for a cup of hot ramen!

Oh woe is me! My roommate told me a couple of weeks ago that she had a craving for ramen, and took my one and only cup (which was incidentally left here by a visiting friend). It was nice that she told me, but she never got around to replacing it. I mean, "hey I ate your __". Fine, it's just ramen, but it's the principle really.

I had a rather privileged childhood and instant noodles (or ramen as it's called here) were a rare treat. I adored instant noodles, mostly because I wasn't given it. My mom usually bought those that came in little packs, but I was somewhat aware of the other variety, those that came in cups. But it took unusual circumstances for me to finally get my first bite of cup noodles.

I was maybe 9, or 10. I can't remember. Anyway, our family was on vacation in Hong Kong. I think it was a stopover on the way back from the US, which meant I was probably 13. But it sounds silly that I was so old when I had my first cup ramen. Maybe I was 9 or 10.

Anyway, we were mostly sick, some flu or cold, and no one wanted to get out of the hotel for real food. I also didn't like Hong Kong very much coz it was always gray and grimy when I visited. My dad went out to probably a convenience store (like 7-Eleven) and bought a few cups of ramen. Sick and not very hungry, I was still excited about my first cup of ramen. I remember it was delicious.

It was a blue-lid Nissin cup noodle, probably seafood flavored since it was blue. It had little floaty bits of carrots, corn and peas in it, and tiny bits of mostly unidentifiable seafood. You can see the tiny shrimp thought, and those were adorable. The noodles were shorter and thinner than those found in packs -- cute! They were chewier (probably coz my mom usually cook regular ramen for too long). The salty broth was sweet. I probably would have drank every last drop of it, except my parents probably stopped me coz it was unhealthy. Ah, my first cup of ramen!

I'm slightly hungry and it's rather cold tonight (forecast estimated a low of 45F). Walking home, I suddenly developed a craving for warm soup and miniature noodles in a styrofoam cup, preferably seafood flavored. Despite all those years in college, I never really had to resort to eating ramen, nor did I get the chance very much. Somewhere, buried in my mind, is that cup of ramen from years ago.

I think I'm dropping by the grocery store tomorrow. Just in case I get that once in a 12-year craving for a blue-lid cup of Nissin ramen. For now, a slice of cheese (Havarti, only Havarti) on toast must suffice.