The Peking Duck reports that
a great man is gone:
Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant ramen, has died. A Japanese hybrid of Godzilla and Ray Kroc, Momofuku's Nissin Foods burst on the scene in 1958 with "Chikin Ramen" - as a luxury item, no less. Yes, those Cups O' Noodles that fueled exam cramming or unemployment were considered Space Age food for a world that was so on the cusp of providing you a flying car, jetpack AND DisneyMars that you could taste it. And it tasted like "Chikin", apparently.
Born in Taiwan with the name 吴百福, or Wu Baifu, Momofuku went to Japan when he was orphaned as a small child....
[Taiwan] [Japan] [ramen noodles] [instant noodles]
wow! he was born in Taiwan! awesome. it's interesting that pow mien as more expensive than grabbing a bowl of fresh noodles then.
ReplyDelete-Amy
more important than that, he was born in Chiayi County! according to the Japan Times. and he lived in Chiayi for the first 23 years of his life. 1910-1033. so include him with the likes of Wu Bai and Lin Hwa-min. Chiayi blood!
ReplyDeleteSomeone add that to wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteIt's official, then. I now know whose statues should replace Chiang Kai-shek's.
ReplyDeleteThe Wu Baifu Memorial Hall. Has sort of a ring to it, doesn't it?