible temperature.
(Continued)
Slurping in the movie was considered inappropriate in foreign countries like Italy and America, however in Japan and China slurping is considered a good thing? The sound is an indicator that the food is being consumed which gives the cook a sign of good food which then equals good business. I am guessing but find slurping to be disruptive at the table. Of course I come from a family that goes to dinner to eat and have conversation. For the Noodle bars, there is no conversation, their head is down and almost in the bowl. They don't talk to each other and they eat just as fast as the food arrived.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that this is a reflection of Japanese society at the time this movie was made. I used to go to a noodle shop in Atlanta in the 80's they were very quiet and the biggest insult was not to finish the broth at the end of the bowl. This was also shown in the film several times.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what a real chef in America would think if everyone on a given night just started slurping and sucking down their meals. Would they be offended or happy?
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the movie had a scene that showes ladies in a class on eating etiquette and being told to not slurp their noodles. But they do it anyway after seeing/hearing another man do it. I like that it was even taken farther by drawing out and dramatizing the scene. I feel it portrays how "stuck up" some cultures can be. **Nudge nudge....Americans It's kind of ridiculous to try to "quietly" eat noodles without making a sound.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article. I found the scene very funny. I was at lunch recently with someone who could not understand why pasta was being served with a spoon. Looking back, how would you know unless you had been taught to eat it that way. This scene in the film shows this well and I too felt that this portrays how "stuck up" some cultures can be.
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to tell me this all the time and before I watched the film I honestly thought he was just pulling my leg. Its crazy to think about cultural differences like this.
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