Have you ever eaten instant noodles? Today, more than 900 million packets of instant noodles are eaten around the world.
Instant noodles are dried noodles packed with seasonings, and eaten after being cooked in boiling water or just added hot water. It is often criticized as junk food but when thinking about our daily meals, instant noodles have been an important part of our diet since Nissin’s instant noodles were developed by the company’s founder Momofuku Ando in 1958.
Located in Osaka, the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen(noodle) Museum introduces the history and various samples of instant noodles sold at home and abroad and also you can make your own Cup Noodle there.
Get an empty cup for 300 yen and design it as you like by using colored pens. Then go to the counter. The staff makes your own Cup Noodle depending on your favorite soup flavor and topping ingredients. You can see how the noodles are set, sealed and shrink-wrapped the cup.
I chose SIO(salt flavor) for soup and bits of meat, cheese, garlic and asparagus for topping. Actually I hardly eat instant noodles these days but I can’t wait to taste my noodle!
By the way, I heard the flavor is adjusted to suit the local tastes. For example, noodles are short in Europe and the U.S. because they don’t have a custom of slurping noodles. While chicken and vegetable flavors are popular in Europe and the U.S, spicy beef flavor in China and curry flavor with less soup in India.
The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum (Osaka)
Open: 9:30-16:00 daily except for Tuesday
*In case a national holiday is on Tuesday, closed on Wednesday
Entrance Fee: Free