Daily Dialogue — October 7, 2016

Student of ramen eating: [voiceover] One fine day… I went out with an old man. He’s studied noodles for 40 years. He was showing me the right way to eat them.

Student: Master… soup first or noodles first?
Old Gentleman: First, observe the whole bowl.
Student: Yes, sir.
Old Gentleman: Appreciate its gestalt. Savor the aromas. Jewels of fat glittering on the surface. Shinachiku roots shining. Seaweed slowly sinking. Spring onions floating. Concentrate on the three pork slices. They play the key role, but stay modestly hidden. First caress the surface with the chopstick tips.
Student: What for?
Old Gentleman: To express affection.
Student: I see.
Old Gentleman: Then poke the pork.
Student: Eat the pork first?
Old Gentleman: No. Just touch it. Caress it with the chopstick tips. Gently pick it up and dip it into the soup on the right of the bowl. What’s important here is to apologize to the pork by saying “see you soon.” Finally, start eating-the noodles first. Oh, at this time, while slurping the noodles, look at the pork.
Student: Yes.
Old Gentleman: Eye it affectionately.

Student: [voiceover] The old man bit some shinachiku root and chewed it awhile. Then he took some noodles. Still chewing noodles, he took some more shinachiku. Then he sipped some soup. Three times. He sat up, sighed, picked up one slice of pork-as if making a major decision in life-and lightly tapped it on the side of the bowl.

Student: What for?
Old Gentleman: To drain it. That’s all.

— Tampopo (1985), written by Jûzô Itami

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is cooking, suggested by Katha.

Trivia: Many elements of the film closely parallel a classic Western. Goro is the mysterious stranger who rides into town; he saves the pretty girl from harassing bad men, and even has a brawl with another man at the edge of town.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The other side of cooking is eating and this scene with the Old Gentleman, a Ramen master, is a wonderful homage to fine art of dining.