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 Within about four hours, the Ramen Nagi restaurant had sold out of
the 100 bowls of "insect tsukemen" noodles it had prepared for
Sunday's single-day event.
The noodles were topped with about a dozen small crickets and
mealworms, which customers then dipped into soups flavored with
crickets, grasshoppers, or silkworm powder.
"It's deep-fried, so it's really crispy, and it doesn't have a bad
taste," said 22-year-old student Anri Nakatani. "It's almost like a
deep-fried shrimp."
The event was organized by the restaurant owner, and Yuta Shinohara,
a 22-year-old who has set up insect-eating events in Tokyo,
including a Valentine's Day celebration that served chocolates,
cakes and cocktails featuring insects.
Shinohara, who started eating bugs as a child, wants to promote the
alternative food culture in Japan and around the world, through
ramen, a popular Japanese food.
"Through ramen, I'd like to spread how fun and delicious it is to
eat insects," he said.
The full course, costing 3,000 yen ($27), consisted of insect ramen,
a bowl of rice with crickets, spring rolls with fried worms, and ice
cream flavoured with insect powder. The ramen alone cost 1,500 yen
($13.50).
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Insects are eaten in many countries, such as China, Ghana, Mexico
and Thailand. Australia's indigenous groups have eaten insects for
protein for generations. Bugs are even part of traditional Japanese
cuisine in rural areas, but few city dwellers have had the
opportunity to try them.
California tourist Steve Lee enjoyed the dish, but said it would
take time to catch on in the United States.
"Ramen is just taking off now in a big wave in California so...maybe
ten years, five years later?"
(Reporting by Kwiyeon Ha; Writing by Malcolm Foster; Editing by
Karishma Singh and Clarence Fernandez)
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