Udon

I recently had the pleasure of watching a heartwarming (and hunger-inducing) film entitled "Udon." This film was part of Kapiolani Community College's Smithsonian "Key Ingredients" exhibit. The film is entirely in Japanese; however with the help of subtitles, I was able to throughly enjoy this movie. The only bad part about the movie was that I left the theatre starving... and craving a hot bowl of Udon noodles!

The movie takes place in Sanuki, a small region in Japan known for their udon. This is where the main character, Kosuke, discovers his passion for udon. Born into a family of udon-makers, Kosuke never truly appreciated the art of noodle-making and with his father's gruff personality, he never valued his family's prized noodles. With his heart set on becoming a comedian, Kosuke set out to the States to try an make it big. When his efforts proved to be unsuccessful, Kosuke returned to Japan to try and repay his debts by working at a publishing company. It was through this job that he and his friends came up with a brilliant idea of creating a guide about the most obscure udon restaurants that Sanuki had to offer. They set out to find all of the best udon restaurants (and hole-in-the-walls) and created a huge following. In Kosuke's efforts of repay his debts he developed a passion for udon and an appreciation for his family and their noodles.

This was a very heartwarming story that blended comedy, family-fun, and good food! Watching Kosuke and his friends search for restaurants, slurp noodles, snap pictures, and write reviews reminded me so much of what I do when I prepare for blog entries!



The movie reminded me of one of my favorite meals in Japan! Freshly made udon noodles in hot broth and a raw egg!

If you have an opportunity to see this movie, I definitely recommend it!

Check out a clip of it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiHjNlnAufA&feature=related