with Ivan yeah we're just talking
talking Ramen yeah as we do when he
makes it back here so you know I'm sure
most people know most people who know
food stuff know that uh Ivan went back
to New York last
year did some stuff what what have you
done out there now so back to New York
um went back to New York um I I wrote a
b book yeah so I both wrote The ivvan
Ramen book um which was like a year-long
process it took it took a long time um
but it was a really fun project and
people seem to be liking it so it's
really exciting um and then I opened two
ramen shops um one is sort of a simple
one um more of a fast casual idea and
the other one's more of a more towards a
a real restaurant idea um have a full
full kitchen of of cooks and Waiters and
mates and the whole thing so the whole
fast casual thing like I always found in
America that one thing that wasn't
working with the shops is that people
would go in and take so much time to eat
and you know the thing out here the best
shops in Tokyo people are in and out in
10 minutes you might wait for 2 hours
but right you're eating you're slurping
you're out right uh how's how's I meakes
now people eat a ball of ramen in 40
minutes it's just um you know you can't
really judge it because it's a whole new
cultural thing and you know if you've
been to Japan enough or if you live here
or you're really into Ramen you get it
that you know a bowl of ramen is is to
me as a chef whenever when I first
started all this and I would make a bowl
of ramen I I panic as soon as I put the
noodles in the soup I'm starting to
panic because I know they're overcooking
and I want to you know I I mean my my my
noodles take I don't know in this shop
in in in in New York they're I think
they're 40 seconds here I think they're
35 it's you know I can make a bowl Ramen
in 2 minutes and I get it to the
customer as fast as possible and I want
them to eat it as fast as possible um
but in America you can't make people do
things you know I mean people get in
Japan you can actually say to somebody
eat your Ramen oh it happens all the
time I take two photos and they're
yelling
yeah I've gone outside in Japan and I
put the ramen the guy's outside on the
phone and I say your ramen's ready and
he says I'm on the phone I said well get
off the phone or I'm going to throw your
Ramen in the garbage and I'll give you
money back and you can take a hike
because I serve Ramen and you can eat it
my way or the highway but in what if you
did that in New York people get really
upset you you can't I I wouldn't and I
you know I I don't know if you read
there was an article about me in the New
York Times and they quoted me because it
was this is a true story a a gal came in
and she she pic you you pick up your own
Ramen at the at the at the slurp shop
and she put it down and then she was
walking
away oh
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nice both of my shops I have all
different kinds of cartoons about eating
all your how to eat your Robin fast I
have a big comic strip on a light box
that we built um so in in in diners and
in ramen shops you know you have these
light boxes that have the menus yeah on
them so instead of having a menu I had
an artist make a comic strip of people
slurping Ramen and eating it quickly and
having the empty bowl and just trying to
nudge people along and with a with a
sort of a wink without being a jerk
about it yeah because you know I'm a
Hospitality dude so if someone says look
I want to eat my Ramen and I don't care
if it takes me an hour I'll say you know
what enjoy your Ramen I'm just telling
you that if you slurp it it's fun you
get to make a lot of noise you get to
Splash fat and soup everywhere and the
noodles taste better when you eat them
while they're alente and it tastes
better when you eat when the soup's
burning hot it just tastes better you
got to get people over their anxiety cuz
yeah slurping that's that's rude it is
making noise yeah you know you did it
when you were when you were three and
you were immediately told no no no right
you're not allow slur make noise I slurp
everything I'm in trouble with my wife
all the time I go to Italian restaurants
slurp spaghetti I I get I get caught
with that yeah I slurp spaghetti
too um so that's the scene in New York
and I think you like I said people are
you know right now in New York most of
the I mean I serve a very light style
double soup in Tokyo it's having a
Resurgence it's really popular people
really get it in America people come to
my shop and they see my soup in like
that's not Ramen you know the ramen is
over there where it's white and creamy
and fatty and it's like well you know I
like that too and eido makes good ramen
and Toto ramen's got fun Ramen and they
got you know all those places they're
good they're legit you know and I think
what you were saying before you know
when I decided when I first started
making ramen I found that when I ate the
heavier Ramen I liked it but I didn't
feel good afterwards or I want to curl
up and have a nap yeah and you can't
always curl up and have a nap after you
eat you know and so I started
discovering the lighter style places and
I went to Jan and I went to nakamuraya
and I went to all those places and all
of a sudden I was like whoa what is this
this is this is good you know and so
when I decided to have my own shop
that's what I started like playing
around within my kitchen and started to
try to figure out how to make that
lighter style so that you know you could
have that every single
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day
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