If Nietzsche Stole Ramen...

Shoryu
When: November 2012


OK, there's a reason for the silly title, it'll make sense if you read on, but for now it's time to talk noodles!  We found Shoryu by accident whilst waiting for the bus home on a cold November night.  Being fans in Japanese food we thought next time we're out in the west end we'll give this place a try.  A few weeks later such an opportunity came up and here we are!  Shoryu is owned and run by the same people as the Japan Centre across the road and serves up Tonkatsu Ramen in its various varieties accompanied by a few side dishes, beers, teas, sake and plum wine, what's not to like.  The service was good and friendly from the off, our food was served quickly and the wait staff seemed genuinely glad we chose their restaurant for dinner.  No too cool for school hundred yard stares checking out the clientèle and no tired and going through the motions service familiar from many of the great chain restaurants we often end up in.

The restaurant was completely full during our whole visit, the clientèle was mixed, but with a large part of the mix being middle aged Japanese.  I think this place was a whole lot less trendy then the many new ramen eateries up the road in Soho.  Anyway, we had seats right in the window and we were quickly given menus and asked for drinks.  My beer tasted fresh, cold and strong, just how I wanted it to be and my partners green tea was made with leaves and a strainer rather than a tea bag and was server in an attractive blue pot.  Our ramen followed shortly afterwards and although we'd ordered different kinds the only difference I could see was some mild chilli oil added to my broth (though after re-reading the menu online it appears to be green mustard leaves).  Anyway, on a frozen November evening this was heaven in a bowl and I really enjoyed my noodles.  We also took a side of gyoza which were OK, but I have to say I'm a sucker for the duck ones from Wagamama.  My main gripe with  the menu was it was quite hard to work out the differences between each of the ramen on offer and also it would have been nice to have a little more meat in the portion size.

In all it was a good value meal and I would be quite happy to return again for a pre or post film lunch or dinner.

On the Road (Walter Salles, 2012)
Where: Odeon Panton Street

There was something very telling about the screening of this film.  It was in a tiny, tiny room with a screen that wouldn't have looked out of place in the basement of a millionaires mansion, albeit one that had fallen on hard times and hadn't had the cash to renovate it since it was installed in 1984.  There was also one other noticeable feature of Screen 2 at the Odeon Panton Street, it was very easy to find the toilets, if the retro green, light polluting sign didn't get you then the stench of urinal cakes certainly does the trick.  Thank goodness this was an Orange Wednesdays screening!  Anyway, on with the film and I have to say I just about liked it.  For one it's beautifully shot: amazing landscapes, dirty apartments, the road, New York, San Francisco.  The jazz soundtrack is also very special and really fits the film well.

The problem with the film for me is that somehow the characters look and feel too clean, too modern.  I'd like to see more dirt, more broken teeth.  The other issue as well is the TV show Supernatural, every time Sal gave a big dumb grin it made me think of this show, I was waiting for a demon to pop up, a big bag of salt and some Dukes Of Hazard style driving (OK, we did get the Dukes of Hazard style driving).  Anyway, I'm getting side tracked.  If we ignore the modern looking characters and the fact that if you watch the show Supernatural you can't watch this film with a straight face we'll move on.  For anyone that has dabbled briefly with philosophy you will have as idea of Nietzsche's concept of the "superman" who lives every minute of life to the fullest, indulging in whatever he wants, whenever he wants.  Dean (Garrett Hedlund)is our Superman, with his wicked smile he leeches from friends, family with the promise of sex and good times.   When times are good everyone loves being with Dean, eventually they tire of being used by him, competing with him, being with him.  Our main protagonist Sal (Sam Riley)is case in point, struggling with writers block he follows Dean across the USA taking note of their adventures until he has a light bulb moment.  Trapped in Mexico and ill with dysentery, Dean abandons Sal as he has grown bored.  Later Dean bumps into Sal in New York, shivering with cold, nowhere to go, he appeals to Sal to take him in and promises a return to the good times they share.  Sal has moved on, smartly dressed, friends, a concert with tickets, not a hispter bar, sober, not under the influence.  Sal's writers block is over, the story is finished and so our film begins.

As I said, Dean's character is very hard to watch and impossible to like, as charming as he is.  The problem with the superman lifestyle is the harder you stick to it the more difficult it becomes running from whim to whim using up all those around you till like Dean you end up with nothing and nobody, does selling your body for sex really make you the ultimate superman...  Travelling home on the tube I felt good not being a Superman, living a varied life that wasn't just about me, it was certainly better than getting caught stealing ramen or sneaking into the cinema just in the name of living the life.

Shoryu: 9 Regent Street, London, SW1Y 4LR

Found In Nostalgia

Tokyo Diner

When: June 2012
Where: Chinatown, London and Odeon Covent Garden


I think this combination was a match made in heaven, simple delicious Japanese food with a heartwarming, nostalgic romance to follow.  We started going to Tokyo Diner as an alternative to Okawari, a Japanese/Korean restaurant a few doors up the road.  However, as Okawari has now changed name and possibly owners at least twice in the last few years we now are left with Tokyo Diner for cheap Japanese food.  The restaurant is supposed to be authentic Japanese complete with Japanese staff, small chairs and tables and a no tips policy.  The owner is authentically eccentric English.  A perfect combination indeed.

As we sat over green tea debating whether I should join my partner whilst visiting her family that weekend I realised how much I missed coming here and how long it had been.  The menu had changed a little and the prices had increase but once my Katsu Don arrived with steaming hot rice, freshly scrambled egg and pork in breadcrumbs I felt right at home.  As such a simple please was devoured with a cold can of beer and a warm glass life felt really good right down to the last grain of rice.  The one thing I really love is how fresh the food feels, though maybe one day I'll try something else on the menu that isn't Katsu Don!

Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)

After a filling and tasty meal it was time for the film.  We finally decided on Odeon Covent Garden, I can't remember exactly why.  For some reason they had three films starting at the same time and whilst I'm sure it helps with staffing costs the small lobby area was totally over-crowded and it was quite unpleasant to wait for the doors to open.  I was glad we got there early as the surprisingly (even though it was a Wednesday) the screening was completely full bar a few of the Premier seats.

I liked Moonrise Kingdom, the casting, acting and atmosphere was great but in particular it captured a world in transition where the outcasts become the wanted ones and the wanted ones become cast out a little, yet through human decency we all pull through.  I loved the nostalgia of the scout camp and of being 11 years old and taking your fist steps into an adult world.  In the case of our hero it is love and responsibility.  For our scouts it is acceptance of those different from yourself.  Bruce Willis' character is able to start a family and give someone a home.  For Ed Norton his Scout Master saves the day in the face of disaster after he overcomes his own mistakes.

The film is tied together with some Coen Brothers style narration that somehow made me think of the Big Lebowski and adds a layer of distance to the film that we often forget about.  We are watching a re-telling and not the story itself.  I think it also fits well with Wes Anderson's nostalgic images that look like a cross between a fashion shoot and a glossy magazine from the 1960s with a nice dose of exaggeration that comes from re-telling a story.

So in all a perfect evening of warm nostalgia from the copy of an authentic Japanese restaurant in the heart of London to the re-creation of small town (or in this case island!) American life in the 1960s.