It took him 30 years
Travel through more than 450 places in China just to find the bowl of noodles you love the most
Kazutoshi Sakamoto
Japanese ramen has a lot of hardcore fans around the world, but there is a Japanese grandfather who loves Chinese noodles.
Beginning in the 1970s, Kazutoshi Sakamoto traveled back and forth between China and Japan, spending 30 years traveling to more than 450 cities and regions and eating more than 3,000 bowls of Chinese noodles.
He always wore a photographer's vest, carried a camera, took a small book, a pen, and ate wherever he ate, he photographed and recorded wherever he went.
Kazutoshi Sakamoto traveled throughout China in hand-painted works
Where is Grandpa's favorite bowl of noodles? Suzhou soup noodles are definitely on the list.
Shanghai snow vegetable shredded meat noodles, Lanzhou beef ramen, Beijing fried sauce noodles, Yibin noodles, Guilin horse meat rice noodles also made him praise.
The bottom of the white soup noodles in the Suzhou soup pouring noodles
With more than 3,000 bowls of noodles under the belly, Sakamoto rated China's "Top Ten Noodle Soups" and "Five Dry Noodles".
In addition to his favorite noodles, the long-established "old antiques", the "local Internet celebrities" of the year, and the delicious food that is still active on the street are all included by him. Now it has been compiled into a book and published "Just for a Bowl of Good Noodles".
You also come to see if the bowl of noodles in your hometown is on the list?
01
"Top 10 Noodle Soup", "Five Dry Noodles"
Noodles everywhere compete for supremacy
The Suzhou soup noodles that Grandpa especially liked were eaten by the time-honored Zhu Hongxing. A bowl of stewed pork and shrimp noodles is not addictive, but also added belly noodles, meat noodles, and eat 3 bowls in a row.
He said that the taste of Suzhou noodles is like Japanese Kyushu ramen, and at the same time, it adds a touch of suzhou cuisine's unique sweetness, which is a perfect combination.
In 1998, Suzhou Zhu Hongxing old store
Later, when traveling to Shanghai, Sakamoto also made a special detour to Suzhou, invited his companions to revisit Zhu Hongxing, and ordered shredded meat, shrimp, fried fish, fried eel, eel paste, stewed meat, scallion oil mushrooms, fried meat, a total of 8 kinds of noodle toppings.
It can be said that it is true love.
How to eat "cross the bridge" of Su-style soup noodles: the noodles are separated from the toppings.
To say which noodle dish can compete with Suzhou noodles for No.1, Yibin noodles are the number one seed players.
Yibin noodles
When he took the first sip, Sakamoto took a cold breath—the pepper seemed to have a fire in his mouth.
Compared to the Japanese ramen he usually eats, the taste is very different.
However, after surviving that burst, the aroma of sprouts, sesame seeds, peanuts, and green onions came out. Chewing and swallowing slowly, the noodles seasoned with chili oil and salt are spicy and delicious, making him feast and indulge.
Equally strong contender is Guilin Horse Meat Rice Noodles.
Guilin horse meat rice noodles
One day in June 1997, after walking for a long time in the hot and windless streets, Kazutoshi Sakamoto and his companions finally found the local long-established "Yoehiken".
They learned from the locals, moved small benches to sit on the side of the road, took cold beer in one hand, and ate horse meat and rice noodles with brine dishes in the other.
Sakamoto ate 3 bowls himself, and his friends ate 4 bowls in a row, and at the end of the meal, he sweated profusely, and even his stomach was "crooked", but he was very happy.
In addition to these obvious favorites, he gave a full list of "Top Ten Soup Noodles" and "Five Dry Noodles" according to his preferences.
"Top 10 Noodle Soup" and "Top 5 Dry Noodles" Awards
The "Top Ten Soup Noodles" are: Chengde Noodles, Suzhou Fengzhen Noodles, Shanghai Snow Vegetable Meat Noodles, Yantai Fushan Ramen, Wuzhen Crispy Lamb Noodles, Zhengzhou Lamb Braised Noodles, Jingzhou Morning Noodles, Dazu Fried Sauce Noodles, Qishan Zhenzi Noodles, Lanzhou Beef Noodles.
The "five dry noodles" are: Ningjin daliu noodles, Turpan noodles, Yibin noodles, Guilin horse meat rice noodles, Guangzhou shrimp noodles.
Chef Chen, a premium pastry chef, is making dragon's whisker noodles
There are more than 1,000 kinds of Chinese noodles, and in addition to the delicious taste on the list, Grandpa also eats many other local specialty noodles.
Milk noodles from Kublai Khan's Summer Palace in Inner Mongolia, the most popular cold noodles in Yanji Jindalai Restaurant, Shanghai DexingGuan's signature braised hot sauce noodles, "one of the three monsters of Zhenjiang" pot lid noodles, Yiwu brown sugar noodles for ladies, large knife noodles in Sima Qian's hometown of Hancheng, Lanzhou dry noodles, Xi'an oil noodles, Chongqing Dan dan noodles, Wuhan hot dry noodles, Chaozhou fried noodles, Yi mixed noodles, Hami fried sauce noodles, large plate chicken mixed noodles, Xianyang biangbiang noodles, Qufu black bean noodles, Jinan fried sauce noodles, Huanglong barley noodles, Guiyang intestinal Wang noodles, Kunshan Aozao noodles, Zhangye rubbing fish, Penglai small noodles...
It can be said that Kazutoshi Sakamoto has traveled all over the land of China and eaten All over Chinese noodles.
Noodles with braised hot sauce at Shanghai Dexing Pavilion
02
Came across a bowl of Lanzhou ramen
Embarked on a quest to find a face
The reason why Grandpa Sakamoto can eat noodles so willfully is thanks to his work.
After graduating from Kyoto University, he joined Travel Agency in Japan, where he was responsible for travel in China, often traveling between China and Japan.
The Temple of Heaven photographed by Kazutoshi Sakamoto
Compared with the taste of the mountains and the sea, Sakamoto has always preferred pasta. So every time he went to a banquet, he would order a bowl of noodles.
Only once did he eat extremely bland beef noodles in Nanjing, which made him suspicious of Chinese pasta. But the next encounter immediately reversed his view and began his 30-year-long quest in China.
Linxia beef noodles are similar in flavor to Lanzhou beef noodles
It was one day in 1984, and Sakamoto was about to fly to Lanzhou for a conference.
Due to flight delays, he arrived at his destination a full 4 hours later than expected due to flight delays.
It was already past 9 p.m. when we landed. The area around the airport is deserted and there are no taxis. There is only one guest house nearby, but it is not clear whether it is open or not.
Good thing the airport shuttle is still running. Kazutoshi Sakamoto quickly got into the car and got off at the Friendship Hotel. Next to the hotel is Lanzhou West Railway Station, the popularity will certainly be lively.
Struggling with fatigue and hunger, he decided to find a noodle shop nearby. He found that almost all the stores only sold Lanzhou beef ramen, so he didn't have to think much about it, and quickly picked a relatively clean home with more diners to go in.
The prices on the walls of the storefronts are for food stamp holders. When buying a meal ticket, you need to first inform the clerk of the amount of noodles you want, such as 1 two, 2 two, 3 two.
According to the portion size of a guest of Japanese ramen (80-100 grams), Sakamoto ordered 2 pairs.
The clerk asked, "What about food stamps?" ”
Where are the food stamps for foreigners who come to travel on business? He had no choice but to pay 20% more to buy a meal ticket, waited for a few minutes at the back kitchen window, and finally got the noodles.
Beef ramen
The freshly cooked Lanzhou beef ramen is still steaming hot.
Originally, he didn't expect too much and ate it. Who knew that this bowl of noodles was so stunning.
The noodles are full of energy. The soup, which has been simmered for more than 4 hours with beef, beef bones and beef liver, has a mellow aroma.
The snow-white radish not only removes the odor, but also tastes soft and hard. The golden combination of coriander, minced garlic and spicy oil adds the finishing touch to ramen.
A bowl of Lanzhou beef ramen smoothed out all the fatigue after the bumpy journey. Sakamoto felt that this road was not in vain.
The Lanzhou beef noodles eaten in Lhasa are made of yak beef
Since then, it has also completely aroused Sakamoto's curiosity about Chinese pasta. The next day, he walked around lanzhou, breakfast and lunch were all beef ramen, "no one is not delicious."
Sakamoto believes that there must be a lot of delicious noodles in other parts of China.
Lanzhou noodles are made in the same way as Lanzhou ramen, but there are two kinds of soups: pork bone soup and curry soup
03
A history of eating noodles
It's also an adventure
The search for specialty food is not always smooth. Especially in the face of sudden natural disasters, what was originally a relaxing trip can become a big adventure at any time.
However, this does not hinder Kazutoshi Sakamoto's persistence.
He suffered a road collapse in the heavy rain in Yunnan, and he was also trapped in the quagmire of the catastrophic flood in 1998.
In the summer of 1998, Sakamoto and his party planned to travel to the Hulunbuir grasslands in search of Inner Mongolian buckwheat noodles that had been featured in the Japanese monthly magazine Mian Mian.
Scenery of Inner Mongolia
However, when starting from Harbin, the floods raged, the Songhua River swelled, and the drive car fell into a quagmire, and with the help of the villagers, it was able to get out of danger.
I wanted to take a train from Qiqihar to Qiqihar, but the only way to go, the Zarantun Iron Bridge, was flooded again. So Sakamoto decided to turn back to Harbin. This time, the inner Mongolia face-seeking trip ended in regret.
However, how could this "face-fooled" grandfather give up easily?
After a year, he once again challenged the Hulunbuir trip.
In the vast grassland, I finally ate the soba noodles that I had in mind.
Inner Mongolian soba noodles
The most thrilling one was the 1990 Silk Road trip.
While passing through the Taklamakan Desert, Sakamoto almost lost contact with his companion in another car.
Ruins of a stupa in Milan in the desert
At that time, Sakamoto Kazumin and the director of the Gansu Tourism Bureau met to set off from Dunhuang and spend 20 days touring the southern silk road, circumnavigating the Taklamakan Desert for a week, and then returning to Dunhuang.
The trip was also about finding the famous Northwestern popular food: noodles with noodles.
Ruoqiang's pull strips
At the beginning of the journey, the Great Northwest gave him a dismount.
Soon after leaving the hotel, the road became potholed; the asbestos mine in front of him made people feel suffocated; coupled with the high altitude of more than 3,000 meters, he directly produced a violent altitude sickness.
Lanzhou ramen, which has just fallen into the belly, has also become a burden on the body.
The oil sand mountain oil field passing on the road
What was even more frightening was that when they set out from Ruoqiang to the end, they encountered a sandstorm.
Just in time for the strong wind season, fine sand and dust are flying in the sky, and the driver master can no longer see the road ahead.
The four-wheel drive car directly broke down several times in the wild sand, and after stopping and going, it completely lost contact with a car behind it.
The walkie-talkie was useless, and the two cars were completely separated.
You know, going north along this desert is the Lost Lake Lop Nur . It is "one of the harshest natural environments in China" and a dead zone.
They did not dare to act rashly, but could only stop, sit quietly in the car, and wait for the sandstorm to naturally subside.
After about half an hour, the walkie-talkie function was gradually restored. They found that the distance between the two cars was actually only 10 meters apart. However, in a sandstorm, it is as if they are thousands of miles away.
After escaping the danger, Sakamoto did not turn back, but intended to continue on the move.
Finally, I arrived at the Jianggal Lesayi restaurant and ate noodles with pulled noodles.
Noodles at Ganga Lesayi Restaurant
In the noodles, countless sand dust blowing in through the walls is inlaid. Perhaps this is nature's silent message: how ordinary and small human beings are.
For Kazutoshi Sakamoto, after a thrilling experience, sitting quietly and eating a bowl of authentic Northwest pasta is the most beautiful gift from the journey.
04
It's not just the faces that are recorded
It is also a variety of life
Compared with the cold and merciless nature, ordinary Chinese people are much more enthusiastic.
In order to better understand the Chinese pasta culture, the grandfather walked into the life of Chinese.
Beijing Night Market (Donghuamen)
In 1991, at a special invitation, he went to the home of a Beijing resident to eat noodles.
At that time, inviting foreigners to their homes required approval from the neighborhood committee. Although family visits are one of the travel programs in China, the families visited are selected and selected.
The family that hosted Sakamoto lived on the 17th floor of an 18-story building. In the three rooms and one living room, there are 5 parents and children. It seemed a bit cramped, but at the time, it was already at the upper middle level.
As soon as he entered the door, the hostess began to cook and formally make noodles.
The hostess is making cheek noodles
On the plate was the chopstick-thick potion, only to see her two hands pinch the two ends of the potion, a shake, a roll, elongated, immediately thrown into boiling water to boil, the action is cooked and fast.
After the noodles are boiled, the pre-made toppings are drizzled and a bowl of noodles is freshly baked.
Don't look at this is a very common northern traditional dish, in a thousand homes, it can have a thousand kinds of toppings.
The toppings of this family are diced meat, diced carrots, diced potatoes, and seasoned with salt.
Grandpa suddenly remembered that this plate of cheek noodles was exactly the same as the ancient water introduction cake. As early as the Northern Wei Jia Sixun's "Qi Min Zhi Shu", it has already been described.
He was pleasantly surprised to be able to eat traditional Chinese cuisine from more than 1,400 years ago in the homes of contemporary Beijing citizens.
Diced meat, diced carrots, diced potatoes and noodles
Kazutoshi Sakamoto has worked in a travel agency for most of his life and has eaten countless tall banquets. But he will still walk into a street stall in Wusong on the outskirts of Shanghai for a bowl of authentic snow vegetable meat noodles.
Zhu Zhizhi, the male protagonist of Lu Wenfu's "Gourmet", said that to eat noodles, you must eat the first soup noodles of the day. If you eat a bowl of noodles with noodle soup, you will be mentally weak all day, and you will always feel that something is not satisfactory.
For Grandpa Sakamoto, if he didn't personally go around the corners of China and taste the flavors of various places with the tip of his tongue, he would always feel a little unsatisfactory.
Because he loves pasta from the bottom of his heart, and Chinese pasta is also attractive enough for Grandpa to tirelessly find every bowl of delicious food in these 30 years.