Sunday, July 14, 2013

the ramen cart

This etegami was inspired by a TV commercial that has been stuck in repeat-mode inside my head. It's part of a long series of gently humorous commercials for Maruchan Brand instant ramen noodles, which feature an eccentric old ramen-stand proprietor and his young assistant. In this one, they have set up their stand on an almost-deserted windswept beach. A young man is yelling with frustration at the sea. They invite him over to the stand and he sits down. He confesses he has just been dumped by his girlfriend. "That's great," says the assistant. "Hot noodles will heal what ails ya," says the old man.

You can see a video of the commercial here.

10 comments:

  1. Hi, Debbie, brilliant! Those two posts give my nostalgia for Japan. BTW, in the States, a burger stand had onions(when I visited there ages ago). In Australia, I do not see it. Is it a sort of cultural difference??
    Cheers, Sadami

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    1. Thanks, Sadami. :)

      I lived only a few years in the US and not at all in Australia, so I wouldn't know about the onions. However, I imagine it is a difference in the burger companies themselves, rather than a difference in the national cultures. I try to avoid making generalizations just from a few personal experiences.

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    2. Hi, Debbie, thank u for a kind and wise answer. I have to correct my poor English! That was a "HOT DOG"!! Yes, I saw "minced onions" at a hotdog stand in the States. In Australia, BBQed = only cooked onions on a hot dog.
      Cheers, Sadami

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  2. I love this, it looks very inviting!

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  3. Excellent advice for the broken-hearted! A lovely little painting :)

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  4. Beyond cute. Love the story and will have to see the commercial. Wish we had had more of those here in the States.

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  5. There's also a movie about it - "The Ramen girl". Nothing special, but interesting because of ramen :)

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  6. I love it! What a wonderfully adorable little stand. Beautifully painted.

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