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$100 For A Bowl Of Soup

February 22, 2010 By Ivo

Would you pay that much for any dish? I suppose that if you were dining at a 3-star Michelin restaurant, a hundred bucks is not that expensive for a single dish. Then again, it really depends on what you’re eating.

In a Japanese restaurant, you can taste a one of a kind soup – ramen – for $110. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this price tag is more than hefty for a bowl of soup! Indeed, if you ever go to Japan, you will be able to find bowls of ramen for as low as $10. This is especially true in areas where they sell food on the streets.

So what makes this ramen soup worth the price tag? According to restaurateur Shoichi Fujimaki, his soup is “not really ramen. This is my cuisine, it’s my 25 years of experience distilled into one bowl. This is the only place in the world that people have this kind of soup.” Twenty-five years of cooking experience, more than 20 ingredients, and three days of preparation – all these add up to $110 per bowl.

And what do customers have to say about the Five-taste Blend Imperial Noodles, which is the highlight at Tokyo’s Fujimaki Gekijyo? It looks like they’re loving it despite the price and the not-so-good Japanese economy! By the way, not just anyone can have a taste of this soup. In fact, customers are required to dine at another restaurant (Fujimaki owns it too) and sample “lesser” fare before they can be qualified to have even a glimpse of THE other soup. Nice business tactic, huh?

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: Japanese cuisine, Japanese food, ramen soup

China Proposes Jail Time For Dogeaters

January 31, 2010 By Ivo

a_Asien_dog-meat_21Eating the meat of dogs is a tradition in certain parts of the world. In China, dog meat is a tradition ingredient in hot pots. With the changes that have occurred over the decades, however, this tradition is in danger.

The government has proposed jail time for people who are caught eating dog meat. The bill has been proposed in alignment with animal rights. Included in the bill’s coverage is cat meat. People who are charged and found guilty can go to jail for up to 15 days. A fine of around $700 is also part of the penalty. Businesses that are found guilty of serving dishes with dog meat or cat meat in them can also be charged under the provisions of the bill. The fine for businesses ranges from 14,000 USD to 73,000 USD.

As expected, this move has stirred up controversy. Pet lovers have taken up for the cause, while others say that the ban is quite unrealistic. On the one hand, some people see the cruelty in certain practices. One such practice is beating the animal (dogs in particular) to death. This is done to force the blood into the meat, making it tastier and richer. On the other hand, some people value the tradition of consuming the meat of cats and dogs. They think that the move to ban such meat is akin to throwing away part of the people’s history and culture.

It’s definitely a delicate situation, and I am glad I do not have to make the decision about it.

Filed Under: Animals, World Tagged With: animal rights, cat meat, China, dog meat

Wear Jeans, Save Your Life

January 6, 2010 By Ivo

downloadHow is this possible? According to a recently concluded study, denims just might help save your life in case you get bitten by a rattlesnake. Dr. Shelton S. Herbert and Dr. William K. Hayes from Loma Linda University in California did research on the effect of denim on rattlesnake bites. What they did was to use latex gloves in lieu of human legs (or arms). The gloves were filled with saline solution. They then covered some parts with denim.

The results were quite interesting. The parts that were covered with denim received less of the rattlesnake venom. In case you’re wondering just how much less, they received as much as two thirds less venom than those which were not protected with denim!

The implications are exciting, to say the least. If you decide to go out into the desert – or wherever there may be rattlesnakes lurking around – then you should throw away your nice shorts and put on some nice comfy denims instead. I can think of other reasons why denims are better – they will protect you from the sun and they will protect you from getting your legs scratched! Of course, in case you do get bitten by a rattlesnake or two, your jeans will absorb most of the venom and perhaps save your life.

Of course, the smarter course of action would be to avoid getting bitten by a rattlesnake, but if that cannot be avoided for some reason, then the jeans will be there to help out, even if just a little bit.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Health, rattlesnakes, snakebites

David As Santa?

December 8, 2009 By Ivo

Santa DavidI am sure that Santa Claus (Saint Nick, Santa, Father Christmas, or whatever you call him) has had more than his share of practical jokes in the past hundreds of years. It never occurred to me, though, that he would come out as muscular and naked! Apparently, I do not have as much imagination in me as Barry McBee of Big Spring, Texas.

McBee, who loves to make people laugh, decided to put up a replica of Michelangelo’s David (yeah, that ultra-muscular guy with no clothes on) on his front lawn. Following the spirit of Christmas, he decided to add a white beard and a pointy red hat (Santa’s garb, in case you didn’t get it). All the guy wanted to do was elicit a chuckle here and there, but he got more than he bargained for.

According to city officials, they received complaints from parents whose children were inquiring as to why Santa was naked. Seriously, if I were a kid, I probably would have first asked how he lost all that flab! Anyway, city officials didn’t find McBee of violating any city ordinances. However, in the interest of keeping peace in the community, they asked McBee to “put more clothes” on Santa David.

It seems that McBee is an easy going guy – he gave in easily and dressed his statue with black and white shorts. After all, we cannot have Santa suffering from frostbite, can we? Oh, and just for the record: I think he should have gotten red and white shorts to match the hat!

Photo courtesy of Yahoo News

Filed Under: Holidays, Humour Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas decor, Michelangelo's David, Santa Claus

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