Instant ramen noodles have been one of my comfort foods since I was a kid. I wrote about how I even ate them raw as a kid in a previous 8Asians post, and how I’m still searching for the elusive and probably relegated to history “Sun Lih Men” brand of instant ramen noodles. When I was asked to review a new kid’s book, The Discovery of Ramen, I jumped on the chance, even though my daughter is probably a little too old (she’s twelve now) for the picture book format of this title. The new book is from the same publisher and one of the authors and illustrators of the Chinese New Year kids books, Tales from the Chinese Zodiac including the most recent one, The Year of the Rooster, that I reviewed back in January of 2017.
While the book appeared to target a child younger than my daughter, I asked her if she’d be interested in reading it. When she saw the title, she said yes, as ramen noodles are also her favorite (she takes after her dad in that respect!). She sat and read the book completely engrossed in the contents. After she finished I asked her what she thought of the book, and she agreed with my initial assessment that the title was better suited for a younger child (ages 2 to 10), but she did thoroughly enjoy reading about the history of ramen, and how it came to be a staple for many Japanese restaurants.
If ramen figures highly among your child’s favorite foods, this will be a great addition to your reading library. The new book will release on November 14, 2017.
Footnote: Unfortunately I never found a source for the elusive “Sun Lih Men”, but I know I’m not the only one looking. It appears the factory that manufactured these instant noodles burned down, and none of the other brands seem to satisfy the taste buds of those who had the original “Sun Lih Men”.
