Ramen Series, Part I: I Love Instant

I love instant ramen far too much. I know it is supposed to be like college student food, poor people food. To be fair, I guess I am still a college student, but it's not about that. I seriously love instant ramen. I eat it when I have a cold or sinus infection, going with the theory that at least it's hot soup even if it's got little nutritional value. I also just like to have it for breakfast sometimes, especially if it's cold or I am in the mood for something salty. I think I generally prefer salty over sweet so breakfast options anger me sometimes.

I think my love for instant ramen is also emotional though. Even Kea doesn't understand it. He never eats the stuff. So it can't be a Hawai'i thing. I think in my home, instant ramen was a weird kind of treat. Like if we wanted it for breakfast, we could only do that if we had enough time. But the best was when my dad would make instant ramen after we got home at night--maybe after a movie or going to the carnival. We'd be driving home and my dad would propose the idea. It was very exciting, sort of like a midnight snack. He'd top the noodles with whatever we had in the fridge--slices of fishcake or leftover steak, pork chops, or barbecue chicken, leftover boiled won bok, choi sum, or mustard cabbage. And we'd sit around the folding table in the TV room, my parents commenting on how big our appetites were and how they would need to make an extra package next time.